Science Fiction and Philosophy

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Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
ISBN 13 : 1444327909
Total Pages : 361 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (443 download)

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Book Synopsis Science Fiction and Philosophy by : Susan Schneider

Download or read book Science Fiction and Philosophy written by Susan Schneider and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2010-06-03 with total page 361 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A timely volume that uses science fiction as a springboard to meaningful philosophical discussions, especially at points of contact between science fiction and new scientific developments. Raises questions and examines timely themes concerning the nature of the mind, time travel, artificial intelligence, neural enhancement, free will, the nature of persons, transhumanism, virtual reality, and neuroethics Draws on a broad range of books, films and television series, including The Matrix, Star Trek, Blade Runner, Frankenstein, Brave New World, The Time Machine, and Back to the Future Considers the classic philosophical puzzles that appeal to the general reader, while also exploring new topics of interest to the more seasoned academic

The Philosophy of Science Fiction Film

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Publisher : University Press of Kentucky
ISBN 13 : 0813172810
Total Pages : 241 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (131 download)

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Book Synopsis The Philosophy of Science Fiction Film by : Steven Sanders

Download or read book The Philosophy of Science Fiction Film written by Steven Sanders and published by University Press of Kentucky. This book was released on 2007-12-14 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The science fiction genre maintains a remarkable hold on the imagination and enthusiasm of the filmgoing public, captivating large audiences worldwide and garnering ever-larger profits. Science fiction films entertain the possibility of time travel and extraterrestrial visitation and imaginatively transport us to worlds transformed by modern science and technology. They also provide a medium through which questions about personal identity, moral agency, artificial consciousness, and other categories of experience can be addressed. In The Philosophy of Science Fiction Film, distinguished authors explore the storylines, conflicts, and themes of fifteen science fiction film classics, from Metropolis to The Matrix. Editor Steven M. Sanders and a group of outstanding scholars in philosophy, film studies, and other fields raise science fiction film criticism to a new level by penetrating the surface of the films to expose the underlying philosophical arguments, ethical perspectives, and metaphysical views. Sanders's introduction presents an overview and evaluation of each essay and poses questions for readers to consider as they think about the films under discussion.The first section, "Enigmas of Identity and Agency," deals with the nature of humanity as it is portrayed in Blade Runner, Dark City, Frankenstein, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and Total Recall. In the second section, "Extraterrestrial Visitation, Time Travel, and Artificial Intelligence," contributors discuss 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Terminator, 12 Monkeys, and The Day the Earth Stood Still and analyze the challenges of artificial intelligence, the paradoxes of time travel, and the ethics of war. The final section, "Brave Newer World: Science Fiction Futurism," looks at visions of the future in Metropolis, The Matrix, Alphaville, and screen adaptations of George Orwell's 1984.

Philosophy through Science Fiction Stories

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Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN 13 : 135008123X
Total Pages : 264 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (5 download)

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Book Synopsis Philosophy through Science Fiction Stories by : Helen De Cruz

Download or read book Philosophy through Science Fiction Stories written by Helen De Cruz and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2021-01-28 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bringing together short stories by award-winning contemporary science fiction authors and philosophers, this book covers a wide range of philosophical ideas from ethics, philosophy of religion, political philosophy, and metaphysics. Alongside the introductory pieces by the editors that help readers to understand how philosophy can be done through science fiction, you will find end-of-story notes written by the authors that contextualize their stories within broader philosophical themes. Organised thematically, these stories address fundamental philosophical questions such as: *What does it mean to be human? *Is neural enhancement a good thing? *What makes a life worthwhile? *What political systems are best? By making complex ideas easily accessible, this unique book allows you to engage with philosophical ideas in entertaining new ways, and is an ideal entry point for anyone interested in using fiction to better understand philosophy.

The Darkness That Comes Before

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Publisher : Abrams
ISBN 13 : 1590203852
Total Pages : 531 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (92 download)

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Book Synopsis The Darkness That Comes Before by : R. Scott Bakker

Download or read book The Darkness That Comes Before written by R. Scott Bakker and published by Abrams. This book was released on 2008-09-02 with total page 531 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A mysterious traveler intervenes in an epic holy war in this “impressive, challenging debut” of the critically acclaimed fantasy epic (Publishers Weekly, starred review). The first book in R. Scott Bakker's Prince of Nothing series introduces readers to a strikingly original and engrossingly vivid new world. With its language and classes of people, its cities, religions, mysteries, taboos, and rituals, The Darkness That Comes Before has drawn comparison to J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings and Frank Herbert’s Dune. Bakker’s Eärwa is a world scarred by an apocalyptic past, evoking a time both two thousand years past and two thousand years into the future. As untold thousands gather for a crusade, two men and two women are ensnared by a mysterious traveler, Anasûrimbor Kellhus—part warrior, part philosopher, part sorcerous, charismatic presence—from lands long thought dead. The Darkness That Comes Before is a history of this great holy war, and like all histories, the survivors write its conclusion.

Philosophy and Science Fiction

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Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 408 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (319 download)

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Book Synopsis Philosophy and Science Fiction by : Michael Philips

Download or read book Philosophy and Science Fiction written by Michael Philips and published by . This book was released on 1984 with total page 408 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This accessible and provocative collection of science fiction acquaints readers with cutting-edge gender controversies in moral and political philosophy. By imagining future worlds that defy our most basic assumptions about sex and gender, freedom and equality, and ethical values, the anthology’s authors not only challenge traditional standards of morality and justice, but create bold experiments for testing feminist hypotheses. Selections are grouped under four main themes. Part 1, "Human Nature and Reality," concentrates on whether there is an intrinsic difference between males and females. Here the authors inspect opposing views on five related questions: What does it mean to be human? What are women and men really like? How significant is the reproductive difference? How do we define the concepts of "woman" and "nature"? Why is language important? Part 2, "Dystopias: The Worst of All Possible Worlds," first portrays misogynistic societies uncomfortably familiar to the early 21st-century reader. Chilling stories of future possibilities follow, including worlds where women and men separate into armies to fight a literal war of the sexes. Part 3, "Separatist Utopias: Worlds of Difference," assembles stories that scrutinize both the virtues and vices of separatism, in order to address the questions Why should women want to separate from men? and What would and should these all-female worlds be like? In Part 4, "Androgynous Utopias: Worlds of Equality," the authors create intriguing worlds that anticipate the consequences, good and bad, of perfect sexual equality in education, intelligence, capability, and reproduction. With selections from such noted writers as Octavia Butler, Marion Zimmer Bradley, James Tiptree Jr., and many others, plus chapter introductions, discussion questions, and recommended reading list, this stimulating collection offers fresh insights on troubling issues by weaving controversial utopian and dystopian designs from the separate threads of opposing positions.

Consciousness and Science Fiction

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Publisher : Springer
ISBN 13 : 3030005992
Total Pages : 212 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (3 download)

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Book Synopsis Consciousness and Science Fiction by : Damien Broderick

Download or read book Consciousness and Science Fiction written by Damien Broderick and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-11-30 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Science fiction explores the wonderful, baffling and wildly entertaining aspects of a universe unimaginably old and vast, and with a future even more immense. It reaches into that endless cosmos with the tools of rational investigation and storytelling. At the core of both science and science fiction is the engaged human mind--a consciousness that sees and feels and thinks and loves. But what is this mind, this aware and self-aware consciousness that seems unlike anything else we experience? What makes consciousness the Hard Problem of philosophy, still unsolved after millennia of probing? This book looks into the heart of this mystery - at the science and philosophy of consciousness and at many inspiring fictional examples - and finds strange, challenging answers. The book's content and entertaining style will appeal equally to science fiction enthusiasts and scholars, including cognitive and neuroscientists, as well as philosophers of mind. It is a refreshing romp through the science and science fiction of consciousness.

Philosophers Look at Science Fiction

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Author :
Publisher : Burnham, Incorporated
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 224 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (91 download)

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Book Synopsis Philosophers Look at Science Fiction by : Nicholas D. Smith

Download or read book Philosophers Look at Science Fiction written by Nicholas D. Smith and published by Burnham, Incorporated. This book was released on 1982 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

The Philosopher at the End of the Universe

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Publisher : Macmillan
ISBN 13 : 9780312322342
Total Pages : 300 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (223 download)

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Book Synopsis The Philosopher at the End of the Universe by : Mark Rowlands

Download or read book The Philosopher at the End of the Universe written by Mark Rowlands and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2004-08 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This provocative, thought-provoking and thoroughly entertaining guide explains the basics of philosophy as seen through today's blockbuster science fiction movies.

Black Mirror and Philosophy

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Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
ISBN 13 : 1119578264
Total Pages : 403 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (195 download)

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Book Synopsis Black Mirror and Philosophy by : David Kyle Johnson

Download or read book Black Mirror and Philosophy written by David Kyle Johnson and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2019-11-26 with total page 403 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A philosophical look at the twisted, high-tech near-future of the sci-fi anthology series Black Mirror, offering a glimpse of the darkest reflections of the human condition in digital technology Black Mirror―the Emmy-winning Netflix series that holds up a dark, digital mirror of speculative technologies to modern society—shows us a high-tech world where it is all too easy to fall victim to ever-evolving forms of social control.In Black Mirror and Philosophy, original essays written by a diverse group of scholars invite you to peer into the void and explore the philosophical, ethical, and existential dimensions of Charlie Brooker’s sinister stories. The collection reflects Black Mirror’s anthology structure by pairing a chapter with every episode in the show’s five seasons—including an interactive, choose-your-own-adventure analysis of Bandersnatch—and concludes with general essays that explore the series’ broader themes. Chapters address questions about artificial intelligence, virtual reality, surveillance, privacy, love, death, criminal behavior, and politics, including: Have we given social media too much power over our lives? Could heaven really, one day, be a place on Earth? Should criminal justice and punishment be crowdsourced? What rights should a “cookie” have? Immersive, engaging, and experimental, Black Mirror and Philosophy navigates the intellectual landscape of Brooker’s morality plays for the modern world, where humanity’s greatest innovations and darkest instincts collide.

Science Fiction and Political Philosophy

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Publisher : Lexington Books
ISBN 13 : 1498586449
Total Pages : 251 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (985 download)

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Book Synopsis Science Fiction and Political Philosophy by : Timothy McCranor

Download or read book Science Fiction and Political Philosophy written by Timothy McCranor and published by Lexington Books. This book was released on 2020-02-14 with total page 251 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sometimes called the “literature of ideas,” science fiction is a natural medium for normative political philosophy. Science fiction’s focus on technology, space and time travel, non-human lifeforms, and parallel universes cannot help but invoke the perennial questions of political life, including the nature of a just social order and who should rule; freedom, free will, and autonomy; and the advantages and disadvantages of progress. Rather than offering a reading of a work inspired by a particular thinker or tradition, each chapter presents a careful reading of a classic or contemporary work in the genre (a novel, short story, film, or television series) to illustrate and explore the themes and concepts of political philosophy.

Stanislaw Lem

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Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 1781381860
Total Pages : 216 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (813 download)

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Book Synopsis Stanislaw Lem by : Peter Swirski

Download or read book Stanislaw Lem written by Peter Swirski and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2015 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Stanislaw Lem: Philosopher of the Future brings a welter of unknown elements of Lem's life, career, and literary legacy to light in order to mete out cognitive justice to the writer who preferred to be known as the philosopher of the future.

Philosophy in an Age of Science

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Publisher : Harvard University Press
ISBN 13 : 0674050134
Total Pages : 672 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (74 download)

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Book Synopsis Philosophy in an Age of Science by : Hilary Putnam

Download or read book Philosophy in an Age of Science written by Hilary Putnam and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2012-04-17 with total page 672 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Hilary Putnam's unceasing self-criticism has led to the frequent changes of mind he is famous for, but his thinking is also marked by considerable continuity. A simultaneous interest in science and ethicsÑunusual in the current climate of contentionÑhas long characterized his thought. In Philosophy in an Age of Science, Putnam collects his papers for publicationÑhis first volume in almost two decades. Mario De Caro and David Macarthur's introduction identifies central themes to help the reader negotiate between Putnam past and Putnam present: his critique of logical positivism; his enduring aspiration to be realist about rational normativity; his anti-essentialism about a range of central philosophical notions; his reconciliation of the scientific worldview and the humanistic tradition; and his movement from reductive scientific naturalism to liberal naturalism. Putnam returns here to some of his first enthusiasms in philosophy, such as logic, mathematics, and quantum mechanics. The reader is given a glimpse, too, of ideas currently in development on the subject of perception. Putnam's work, contributing to a broad range of philosophical inquiry, has been said to represent a Òhistory of recent philosophy in outline.Ó Here it also delineates a possible future.

The Little Book of Philosophy

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Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 1632281341
Total Pages : 127 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (322 download)

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Book Synopsis The Little Book of Philosophy by : Rachel Poulton

Download or read book The Little Book of Philosophy written by Rachel Poulton and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2021-10-05 with total page 127 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: If you want to know your Socrates from your Sartre and your Confucius from your Kant, strap in for this whirlwind tour of the highlights of philosophy. Including accessible primers on: The early Ancient Greek philosophers and the ‘big three’: Socrates, Plato and Aristotle Key schools of philosophy and their impact on modern life Insights into the main questions philosophers have explored over the years: Who am I? What is the meaning of life? Do I have free will? Practical applications for the theories of Descartes, Kant, Wollstonecraft, Marx, Nietzsche and many more. This illuminating little book will introduce you to the key thinkers, themes and theories you need to know to understand how human ideas have sculpted the world we live in and the way we think today.

How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe (Enhanced Edition)

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Publisher : Knopf
ISBN 13 : 0307379884
Total Pages : 257 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (73 download)

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Book Synopsis How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe (Enhanced Edition) by : Charles Yu

Download or read book How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe (Enhanced Edition) written by Charles Yu and published by Knopf. This book was released on 2010-09-07 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This enhanced eBook includes video, audio, photographic, and linked content, as well as a bonus short story. Hear TAMMY talk. Learn the origins of Minor Universe 31. See the TM-31. Take a trip in it. Photos and illustrations appear as hyperlinked endnotes. Video and audio are embedded directly in text. *Video and audio may not play on all readers. Check your user manual for details. National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 Award winner Charles Yu delivers his debut novel, a razor-sharp, ridiculously funny, and utterly touching story of a son searching for his father . . . through quantum space–time. Minor Universe 31 is a vast story-space on the outskirts of fiction, where paradox fluctuates like the stock market, lonely sexbots beckon failed protagonists, and time travel is serious business. Every day, people get into time machines and try to do the one thing they should never do: change the past. That’s where Charles Yu, time travel technician—part counselor, part gadget repair man—steps in. He helps save people from themselves. Literally. When he’s not taking client calls or consoling his boss, Phil, who could really use an upgrade, Yu visits his mother (stuck in a one-hour cycle of time, she makes dinner over and over and over) and searches for his father, who invented time travel and then vanished. Accompanied by TAMMY, an operating system with low self-esteem, and Ed, a nonexistent but ontologically valid dog, Yu sets out, and back, and beyond, in order to find the one day where he and his father can meet in memory. He learns that the key may be found in a book he got from his future self. It’s called How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe, and he’s the author. And somewhere inside it is the information that could help him—in fact it may even save his life. Wildly new and adventurous, Yu’s debut is certain to send shock waves of wonder through literary space–time.

The Expanse and Philosophy

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Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
ISBN 13 : 1119755603
Total Pages : 263 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (197 download)

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Book Synopsis The Expanse and Philosophy by : Jeffery L. Nicholas

Download or read book The Expanse and Philosophy written by Jeffery L. Nicholas and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2021-11-16 with total page 263 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Enter The Expanse to explore questions of the meaning of human life, the concept of justice, and the nature of humanity, featuring a foreword from author James S.A. Corey The Expanse and Philosophy investigates the philosophical universe of the critically acclaimed television show and Hugo Award-winning series of novels. Original essays by a diverse international panel of experts illuminate how essential philosophical concepts relate to the meticulously crafted world of The Expanse, engaging with topics such as transhumanism, belief, culture, environmental ethics, identity, colonialism, diaspora, racism, reality, and rhetoric. Conceiving a near-future solar system colonized by humanity, The Expanse provokes a multitude of moral, ethical, and philosophical queries: Are Martians, Outer Planets inhabitants, and Earthers different races? Is Marco Inaros a terrorist? Can people who look and sound different, like Earthers and Belters, ever peacefully co-exist? Should science be subject to moral rules? Who is sovereign in space? What is the relationship between human progress and aggression? The Expanse and Philosophy helps you answer these questions—and many more. Covers the first six novels in The Expanse series and five seasons of the television adaptation Addresses the philosophical issues that emerge from socio-economics and geopolitics of Earth, Mars, and the Outer Planets Alliance Offers fresh perspectives on the themes, characters, and storylines of The Expanse Explores the connections between The Expanse and thinkers such as Aristotle, Kant, Locke, Hannah Arendt, Wittgenstein, Descartes, and Nietzsche Part of the popular Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture series, The Expanse and Philosophy is a must-have companion for avid readers of James S.A. Corey’s novels and devotees of the television series alike.

The Book of Dead Philosophers

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Publisher : Melbourne Univ. Publishing
ISBN 13 : 0522855148
Total Pages : 336 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (228 download)

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Book Synopsis The Book of Dead Philosophers by : Simon Critchley

Download or read book The Book of Dead Philosophers written by Simon Critchley and published by Melbourne Univ. Publishing. This book was released on 2008 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Diogenes died by holding his breath. Plato allegedly died of a lice infestation. Diderot choked to death on an apricot. Nietzsche made a long, soft-brained and dribbling descent into oblivion after kissing a horse in Turin. From the self-mocking haikus of Zen masters on their deathbeds to the last words (gasps) of modern-day sages, The Book of Dead Philosophers chronicles the deaths of almost 200 philosophers-tales of weirdness, madness, suicide, murder, pathos and bad luck. In this elegant and amusing book, Simon Critchley argues that the question of what constitutes a 'good death' has been the central preoccupation of philosophy since ancient times. As he brilliantly demonstrates, looking at what the great thinkers have said about death inspires a life-affirming enquiry into the meaning and possibility of human happiness. In learning how to die, we learn how to live.

Pandora's Brain

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Publisher : Three CS
ISBN 13 : 9780993211607
Total Pages : 412 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (116 download)

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Book Synopsis Pandora's Brain by : Chace Calum

Download or read book Pandora's Brain written by Chace Calum and published by Three CS. This book was released on 2015-03-14 with total page 412 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Pandora's Brain Description Around half the scientists researching artificial intelligence (AI) think that a conscious machine with cognitive abilities at or beyond human level will be created by 2050. If they are right, the consequence could be an intelligence explosion, in which the AI rapidly and enormously exceeds human competence. Pandora's Brain is a science thriller by best-selling writer Calum Chace. It uses the issues raised by the possible coming machine intelligence explosion as a platform for a fast-paced and thought-provoking adventure story. The story is set in the very near future, and features Matt, a shy but engaging and resourceful student who discovers that his recently-deceased father was involved in research that could enable the construction of the world's first conscious machine. Matt's enquiries lead to him being kidnapped, as he is caught in the crossfire between two groups pursuing that goal - one led by a Russian billionaire, and another backed by the US military. Matt has to do more than simply survive: he has to harness these powerful forces to his own ends. At stake is his own life and those of his family and friends. A dramatic seaborne rescue operation, a series of brutal murders and other filmic action scenes follow. In the course of his adventures, Matt discovers that the potential upside of creating machine intelligence includes immortality, and godlike powers of understanding and being - but the potential downside is immediate extinction, or worse. As he is drawn deeper into his adventure, he becomes both the symbol and the victim of a global struggle over the approach to be taken towards this powerful new technology. A landmark decision at a meeting of the UN General Assembly forces Matt to make a fateful decision which sparks the story's final twist. Selected reviews for Pandora's Brain: I love the concepts in this book! Peter James, author of the best-selling Roy Grace series Awesome! Count me as a fan. Brad Feld, co-founder of Techstars Pandora s Brain is a captivating tale of developments in artificial intelligence that could, conceivably, be just around the corner. Mainly set in the present day, the plot unfolds in an environment that seems reassuringly familiar, but which is overshadowed by a combination of both menace and promise. Carefully crafted, and absorbing from its very start, the book held my rapt attention throughout a series of surprise twists, as various personalities react in different ways to a growing awareness of that menace and promise. David Wood, Chairman of London Futurists I was eagerly anticipating a fiction adventure book on precisely this topic! Very well done, Calum Chace. A timely, suspenseful, and balanced portrayal of AI and the most important decisions humanity will make in the near future. Hank Pellissier, producer of the Transhuman Visions conferences Pandora s Brain is a tour de force that neatly explains the key concepts behind the likely future of artificial intelligence in the context of a thriller novel. Ambitious and well executed, it will appeal to a broad range of readers. In the same way that Suarez s Daemon and Naam s Nexus leaped onto the scene, redefining what it meant to write about technology, Pandora s Brain will do the same for artificial intelligence. "Mind uploading? Check. Human equivalent AI? Check. Hard takeoff singularity? Check. Strap in, this is one heck of a ride. William Hertling, author of the Singularity series of novels "