Sci-Fi

Are you interested in AI? Do you enjoy science fiction? Do you have an opinion about how AI will impact the human species? Are you enthusiastic about it or worried about it? Or do you think you know the answer? Dave Jilk (my first business partner and one of my closest friends) recently published EPOCH: A Poetic Psy-Phi Saga . When Dave described the idea for the book he was working on during a long hike four years ago up and around Green Mountain in Boulder, I was fascinated with what he had decided to take on. AI wasn’t front of mind in the same way as today, but Dave had been doing research in that arena for around a decade. When we talked about AI, our discussions usually revolved around aspects of AGI. I was mainly in listening and questioning mode since Dave’s knowledge and thoughts quickly went beyond my understanding of – well – all of it. ...

I’m a fan of David Walton and his near-term sci-fi books. In 2015, I read a few of his books, wrote a post titled Awesome Near Term Sci-Fi – David Walton , and promptly forgot about him. Eleven days ago, I got the following email from David. Mr. Feld: Since you’ve enjoyed my books in the past (e.g. Superposition), I’m letting you know I have a new one out. No worries if you’re not interested; just letting you know. Hope all is well with you and yours. ...

I’ve been reading hard science fiction lately, along with some actual science. The hard sci-fi includes Dragon’s Egg and Starquake by Robert Forward (wow – awesome) and Nova by Samuel Delany (also awesome). The science includes The God Equation: The Quest for a Theory of Everything by Michio Kaku and Fundamentals: Ten Keys to Reality by Frank Wilczek. In between runs this weekend I finished Nova (I was listening to it on Audible), Fundamentals (I was reading it on Kindle), and read most of Starquake (It’s only available in physical form.) I also started listening to Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. The only thing that would have made this weekend better would be a third day to it, instead of the Monday in front of me. ...

If you are looking for a great book to read this weekend, I recommend Ian McEwan’s Machines Like Me . I read it last weekend and am still thinking about it. McEwan is a magnificent writer. When the hardcover ended up on top of my infinite pile of books to read, Amy said, “Wow, you’ll love Ian McEwan’s writing.” Whenever Amy says something like that, I know I’m in for a treat. ...

If you – like me – love science fiction, I encourage you to support the new sci-fi magazine Compelling Science Fiction . The editor, Joe Stech, lives in the Boulder area and has been actively involved in the Boulder/Denver startup community. He’s using Patreon as a funding model, which I’m a big fan of for new and indie writers.

An annoying thing about Twitter Search is that it’s not good enough to help me find who tweeted at me that Dark Matter by Blake Crouch is something I should read. I scrolled through my @mentions until I was annoyed after trying to search but not being able to figure out how to scope the search so I could only search @mentions = bfeld (or maybe my problem is that it should be @mentions == @bfeld). ...

If you are a movie producer and you want to actually make an AI movie that helps people really understand one of the paths we could find ourselves going down in the next decade, read vN: The First Machine Dynasty by Madeline Ashby . I’ve read a lot of sci-fi in the past few years that involves AI. William Hertling is my favorite writer in this domain right now (Ramez Naam is an extremely close second) although his newest book – Kill Process (which is about to be released) is a departure from AI for him (even though it’s not AI it’s amazing, so you should read it also). ...

I’ve decided to read a bunch of old science fiction as a way to form some more diverse views of the future. I’ve been reading science fiction since I was a kid. I probably started around age ten and was a voracious reader of sci-fi and fantasy in high school. I’ve continued on as an adult, estimating that 25% of what I read is science fiction. My early diet was Asimov, Heinlein, Harrison, Pournelle, Niven, Clarke, Sterling and Donaldson. When I was on sabbatical a few years ago in Bora Bora I read about 40 books including Asimov’s I Robot , which I hadn’t read since I was a teenager. ...

My idea of a really good afternoon on a three day weekend is to lay on the couch and read a book. Other than a nap in the middle of the experience, that’s what I did today. I read the Supersymmetry by David Walton . It’s the sequel to Superposition , which I read earlier this year. They are both excellent near term sci-fi in the action/adventure save the world while learning physics genre. ...

Amy and I saw Ex Machina last night. A steady stream of people have encouraged us to go see it so we made it Sunday night date night. The movie was beautifully shot and intellectually stimulating. But there were many slow segments and a bunch of things that bothered each of us. And, while being lauded as a new and exciting treatment of the topic, if you are a BSG fan I expect you thought of Cylon 6 several times during this movie and felt a little sad for her distant, and much less evolved, cousin Ava. ...