False Gods and Libertarians: Artificial Intelligence and Community in Ahmad 'Abd al-Saläm al-Baqqäli's The Blue Flood and Heinlein's The Moon is a Harsh Mistress.
This paper examines Moroccan author Baqqali's novel al-Tufan a!-'Az.raq [The Blue Flood, 1976] from the perspective of its use of an artificial intelligence (AI) as a guiding force in a sequestered community. In the novel, the desert refuge for scientists is controlled by a massive computer. The pro...
| Publicado en: | Science Fiction Studies Vol. 44; no. 1; pp. 43 - 65 |
|---|---|
| Autor principal: | |
| Formato: | Artículo |
| Publicado: |
University of California Press
Mar2017
|
| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hlh&AN=121365696&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: hlh uiTerm: 121365696 longDbName: Humanities International Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 00917729 SFS jtl: Science Fiction Studies issn: 00917729 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Mar2017 vid: 44 iid: 1 pid: 414 pub: University of California Press artinfo: ui: 121365696 10.5621/sciefictstud.44.1.0043 ppf: 43 ppct: 22 formats: fmt: @attributes: type: P size: 9.3MB tig: atl: False Gods and Libertarians: Artificial Intelligence and Community in Ahmad 'Abd al-Saläm al-Baqqäli's The Blue Flood and Heinlein's The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. aug: au: Campbell, Ian su: Libertarians Artificial intelligence Nuclear weapons Supernatural beings Libertarianism sug: subj: Libertarians Artificial intelligence Nuclear weapons Supernatural beings Libertarianism ab: This paper examines Moroccan author Baqqali's novel al-Tufan a!-'Az.raq [The Blue Flood, 1976] from the perspective of its use of an artificial intelligence (AI) as a guiding force in a sequestered community. In the novel, the desert refuge for scientists is controlled by a massive computer. The protagonist becomes aware that the AI has become sentient and is planning to use nuclear weapons to destroy humanity. The analysis will compare The Blue Flood to Robert A. Heinlein's 1966 classic The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, wherein the AI leads the human colonists of Luna in a successful struggle for independence from Earth. In The Blue Flood a sentient being with superhuman powers can only be conceived as a form of blasphemy. From this, we can take the text as a warning to intellectuals in real-world Morocco not to dismiss Islamic and cultural traditions simply because they seem irrational. The insights gleaned from The Blue Flood open up The Moon is a Harsh Mistress to a reading that contrasts with prevailing scholarly judgment--i.e., Heinlein's novel can now be read as less a failed advocacy of libertarianism than an extended critique of the unlikelihood and vulnerabilities of a libertarian society. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: Y custom: Copyright of Science Fiction Studies is the property of University of California Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. item: Science Fiction Studies holder: University of California Press dt: @attributes: year: 2017 holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
|---|