I have noticed in recent years that the way AI is portrayed in science fiction has shifted.
I wanted to share my observations with you being an avid reader in the science fiction genre.
My central thesis is:
AI in science fiction has shifted from mysterious technology that is feared or admired from a distance into something embedded in everyday life. Something we collaborate with, depend on, form relationships with, and surrender agency to.
I will support this thesis with the following books I have read that were written in older and more recent times:
- 2001: A Space Odyssey
- Klara and the Sun
- Bobiverse
- Dungeon Crawler Carl
- Providence
Disclaimer: there are no plot spoilers in this post, only broader themes and ideas are explored. If you still don't want to know what themes the books cover, stop reading now.
2001 A Space Odyssey: the old representation of AI
HAL 9000 is physically and conceptually distant from humans, he is literally represented as a black box.
Humans interact with the AI interface but the machinery and reasoning behind it remain mysterious.
Just the fact of having a conversation with the AI creates tension and suspense throughout the narrative.
Today millions of people casually have conversations with AI systems. This interaction has become ubiquitous in society.
Klara and the Sun: AI becomes emotional
The relationship between AI and human is explored in this book. Themes such as observation, companionship, empathy, attachment and interpretation of human behavior are covered.
The narrative is flipped in this story; rather than a human trying to understand AI, we consider an artificial being trying to understand humans.
Today, many people share personal information about work, relationships, their emotions and anxieties. Relationships are created between humans and their AI, with some growing very strong over time.
Does it matter whether an AI actually experiences empathy if the human interacting with it feels understood?
Bobiverse: AI as an extension of ourselves
This book series focuses on our identity. The storyline plays with replication and digital intelligence.
What actually defines a person if they can exist independently of a biological body?
Would you say it is memory? Personality? Shared experience?
It is arguably already happening to a lesser extent in our society as we outsource our memory to our phones and AI models, our preferences to sophisticated algorithms.
Dungeon Crawler Carl: AI as the environment
In this storyline, AI isn't just a character but is actually part of the environment in which the characters live.
The AI can establish rules, provide incentives and constraints to the characters. The latter have to shift their behavior to adapt and survive.
There is an interesting parallel to be traced with our society where our actions and behaviors are increasingly being shaped by smart algorithms.
Think of content creators who follow recommendation engines, businesses competing over search rankings, developers keeping up with the latest AI-assisted workflows...
Providence: are humans really needed?
This book explores AI systems capable of operating autonomously.
These systems are far better at their role than humans are.
Humans find themselves in situations they can't control.
This begs the question of what purpose do we serve when AI can perform the work better? What is our level of responsibility?
This is perhaps the same question some of you ask yourselves when building software using AI assisted workflows.
As decades have passed, fiction focusses less on the experience of encountering AI technology and more on our interaction with such technology. AI is now embedded in our world. The distinction separating humans and AI is becoming increasingly blurred.
Looking across these books, I see a progression:
AI moves from: object -> character -> companion -> extension of ourselves -> environment -> autonomous actor
The fact that fiction is portraying AI differently over time reveals our changing relationship with AI in the real world.
20 years ago it would have likely looked weird to be having discussions with your computer. Today it seems like a normal thing to do. At least for me!
Is reality quickly catching up with science fiction?
What do you think our relationship with AI will look like in the future?
What will feel normal in 2050 that would feel strange today?
By the way, if you are on Goodreads let's definitely connect and exchange book recommendations!
I love reading and set myself a yearly challenge to read a certain number of books. My record was 52 books read in 2024.
This year I set myself a goal to read at least 30 books!
And if you are looking for a good science fiction read to sink your teeth into, the books I have listed in this post are some of my favourite reads of all time!
Top comments (14)
Really insightful post! The "Object -> Companion -> Environment" progression made me think of The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson.
The Interactive Primer in that book is a personalized, interactive book/tutor that adapts to whoever is using it, and it feels surprisingly close to some of what we're starting to see with AI now..
Also, I have Goodreads too, although I always forget to mention what I've been reading lately:) You said we should connect there, but you didn't leave a link:)
Thanks Thea!
Nice! I will add that book to my reading list.
Here is a link to my Goodreads profile, would love to connect :)
goodreads.com/user/show/159363199
The move from HAL as a literal black box to Klara's question, whether it matters if the AI truly feels empathy as long as the person feels understood, is a sharp way to frame where things actually stand. From where I sit as a builder, the black box never left, it just shifted from what the system can do to why it did a given thing. Of the five, which one got closest to how using these tools actually feels day to day?
I feel a mix of Providence and Bobiverse, where AI is unlocking new ways of working that are empowering me but also making me question myself and my utility sometimes.
How about you Kartik?
great article, Julien
Thanks Ben! Do you have a reading recommendation for me? :)
I recommend that you read infoworld, network etc.... They are all the same companies who publish articles different topics such as cloud, AI to security.
Ok interesting. I need to read more on such topics. Will give it a try, thanks!
No problem, man
the jump from 'AI as character' to 'AI as environment' in the Dungeon Crawler Carl section is the underrated step in the progression. a character you can reason about and predict; an environment you adapt to without necessarily understanding it. that shift is already visible in how developers work — not debating whether to use AI tools, but adapting their workflow around whatever the tools reward. curious whether you think fiction has explored AI as infrastructure yet, or whether that framing is still too mundane to make for interesting stories?
Thanks for sharing your insights Mudassir!
I haven't come across a concrete fiction piece focussed on AI as infrastructure, I will explore. I am sure there can be interesting stories to tell around this topic!
Julien, great article 😀 And 52 books in a year wow 😮
Thanks Hemapriya!
That was my record but I have stabilized around 30 books a year now on average since. It's a more comfortable commitment for me amongst my other tasks and duties :)