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Publisher Description
A near future novelette about the surge in AI that might bring hope to humanity if used well, in Kathleen Ann Goonan's One/Zero.
In war-torn Kurdistan, a group of traumatized orphans is given a gift that could change their lives and the lives of everyone in the world, while in Washington, DC, an elderly woman undergoes medical procedures that radically change her life.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
7 Reviews
3.5
Sarah
Created almost 3 years agoShare
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bucky
Created about 3 years agoShare
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Suzy
Created about 4 years agoShare
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“Big concepts and short stories don't seem like natural bedfellows to me, but this book nailed it.
I was instantly transported to war-torn Kurdistan in what has to be one of the most immersive openings to any of the books I've read so far this year. I could feel the torrent of grief that raged over Vida (the MC) and her little brother, Azul, as their entire world was blown apart in a matter of minutes.
In another part of the world and in another life entirely, we understand how a slower grief has changed everything about Mai's day-to-day. Having lost her husband and left her life's work behind for a slower pace, she is confronted by the rapid changes in the technology around her (including the development of AI and 'superintelligence', or 'SI'). It becomes an unwanted presence in her life, but its more than just a nuisance - it also poses a serious concern in terms of taking over her autonomy.
Meanwhile, we see how the same developments in AI/SI are aiding Vida and her fellow refugees in seeking shelter from the storm, and in reaching out to the wider world.
I thought it was hugely interesting to see how these two disparate narratives came together, and how each was able to project a different viewpoint - particularly regarding the intervention of AI in our lives. The inherent questions of whether AI can be trusted, can work in cooperation us, and whether it can/will become a tyrant overlord of some kind despite good intentions - its all there. But though it raises these questions, the narrative doesn't waver from the human story at it's core - that of Vida, her baby brother and their need for other humans because, in spite of all that technology can offer them, it can't give them everything they need and want. Sometimes, only a human will do.
It was cleverly constructed and perfectly formed, in my view. I have a complicated relationship with short stories, but this was an example of how it should be done.
Although this is a sci-fi novelette, I think it has a broader appeal than to fans of just this genre. If it sounds even vaguely interesting to you, I'd highly recommend giving it a go.”
Katrina Fox
Created about 5 years agoShare
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“Really good look at how trauma impacts us and the possible impact of AI.”
Erik
Created over 5 years agoShare
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About Kathleen Ann Goonan
Kathleen Ann Goonan is the author of several novels, including This Shared Dream. In War Times won the John W. Campbell Award for Best Science Fiction Novel of 2007; it was also the American Library Association's Best SF Novel of 2007. Previous novels were finalists for the Nebula, Clarke, and BSFA Awards. Angels and You Dogs (stories) was published in 2012. Her novella, "The Tale of the Alcubierre Horse," was published in Extrasolar, The Year's Best Science Fiction Volume 3, and The Year's Best Science Fiction and Fantasy. She is a member of Advisory Board of the School of Literature, Media, and Communication at Georgia Institute of Technology as well as that of SpaceX and the Lifeboat Foundation, and is working on several novels, consulting, and other projects.
Other books by Kathleen Ann Goonan
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