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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The film rights to Tom Rob Smith’s newly published The Farm (Simon & Schuster) have... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-03-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Is there lingering sexism in the world of books and art galleries? Many female novelists have ardently argued that their novels haven’t received the laurels and attention of Great Male Novelists, but they have not been able to deftly, subtly attack the larger problem the way Siri Hustvedt does... Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2014-03-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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An electronic version of Peter James’ 1993 novel Host, which was published on two floppy... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-03-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Founder of New Scientist, Sunday Times journalist and BBC broadcaster who made complicated subjects easy to understandA powerful mind coupled with a gift for rendering complex ideas in popular terms made Tom Margerison, who has died aged 90, an outstanding ambassador for science. Equally at home... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-03-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Industry figures have voiced hopes for the latest government-commissioned review into the library... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-02-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Local Government Association calls on websites to highlight dangers of drinking game linked to several deathsTwitter and Facebook should introduce warnings about the drinking game neknominate, which has been linked to several deaths, councils have said. The Local Government Association (LGA),... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-02-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Igloo Books aims to up its adult non-fiction output by 40% over the course of 2014. The... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-02-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Writer and presenter Danny Wallace has created a new beer as part of the promotion for his... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-02-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Two Iraqi novelists, two Moroccans, one Syrian author and one Egyptian author have been... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-02-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Acquiring editors face a daunting task when it comes to Christian and inspirational fiction: find gifted writers with strong voices presenting distinctive stories to lure readers looking for familiar yet unique, similar yet special books. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-02-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Someone really ought to weave a tale about selling Christian and inspirational fiction: the overcrowded market, the distracted readers, and the rewards for those who overcome the odds. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-02-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The UK Fiction Uncovered promotion has secured £80K for 2 years of £5k grants from the Jerwood Charitable Foundation and is now open to self-published authors. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-02-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Fiction Uncovered, the annual prize highlighting works by British writers, is to be renamed the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-02-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Aurum Publishing Group has appointed Rachel Williams as publisher of a new non-fiction imprint,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-01-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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I had the luck to have two books published by Tom Rosenthal. He combined the sharpest of editorial eyes and a penetrating critical intelligence with warm encouragement and support. Working with him, I got to know and love an exceptional personality. But, as I discovered, beneath his powerful,... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-01-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Innovative and energetic publishers such as And Other Stories and Dalkey Archive are finding new routes to a committed audience"We were dreaming of freedom; we woke up in capitalism," is Slovenian writer Drago Jančar's wry comment at the launch of Dalkey Archive's anthology of short stories,... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-01-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bloomsbury imprint Absolute Press has signed two new cookbooks from TV chef Tom Kerridge. The... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-01-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'The Invention of Wings' by Sue Monk Kidd is receiving rave reviews and was recently selected as the latest pick for Oprah Winfrey's revamped book club. But how much of the book actually comes from history? Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-01-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The second Twitter fiction festival, searching for authors from across the world to tell stories... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-01-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publisher adept at balancing the demands of literature and commerce, and a notable writer on artIn his prime, with his coloured shirts, red braces, bright bow ties and macho cigars there were few more flamboyant London publishers than Tom Rosenthal, who has died aged 78. But the extravagant top... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-01-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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