At the 2020 Shanghai Book Fair, several new books focused on hot topics like advanced science and technology and artificial intelligence have been launched for the first time.
One book that stood out from the crowd is the new novel on artificial intelligence Machines like Me by Ian McEwan. “The best science fiction novels are about now, not the future,” said Ian.
Unlike other science fiction novels novels which tend to depict the future, Ian set the background of this book in a parallel world of London in 1982. However, he deliberately altered the development of history in the story plot: Britain lost the Falkland Islands war. Alan Turing, the father of computer science, also did not end his life. He made groundbreaking progress in artificial intelligence and introduced the first robot products. The main character Charlie in this book purchased a human-like robot and planned to give it a human nature together with his girlfriend through computer programming, only to find himself involved in a strange triangular relationship.
The content in this novel is deeply related to topics that people are paying attention to nowadays: the relationship between humans and robots, the self-consciousness of robots, and the ethical boundaries of artificial intelligence development. “Although the book mainly focuses on robots, quite a lot amazing details in it actually are a salute to humanity and nature, ”said Zhang Zheng, head of Amazon Shanghai’s Artificial Intelligence Institution.In addition to Ian McEwan’s novel, a new book series called Scientists has also been launched at the book fair aimed at schools. It helps us to imagine when humans might explore Jupiter and other places in the cosmos. It also introduces the concept of time travel to young children. Despite the fact that these are still scientific fantasies that cannot currently come true,the book series allows children to experience those unique and fascinating scenes that may materialise in the future.