Author Q&A
Hidden Hand
It was the advent of a permanent era of “you don’t know what you don’t know.” From this day on, there would be another kind of “hidden hand” in human events. And you would never know when the hand was or was not present. And even if you could know when the hand was present, the likelihood was that you would never know whose hand it was, or even if there was a who. And even if there was a who and the who could be identified and dealt with, there was an almost certain probability that another who would rise in its place. (Book of Life)
AUTHOR Q & A
Why do you write?
A fascination with the structure, function, and power of language.
Why the name Book of Life?
It references a book in the apocalyptic imagery of the book of Revelation in the Bible. The book is titled Book of Life. It is described as a record of all the things that every person has ever done. This parallels the ever expanding record of human interactions stored on digital media.
Who is Doran Nastov, the protagonist of Book of Life?
In his youth he was a child prodigy and Slovakian adoptee of a midwestern evangelical Christian family. He embraced their faith and acquired a fascination with biblical passages depicting apocalyptic judgment. However, as he grew up he developed an unresolved doubt that consumed his mental and emotional stability. In many ways his life journey parallels the advent of a post-modern society in which the world transitions from a collection of faith-based societies to an increasingly globally connected nihilistic and amoral society.
Is Doran Nastov meant to represent Elon Musk?
No. But both reveal an ominous and disturbing phenomenon. Many people are okay with someone perceived as having a tremendous influence over social media as long as they perceive them to be on their side of the political spectrum. Each side of the spectrum loved Elon Musk when they thought he was on their side, and hated him when they thought he was not. It parallels the discussion over free speech. Some people truly support free speech while others only support the concept when they like what they are hearing.
What are your concerns about AI?
I have several concerns. My main concern at present is the way programmers can manipulate search engines and clickbait to manipulate the information people glean from social media. The question is are we able to navigate such manipulation even when we know it exists.
I also agree with those who argue that if there is another world war it will be fought with or over AI. And of course there is the potential for unintended consequences. Science-fiction has offered countless scenarios.
Is Book of Life a “the machines take over” scenario?
Yes. To me, Book of Life is the most plausible way that “the machines take over.” But, it’s not based around a futuristic or “sci-fi” scenario. The technology depicted in my novel has existed for some time.
An equally significant question is if AI does “take over” will we know it when it happens? Without giving away the ending, even the principal figures in Book Of Life don’t know AI has taken over until after it’s happened.
If there is a potential for the machines to take over, the question is how? There are technical aspects of the answer but there are also moral and philosophical aspects, especially when the machines take over through unintended consequence. Remember that AI is a projection of the intent and values of the programmer. If the programmer is a product of the modern zeitgeist the AI will be founded in narcissism, nihilism, and necessity.
There is narcissism in the desire to be an influencer. Nihilism is evident in the abandonment of traditional moral foundations such as religion. Necessity is frequently used to defend a political initiative as being necessary to save our society.
Beyond being a political AI drama, Book of Life explores what happens when the values of the programmer are narcissism, nihilism and necessity.
Cryptocurrency is a subtheme in your book. How would you explain cryptocurrency and its potential future use?
Think of cryptocurrency as a stock that you could easily convert your cash into and use in place of traditional currency. It’s already easy to convert your money into cryptocurrency online. But imagine if you could also use your cryptocurrency in place of traditional currency through a phone app or a crypto-credit card.
You might ask why you would do this. It’s because the real attraction of cryptocurrency is that the right cryptocurrency, like the right stock, tends to hold or increase its value, unlike all traditional currency which begins to lose value the moment it’s obtained.
Of course, there are concerns. There’s a danger that just as with a stock, cryptocurrency can lose value. Also, there’s the potential for whoever controls the value of the cryptocurrency to manipulate its value by selling it more or less cheaply or by creating additional units of the cryptocurrency. Moreover, if the cryptocurrency becomes a prominent medium of transaction, the person who controlled the value of the cryptocurrency has a tremendous power over our economy. Yes, all these concerns about cryptocurrency also apply to traditional currency, and ironically, that’s also one of the main selling points for cryptocurrency.
In my book, Nastov has developed a cryptocurrency that has gained widespread confidence and which is rapidly replacing traditional currencies like the dollar.