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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As the USA and Cuba reestablish diplomatic relations, literary relations are also flourishing: Restless Books will release a series of Cuban sci-fi books. The post Restless Books’ Publisher Searches for Cuban Science Fiction appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-07-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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"The trouble with magic," wrote children's author and activist Zetta Elliott in an award-winning 2013 Jeunesse essay, "is that it appears to exist in realms to which only certain children belong." Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2015-06-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In the latest episode of Geek's Guide to the Galaxy the panel discusses the Kickstarter campaign to fund Queers Destroy Science Fiction!, a special issue of Lightspeed magazine written by queer creators. The post Crowdfunded Magazine Celebrates Queer Science Fiction appeared first on WIRED. Continue reading at Wired
[ Wired | 2015-01-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In the latest episode of Geek's Guide to the Galaxy, writer Naomi Klein discusses dystopian fiction and her new capitalism-vs.-the-climate nonfiction book This Changes Everything. The post Dystopian Fiction’s Popularity Is a Warning Sign for the Future appeared first on WIRED. Continue reading at Wired
[ Wired | 2014-12-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sci-fi and fantasy fiction is entering a golden age of short fiction thanks to social media, crowdfunding and a loyal community of ardent fansA man wakes up from a car crash to find that he is an "electric ant": an android programmed to believe it is human. At home he uses micro-tools to open... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-06-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Agent Scully actress will use her 'ingrained knowledge and rhythm' for SF to pen multi-volume EarthEnd SagaAfter delving into the paranormal for years as The X-Files' resident sceptic Dr Dana Scully, actor Gillian Anderson is set to create her own science-fictional universe – but this time in... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-01-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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HBO's award-winning adaptations are novelistic in ambition, but TV executives hoping to follow Game of Thrones should look to the starsIt's almost commonplace to suggest that the HBO box set is now television's answer to the novel – witness the wily self-publishers who have started publishing... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2013-12-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Science fiction has a long tradition in North Korea and SF authors enjoy greater freedom to explore edgy subjects, such as crime and violence, than their counterparts. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-12-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Wed, 06/07/2011 - 09:19 The third edition of the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction is to be released online later this year by ESF Ltd, a new company set up by the contributors to the book, in association with Orion imprint Victor Gollancz. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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As part of our year-end story package, we tasked ChatGPT with writing a guest post about the future of generative AI. The prompt asked for a 1,200 word article (a number it undercut by quite a margin) that explored both the potential negative and positive outcomes of the technology. We then... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2023-12-28 16:00:10 UTC ]
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There are historical fiction books out there for every reader. Find recommendations for fans of literary fiction, romance, fantasy, and more. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2023-12-19 11:32:00 UTC ]
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Amazon has taken some steps to stem the tide of books written with artificial intelligence, but another solution may already exist. Continue reading at Wired
[ Wired | 2023-09-28 11:00:00 UTC ]
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What the hell are we doing? All the best things are shutting down and people are out here using computers to make children’s books? Not to get too Jeff Goldblum on you, but just because you build a tool to do something doesn’t make it interesting or worthy. To wit, a product designer named... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-12-13 15:19:23 UTC ]
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Tom Hanks—who previously spent time crushing a beloved indie bookstore with his discount big box chain (which was then probably crushed by Amazon and yes I am talking about his role in You’ve Got Mail and not his real life)—will publish a novel with Knopf this spring. The book, The Making of... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2022-09-27 15:17:38 UTC ]
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The Tudor Dynasty lives on in these outstanding historical fiction novels, including The King’s Witch. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2021-10-22 10:33:00 UTC ]
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After encouraging sales despite bookshops’ closures in the first lockdown, the market in Ireland has responded remarkably well since, with sales of Non-Fiction and Children’s titles particularly solid. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-10 13:31:14 UTC ]
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The Department of Justice has warned Hachette Book Group that its planned publication of 'A Warning' by an anonymous Trump administration official may violate a non-disclosure agreement. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-11-04 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Think you don't like historical fiction? Try these books out and prove yourself wrong. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2019-09-14 10:33:10 UTC ]
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As part of the launch of Hay Festival's Latin American anthology, 'Bogotá39-2017,' author Samanta Schweblin and editor Sara Malagón talk about labels and gender. The post In Colombia, A Discussion of ‘Women’s Fiction’ Versus Fiction by Women appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2018-03-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Currently 25 percent of our top 20 fiction titles are translated,' we learn from Waterstones. It appears that UK readers are surprisingly into international books. The post Survey: Translated Fiction Outsells English Fiction in the UK appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2016-05-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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