Tag Archives: dystopian

Prodding and poking the possible

Biohacked & Begging is the second volume in the Nudge the Future series. These are collections of (very) short stories that dig around in our possible futures.

Some of the stories come from collaborations with scientists and others have flown around inside my head all alone before making their way out and on to the page.

Most of the collaborations have come through a project with Dr. Christine Aicardi, who is a Senior Research Fellow from King’s College London. Among other things, her project is looking at: “How good can near-future fiction be at provoking ethical and social reflection on emerging science and technology?” Continue reading

Strangers too strange to see

During my visit to the Bristol Robotics Lab I heard about the danger of human shaped robots because we naturally attribute them with human qualities they don’t have.

This got me thinking about artificial intelligence that’s embodied in non-human forms but still shows human type behaviour. After all, it’s coded by humans and learns how to behave from humans.

That was part of the inspiration behind The Mythical Moss.

Over the past few months, a film of me reading this story has been in the exhibition, Only Human: Believing the Strangest Things, Loving the Alien. The exhibition recently ended so I can now share the exhibit with you.

I hope you enjoy the story and it doesn’t cause you to spend too much time wondering about what might be lurking in the nooks and crannies of your life.


photo credit: dreaming_of_rivers Intimidation via photopin (license)

BusinessCloud podcast

Being interviewed is an interesting experience and one I enjoy. Why? Because it makes me see my work through someone else’s eyes and I’m always intrigued to hear what it is about my writing that has sparked their interest.

Answering questions live is also fascinating and makes me think. Hard. You can hear my brain whirring in this podcast as I discuss the inspirations behind Eating Robots and Other Stories with Jonathan Symcox, the Deputy editor of BusinessCloud.

http://www.businesscloud.co.uk/podcasts/eating-robots-and-the-potential-dystopias-of-the-future