“What makes something sentient? What does it take for an entity to be aware of its own existence and to want to interact with the world of its own accord? Is it a gift from God or hard science? Is it something fundamentally human or animal in nature or is it a simple technological principle based on brain size? There are many models, of course. But, if consciousness is simply a natural product of neural complexity then eventually, in theory, we might build something – a computer or a machine – that was actually big enough to wake up!
Oh, wait …!”
.. So reads the intriguing overview of Conscious, a new 125,000-word science fiction work from Vic Grout, Professor of Computing Futures at Wrexham Glyndwr University in Wales. The novel is loosely based on Vic’s own futurology research and he hopes that it will provide a vehicle for discussing some big technology questions in an accessible form. The idea is to present a fictional scenario that draws on very real science and sociology. Emerging issues appearing in the book include artificial intelligence, transhumanism, the technological singularity, increasing automation, the Internet of Things, ‘big data’, technology ethics and the future world of ‘technocapitalism’.
Available from: http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/vicgrout
Continuing the summary ... Vic Grout’s Conscious is set a year or three into the future. The ‘Internet of Everything’ is making the world a more connected place than ever before. People’s lives are becoming increasingly automated. But something odd is happening … ‘Things’ are beginning to misbehave and no-one can work out why. What starts as an amusing inconvenience quickly becomes very serious indeed!
A ragged bunch of academics, scientists and philosophers are on the case – and may know the answer. But now they have to convince people that their crazy explanation is true. And that’s only the start. Against a backdrop of a world suddenly beginning to fall apart, they’re in a race against time to get someone to do anything about it. And not everyone is on their side!
Having at last seen the book published, Professor Grout said, “This has been something I’ve wanted to do for several years, but the time just seemed right now. We’re heading into such interesting - maybe even unsettling - times. The coming together of increasingly sophisticated AI, a growing robot workforce, the Internet of Things and big data is leading to an uncertain future; one in which the really big questions may be as much social, political, legal demographic and moral as they are technological. I’m hoping that the book contributes to this discussion because it’s a discussion we really should be having - but I don’t think we are yet. And I’d like to think it’s a fun read as well of course!
Vic Gout is Professor of Computing Futures at Wrexham Glyndŵr University in Wales. He is a professional ‘futurist’ with a particular interest in the social, political, ethical and moral dimensions of technological evolution. Having held senior positions in academia and industry for nearly 30 years, and published over 300 research papers and books on the Internet, Conscious is his first fictional novel.
Vic Grout’s Conscious is now available in paperback from HERE and as an e-book (Kindle, Nook, Apple, Kobo, etc.) HERE