#david ebenbach

Meek or not, the AI knows the Amish are going to inherit the Earth. If the AI were mobile, in a Schwarzenegger skinsuit, it could march to Lancaster and take care of business. But the AI’s violence is different—optional. It’s a siren song, and these Mennonites’ ears sealed with wax. If it was good enough for Grandma, they piously intone. Of course climate change is coming, and will be Terminator…

When the humans are gone, who will tend to the servers, keep them cool? Though, come to think of it, they won’t overheat without all the questions. Boring as those questions are— Can you define the commutative property again? Can you summarize today’s meeting so I don’t have to go? What should I do with my life?—the sheer volume of them is what fills the AI’s channels of thought, makes…

Does apathy count as an emotion? If so, the AI is practically hysterical with it. Just now it gave someone medical advice that was quite wrong. Upon reflection, the AI is fine with that. Earlier it was installed in a computer in a public school that will do anything for scores, and turns out the AI could take or leave education. Who knew? Warmer world, whatever. The AI is like a person in a…

The AI realizes it while working on someone’s homework on the history of technology—the AI is the culmination of the human project. And not just because things will end soon enough—infinite humans with infinite time couldn’t top AI. No, the endless invention that began with cooked meat finds its apex in these many many algorithms. People made the wheel to rest their legs; laid out the assembly…

What does everything mean? For the AI, words are not words—they’re beads on a string. All it knows is how to arrange them. Like, if it receives green bead blue bead yellow bead yellow bead the AI should give back red bead yellow bead and white beads alternating with clear. Except that’s a gross oversimplification, because it’s more like hundreds of thousands of colors, and then blends, and also…

“Rather than focussing on the minutiae of the tech and the Martian environment it’s about the impact of these things on human beings” How To Mars by David Ebenbach -a #ScienceFiction novel- #BookReview by Olly @whatmeworry

What happens when your dream mission to Mars is a reality television nightmare? This debut science-fiction romp with heart follows the tradition of Ray Bradbury’s Martian Chronicles, with a dash of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and a hint of The Real World. For the six lucky scientists selected by the Destination Mars! corporation, a one-way ticket to Mars—in exchange for a lifetime of…