Jorge Quintanilla tells us about his #LockdownLiterature, “Ancillary Justice” by Anne Leckie.<\/p>\n
“I recently enjoyed reading\u00a0“Ancillary Justice”, by Anne Leckie<\/a>. It is an internationally-bestselling space opera where some of the key characters are planet- and even galaxy-spanning artificial intelligences. The novel was critically acclaimed (it was the first work to win all three of the Nebula, Hugo, and Arthur C. Clark prizes). I personally felt it had the mind-expanding ability of some of the best works in the genre.<\/p>\n I have recently begun using some AI techniques in my work on quantum materials and it was thrilling to read such a richly textured imagining of where that sort of technology might take us in the distant future.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n “The author manages to imbue these strange beings with emotions and even a rich shared culture, constructed from a surprisingly humanistic perspective. I found this very appealing as I am convinced that our own culture suffers from a lack of humanism.<\/p>\n “This conviction crystallised a couple of years ago, during a vacation in Athens. Our own civilisation is based on science and technology, which are the fruits of reason, but sometimes we expect reason to provide what it alone never could – aesthetic pleasure, for instance, or moral values.<\/p>\n “I long for a culture that places human beings – who can think but can also love, feel pain, gossip, and tell what is right from what is wrong – at the centre of everything. Science and technology thrive in such culture, as we discovered in Alxeandria and later on with the Renaissance.<\/p>\n “Leckie’s characters are unbounded minds but at the same time they are also endearingly human – they care for how you should treat a child or what is to dress properly. Science and technology can empower our humanity or suppress it – it’s our choice to make.”<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Have you read this book before, or maybe reading this had piqued your interest? If so, we’d love to know your thoughts on the book in the comments.<\/p>\n And don’t forget to share any reviews of your #LockdownLiterature with spsmarketing<\/a> as part of the #KentBookClub.<\/p>\n Happy reading!<\/p>\n