Science Fiction Tried to Warn Us about AI. Or Did It?, by Tom Gammarino Essay [email protected] Wed, 03/01/2023 - 03:46 Photo by NASA / Unsplash “All our AI Frankenstein stories,” the author writes, “warn us that AI will destroy us, but far louder than that, they promise that the future is going to be mind-blowing and epic.” Will we heed the warnings? Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is the literary work that most clearly established the conventions of science fiction as we know it. Not only did the 1818 novel pioneer the archetype of the mad scientist, it also established one of the genre’s most important cultural roles: to warn us about ways humans, through our hubris, might create the very beings that eventually undo us. In subtitling the novel The Modern Prometheus, Shelley harked back to the Titan who stole fire from the gods and was punished by having his regenerating liver devoured every day by an eagle (since the liver was the seat of the emotions for the Greeks, we might as well translate it as “heart”). Inspired by the experiments of Luigi Galvani, who used electric current to stimulate the leg of a dissected frog, and his nephew Giovanni Aldini, who ran a similar experiment on a hanged criminal, Shelley had her mad scientist play God by endowing a patchwork of human remains with the spark of life. Two centuries later, the resulting monstrosity serves as a stand-in for any of our runaway technologies — the internal... Continue reading at 'World Literature Today'
[ World Literature Today | 2023-03-01 09:46:57 UTC ]
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Allen, who was named CEO of the Association of American Publishers in 2009, has announced that he will retire in early 2017. Given the news, the AAP board of directors has begun a search for a new CEO. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-09-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hercule Poirot and Miss Marples are among golden age sleuths giving new inspiration to a genre tired of alcoholic divorcees and goth hackersForget domestic noir and put down all those books with “Girl” in the title. Crime fiction is turning back the clock to its golden age with a host of books... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2016-09-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Holtzbrink's Digital Science division, a technology incubator, has chosen three early stage tech initiatives, Etalia, Simiary and Writefull, to receive its annual catalyst grants. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-09-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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With two critically lauded novels under his belt, Irish author Donal Ryan returns with another scintillating tale, writes Alice O’Keeffe. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-09-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Penguin Random House Children’s is launching a new range of colour fiction books after acquiring titles by Judd Winick, Victoria Jamieson and Terri Lebnenson. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-09-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Society of Authors has taken over the administration of The Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction from charity BookTrust. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-09-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Picador is publishing a new long poem by Kate Tempest composed from the lyrics of her forthcoming album. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-09-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amy Krouse Rosenthal's interactive Textbook uses smart bots to engage with readers in real time. A new tech lit is born. Amy Krouse Rosenthal's interactive Textbook uses smart bots to engage with readers in real time. A new tech lit is born.Do you ever feel like your book... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2016-09-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Actress-turned-author Lena Dunham is trying her hand at writing fiction as she prepares to release a collection of short stories next year. Continue reading at Stuff
[ Stuff | 2016-08-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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After several years of angst over falling sales and shrinking fiction output, all sides seem to be looking forward at the 2016 American Christian Fiction Writer’s conference. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-08-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Shelfie adds scientific publisher De Gruyter's catalogue of ebooks to its inventory of digital titles it can offer as bundled ebooks. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-08-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Heavy readers switching to use ebook subscription services would have a "huge impact" on the revenue of book publishers, c.e.o of Penguin Random House (PRH) US Markus Dohle has warned. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-08-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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If there's something besides football that Tom Brady excels in, the food business might be it. In May, the Patriots quarterback released a $200 cookbook through his sports performance company, TB12. Despite the price tag, the book sold out in minutes. Now there's another hot item on the market... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2016-08-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Beth Moore, the author of bestsellers ‘So Long, Insecurity’ and ‘Audacious,’ is breaking into Christian fiction with ‘The Undoing of Saint Silvanus.’ Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-08-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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This week, magazine publisher and TV station owner Meredith Corp. elevated Tom Harty from president of the company's National Media Group to president and chief operating officer, taking on oversight of the Local Media Group as well. That promotion seemed to put Mr. Harty in line to succeed... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2016-08-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Four independent publishers have come together to form the Northern Fiction Alliance, a cohort assembled to showcase the output of northern indie presses to the international market in an attempt to “level the playing field” and promote regional diversity in publishing. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-08-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bloomsbury has signed a deal to publish children’s non-fiction with the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-08-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Royal Society has revealed its six-strong shortlist for the Royal Society Insight Investment Science Book Prize 2016, five of which are published by independent presses. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-08-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Atlantic is to publish Science(ish), a book on the science behind films by Michael Brooks and Rick Edwards based on their popular podcast of the same name. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-07-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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No adult fiction title released in the January-through-June period managed to make the top 20 print bestsellers list in the first half of the year. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-07-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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