Glynn Stewart
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Your questions for a Q&A on AI characters?
🕑 Added 2024-09-16 18:03:05 +0000 UTCUpdate (Sept 21, 2024): Thank you for posting your questions! I have finalized the panel questions and sent them to each of the authors.
The panel is scheduled for Wednesday, September 25 at 6pm MT (8pm Eastern/5pm Pacific). Keep an eye out for the link early next week!
Happy Reading,
Jack
Hello Patrons,
Thank you for your support, and we hope you've enjoyed the latest release!
As the two of us have chatted about a certain set of characters in The Old Guard, we've been thinking about how these characters (and the power they hold) can intersect with space opera settings. We've also talked about how the power of AI can work for or against big space empires and galactic corporations. (Here's a conversation with Glynn on the topic.)
THE BIG QUESTION
As Patrons, we're asking you first: what questions would you like to see answered on the topic of AI in space opera? Post in the comments below!
WHAT
The panel will talk about AI and Space Empire:
On the front lines of interstellar conflict, empires harness AI to define civilization—for better or worse. Diving into the worlds beyond our solar system, science fiction authors discuss how advanced technology might redefine power, resistance, and knowledge in the far future. From human augmentation to synthetic minds, from corporate games to the nature of personhood, the stories we tell about artificial intelligence reveal how we value creativity, change, and each other.
WHO
So far, the authors on the panel are Ada Hoffman and Glynn Stewart.
Ada Hoffmann is the author of the OUTSIDE space opera trilogy, as well as dozens of speculative short stories and poems. Ada’s work has been a finalist for the Philip K. Dick Award, the Compton Crook Award, and the WSFA Small Press Award, among others. They are also the author of the Autistic Book Party review series, devoted to in-depth #ownvoices discussions of autism representation in speculative fiction. Ada is an adjunct professor of computer science, as well as a former semi-professional soprano, tabletop gaming enthusiast, and LARPer. They live in eastern Ontario.
Glynn Stewart is an ex-accountant best known for Starship's Mage, a bestselling science fiction and fantasy series where faster-than-light-travel is possible, but only because of magic. His latest series, House Adamant, is an epic space opera where royal families, interstellar megacorps, and synthetic intelligences collide in a ruthless game between secret enemies and true friends. Writing managed to liberate Glynn from a bleak future as an accountant, and today he is the author of over 70 books, writing in over a dozen of his original universes. He lives in Calgary, Alberta with his partner, their cats, and an unstoppable writing habit. After over a decade of running tabletop games, he also has a dice collection that has to be seen to be believed.
WHEN & WHERE
The online Q&A will most likely take place Monday or Wednesday evening. We'll announce the time once we've confirmed with one more author. Update: The panel is scheduled for Wednesday, September 25 at 6pm MT (8pm Eastern/5pm Pacific).
We'll post a link here on Patreon, on Facebook, and on the Glynn Stewart mailing list.
Happy Reading,
Jack and Glynn
Comments
Paul Zagieboylo
How would the first AGIs secure sentient rights for themselves? Would you expect them to be more or less successful in this pursuit than discriminated human populations have historically been? Does the answer change if the early AGIs are created as part of a secret military project (which seems extremely likely)? Does the answer change if the AGIs are willing to behave in ways humans consider unethical, or in ways discouraged even by their fellow AGIs? You touched on this in The Old Guard, but it's a question that various writers have taken in many different directions.
Cy Henningsen
Would the people involved every realize if an AI was the cause of an interstellar conflict? A true AI could be the most subtle of influencer, perhaps even over generations
Nameri Verdstela
I did spot the Vimes Pratchett reference. And the Toto Africa lyric you snuck in there too. 😂
Maxime de Hennin
What would a society that used AI to define the right level of dissent/social discord look like? Ie using AI to define the level of antisocial behaviour that should accepted to help a society grow and challenge itself
