Nina Schuyler’s release ‘Afterword’ explores how good technology can be used for bad things.
But the Fairfax author somewhat assumes that role with her riveting “Afterword,” a prescient yet eloquent third novel that’s as topical as tomorrow’s headlines. The literary page-turner prophetically taps into ethical and moral quandaries surging to the fore over the deployment and potential abuse of artificial intelligence.
Now in her 70s and living in San Francisco, Virginia chats with the former lover Haru, whom she’s given a voice but not a body. Since Haru’s active brain never requires sleeps, it stays busy 24/7 devouring information, which leads to his getting acquainted with Chinese dissenters and possibly ratting them out to Chinese officials.
Schuyler purposely steered clear from focusing on fears about misinformation and worries about what is real and what is AI-generated. She wanted to focus mostly on the relationship between Virginia and Haru, both the human version and the AI one. It’s not the usual stuff of science fiction. “That was more in my realm, and thinking positive about it,” she said. “But there are a lot of frightening things about it.”
What also appeals to her about Japan is its aesthetic. “It’s elegant but spare,” she said. “I’m a minimalist.”
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