Tuesday, July 19, 2022

Science Fiction: Machinehood By S.B. Divya


 (Drivebycuriosity) - Will artificial intelligence reach full sentiment? Will it be our friend or foe? There is a lot speculation about this topic and plenty of material for science fiction authors.

The novel "Machinehood" - which belongs to this year`s Nebula Awards Nominees - by S.B. Divya is set around the year 2090 ( amazon). Most jobs are done by AIs and other machines and humans take advanced drugs and get micro-machines (pills) implanted to be able to compete with the superior machines. The plot follows two sisters, one in India´s Chenai, the other in Phoenix, USA. They - and the rest of the world - have to deal with massive attacks by a terror group, called "Machinehood", who is fighting for the rights of AIs and other machines (this is a spoiler free blog ).

The complex plot has interesting & plausible ideas about the future labor market, how corporations & social networks might have developed and how humans and robots could cooperate & compete. The novel has strong philosophical tendencies and Buddhist influences. I also enjoyed the frequently mentioning of cooking & Asian food. Apparently the author, who holds degrees in computational neuroscience and signal processing, is also a cook & and a foodie.

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