Early reviews are in for Peter Clarke’s The Singularity Survival Guide (first published here, throughout November, 2018, and later, in paperback, on March 27, 2019).
From Amazon
Mark:
Are YOU ready for the rise of the robots? Many leading thinkers now warn us that the tech breakthroughs of today will lead to humanity’s doomsday tomorrow: Elon Musk warns against “summoning the demon,” via artificial intelligence, imagining an advanced superhuman A.I. as, “an immortal dictator from which we can never escape.” Stephen Hawking declared that such an A.I. “could spell the end of the human race.”
With all this panic in the air, it’s a good thing we have Peter Clarke’s Singularity Survival Guide to prepare us for the coming tech–pocalypse. Learn how to stockpile weapons, embrace transhumanism, and welcome the awesome, jaw-dropping possibilities of the age to come! Clarke’s book provides a charming and richly humorous look at the debates, dreams, and doomsday predictions surrounding today’s thinking on artificial intelligence, and takes his readers on a truly hilarious ride in the process. Clarke’s Singularity Survival Guide is a timely satire for our age of A.I. anxiety, exploring both the thrilling and dire possibilities posed by this technology, writing with grace, humor, and perhaps most of all, truly human feeling. Don’t be caught off guard by the arrival of your new robot masters: get your copy of The Singularity Survival Guide today!
Lane Chasek writes:
My favorite work by Clarke so far.
The character of Helen gives HAL a run for his money in terms of memorable AIs. Whereas HAL plays a impersonal, calculating Yahweh in 2001: A Space Odyssey, Peter Clarke in Helen has created a terrifying yet seemingly necessary presence in the form of Helen, reminiscent of the goddess Kali.
Rather than playing in to the nightmarish hellscape AI technology could create, Clarke opts for a more nuanced approach. Annihilation of human life is of primary concern in the Survival Guide, but the possibility of AI fulfilling all our needs and granting us immortality could be just as horrifying.
KL writes:
The Singularity Survival Guide is an incredibly smart and darkly funny book, filled with handy tips on how to protect yourself in the event of the coming tech apocalypse. Told from the point of view of Helen, a computer program designed to help humankind survive the Singularity. Wildly original and a must read for any lover of dark comedy. Grab yourself a copy before it’s too late!
DeeGee Williams writes:
Thanks to Helen, Peter Clarke’s artificial intelligence “persona”, you will learn how to face the day that AI takes over humanity. Until then, have fun by reading this guide— and learn some things about yourself along the way, assuming you are a person. If not, you know them already. Bottom line: how many books do you read with a smile on your face?
William Abbott writes:
This is an enjoyable read and a great planning guide for the robot apocalypse. Will you be ready?
From SingularityNET
Arif Khan:
“A timely satire, even if humor doesn’t stand a chance of saving us from the sort of superintelligence Clarke envisions.”
From Goodreads
Peri Champoux:
Short and entertaining! It was funnier than expected. There are various “experts” who add comments to a number of the chapters–these comments developed a sort of subplot that I wasn’t expecting. It felt a little like the same idea as the commentary that happens in “Pale Fire” by Nabokov. Also the book does cover a lot of interesting topics related to the singularity. Probably anyone who’s into the idea of the singularity would enjoy reading this.
You can watch the book trailer video by Daniel Olbrych (with music by Sam Eliot) here.
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