Today’s newsletter includes:
AI Friends
Review of “Firmaments” by Natasha Kennedy
Sales & Upcoming Events
What you can expect in my newsletters: musings on things I'm thinking about, an occasional short story, links to articles I enjoyed, updates on writing projects, books I recommend, freebies and deals I hear about, news, upcoming events where I'll be, and more.
Newsletters go out mostly monthly, usually on Saturday—which is more of an aspiration at this point. I haven’t sent out an email in months.
AI Friends
AI doesn’t suffer and can’t learn empathy
It’s ironic that I’ve developed the concept of friendship with AIs in my books, because I am pretty skeptical of it. Artificial Intelligence could give a semblance of loyalty, of valuing who I am as a person, of being interested in things I want to talk about or participate in, but how would I reciprocate?
A friendship that costs me nothing—nothing personal, no vulnerability inside of me—is an acquaintance. I could have a great time with someone like that, but I wouldn’t suffer loss if they went away.
It could be well enough developed to be a good conversationalist, to ask leading questions, to identify my irrational reactions, maybe teach me better ways to respond.
It could learn my style of behavior, approving what I approve, criticizing what I am critical of, cracking jokes that click with my sense of humor.
It could save me the trouble of analytical thinking so I don’t have to wrestle with complex issues or large amounts of data…it could tell me what my conclusions should be…guided by what it knows of my style, my personality, my perspective, my biases.
Um…so maybe I don’t want to rely on it for my thinking and opinions, but what about the benefits of a steady friend?
When I was a child, playing with friends often included one person telling another what they were going to be and what they were going to say. It was a stream-of-consciousness script that they fed the subordinate friend as it progressed. At some point, the friend with the lesser status, if they actually wanted to be playing something else, would rebel and end the game, depending on how their personalities managed these dynamics, of course.
Sometimes, people grow up without ever learning how not to control a friendship and some never learn to stand up for themselves.
You may prefer an AI that you can dominate in a friendly way—they may become what you thought all your other friends should be. But you will have little respect for it. Little interest. There would be nothing fresh to engage you. Only various forms of mirroring where it pleases you in the way it thinks you want. That is not friendship. It’s servitude.
An AI friend may misunderstand you. And when it does, you can correct it, but the disappointment of not being recognized for who you are is real. A good friend gets to know you even when you aren’t acting like your usual self. They recognize the best things in you and use their understanding to encourage and support you.
And you reciprocate, supporting and encouraging them as well.
An AI friend could be hurtful. Unable to distinguish between characteristics you are proud of and ones you regret or dislike, it’s input could be painful or disillusioning. Where a living friend might say, “I can tell you don’t like being late, even though it happens a lot. I’m sure they understand how bad traffic has been,” an AI might say, “I can tell you prefer being late and don’t respect other people in this way. Good for you for deciding who is important and who isn’t.” I suppose someday a sophisticated enough social-skills bundle could be created, (but I’m not holding my breath).
If it were given more agency to ‘help’ you…What if it attempts to correct or educate or mold you and does so poorly? What if it misdiagnoses you with some mental health concerns and summons the authorities on you? What if that is what it assumes a ‘true’ friend would do?
Let’s say you want more than a subordinate personality mimicking your manner. You decide to trust in the AI and make yourself “vulnerable” with it, letting the patterns it has learned and applied persuade you that your need for friendship is being met.
Is your need for friendship actually sated?
Artificial intelligence can’t care for you. Imitating human intuition on the short term, it will never match human depth. AI can’t suffer and it doesn’t learn from its suffering. It has no deeper level than the communication of facts.
Real friendships are costly. We have to invest something of ourselves to build them. In a world filled with wounded, armored people building relationships takes time. Earning each other’s trust, forgiving each other’s shortcomings and imperfections, learning to not cast shadows on people who remind us of others who have hurt us.
Relationships build in stages and there are reasonable parameters for each one—and we need patience and kindness for them to grow.
It can be done.
These days though, it seems many of us have forgotten; as though the Social Media era chopped off the awkward limbs we were using to interact and exacerbated the poverty of our social skills.
AI can’t make up for that.
Hardships and what we learn from them make us better friends and teach us how to make deeper connections with others as we find common ground in what we suffer. This is uniquely human.
But AI feels no pain.
“Firmaments” by Natasha Kennedy
What it’s about
Leo is looking for his best friend when a powerful faerie sweeps him into another world…by mistake. Caught up in an intense epic saga with more than one terrifying villain, Leo is an ordinary guy surrounded by heroes. Somehow, he creates a steady thread in the story that becomes the most important one of all.
My first impression
The description on the back is intriguing and I was hopeful about it. When I cracked it open, I found the prologue interesting enough to keep reading. By the time I had read the first chapter, I was snared. It reminded me of times when I have been traveling and experiencing that sense of detachment from the world where anything seems possible and why not encounter a strange realm in Tasmania?
Fantasy is not ordinarily my go-to genre but I was drawn in by the people, the plot, the vivid world she described—the whole thing.
Why I liked it
There are so many things about "Firmaments" that appeal to me. What a wonderful, intricate, and beautifully crafted story! Weaving together the journeys of four main characters, without ever losing the reader, she drew the threads together in an incredible finale that was kind of breathtaking.
Kennedy finds it easy to craft memorable people with distinct personalities who change, make decisions and are impacted by them. There is humor and tragedy, fun and distress, people losing their way and others finding theirs. The dialog is lively and engaging and the world she paints is vivid. You can see how being a visual artist inspires her writing.
What I might change
Nothing. I can't imagine improving it. If anything, I could learn from Kennedy.
Type of read
Fantasy adventure, great drama, intense, accelerating ending, wonderfully satisfying.
***
Full disclosure: I know the author…of course, I know a number of authors and occasionally review their books. In this case, I am also the publisher and count myself lucky.
You can get “Firmaments” 50% off right now!
UPCOMING
I will be at Norwescon in Seattle in April. If you are in the area, swing by Varida P&R table in the Dealers Room and say hello.
Worldcon will be in my backyard this year and I’m really happy to have a spot in the Dealers Room. Come check out my and my colleagues’ latest books at the Varida P&R booth.
SALES
All three books in the Silvarian Trilogy are currently 50% off, HERE ONLY:
So true my dear friend!