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New Scientist Book Club Review: “Circular Motion” – A Dystopia Strikingly Familiar

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New Scientist Book Club discusses Alex Foster’s Circular Motion

The New Scientist Book Club has taken a turn by revisiting Alex Foster’s Circular Motion, moving from Adam Roberts’ futuristic Lake of Darkness, set thousands of years ahead in a world eerily similar to ours. However, a significant distinction exists; Foster’s universe is dominated by massive aircraft that can traverse the globe in mere hours. This “westerly circuit” not only facilitates rapid travel for the wealthy but also speeds up the Earth’s rotation as the narrative unfolds, especially evident by the conclusion where just two hours have profound implications.

As I mentioned, this book left a strong impression on me. It ticked all my boxes for science fiction: an impending apocalyptic event of nightmarish scale? Absolutely. A society desperately trying to maintain a facade of normalcy? Definitely. A cast of engaging and relatable characters? Yes, indeed. From a science fiction standpoint, it has become my favorite (new) read thus far. I ponder whether it leaned more towards grand physical phenomena (storms, gravity shifts) or more intimate experiences (the psychological burden of merely two hours in this world).

Yet, I found myself at odds with my two-sentence summary. (And isn’t that the charm of a book club, where different interpretations bloom?) While I relish a good dystopia, Neil Leighton found Foster’s grim portrayal of life on Earth a bit overwhelming. “I appreciated it and am glad I read it, but it was overly dystopian, and I’m not likely to recommend it as a gift,” he shared in our Facebook group. “I will say it is solid literary science fiction, but I struggled to suspend my disbelief, and it felt somewhat forced at times. It struck a decent balance between character work and ideas, yet was too dystopian for my palate.”

I wasn’t the only one grappling with the narrative. “I typically have no issues with suspending disbelief, but Circular Motion challenged that,” Jennifer Marano admitted. “Furthermore, the dystopian elements felt too oppressive for Gothia Fulmanik. The narrative felt uncomfortably close to home.”

I am thankful that Gosia highlighted the theme of climate change in this context. Video Interview The book is intended to draw parallels to our current reality. Instead of halting aircraft operations, the protagonists resort to constructing a colossal, vacant “shell” as a technological solution to the very issues they created within the Western Circuit. Many of you witnessed Foster’s characters facing calamities that resonate with our daily existence. “The theme of hubris (attempting to build shields to rectify issues with pods, circuits, gravity, and time) was a poignant and overt lesson,” Steve Swann remarked. It became a discussion point where we all tried to align the world correctly, only to end up exclaiming, “Well, there’s nothing we can do about it.”

For Niall, “as someone concerned about climate change, it serves as a more profound cautionary tale, replete with wise critiques of ineffective technical fixes.”

One aspect that perplexed me was Foster’s dating system, presented as “AH 976,314:17.” Many of you shared the same confusion. Eliza Rose echoed my thoughts, stating, “I didn’t grasp it, nor did I attempt to. I just read along, assuming it wasn’t crucial to the plot.” Phil added, “I would have liked an explanation of the new AH time-measurement system and its introduction.” Thankfully, Paul Jonas provided clarity: “It translates to hundreds of thousands of hours, consistent globally. 970,000 corresponds to 11 years, but good luck wrapping your head around it unless you reset.”

Members of the New Scientist Book Club expressed a desire for more substantial science within this science fiction work. “I felt that the scientific elements were secondary to the characters’ narratives,” articulated one member. “What I longed for was speculation on how an accelerating Earth impacts non-human life forms. This would have significant repercussions for flora and fauna. Gosia, too, expressed a wish for Foster to delve into the experiences of less privileged communities amid the apocalypse (especially considering how climate change disproportionately affects the Global South).

“I craved deeper insights into the systems responsible for the escalating issues surrounding time and travel. For me, it fell short of being authentically science fiction,” Paul remarked.

We aspire that our next reading fulfills those expectations: it is one of the most lauded science fiction novels in history—the award-winning anarchist utopian work by Ursula K. Le Guin, The Dispossessed, released long before 1974. We haven’t tackled classics in a while. Le Guin has been recommended by several of you as the next author, so I’m enthusiastically on board! Book Club members can also enjoy essays from Theo Downs Le Guin, the son of the late Le Guin, who offers unique insights as both a son and a reader (which is fantastic). Join us on our Facebook group for a discussion about this timeless classic and share your thoughts.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Request to Dissolve Google’s Advertising Technology Business Follows Chrome Sale Motion

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On Friday, the US government demanded that Google divest its highly lucrative advertising technology division. This follows a judge’s finding that the tech giant is responsible for a second illegal monopoly in just a year.

U.S. government attorney Julia Turber Wood stated in federal court in Virginia, “We have a defendant who has discovered a way to protest. Maintaining the monopoly of repeat offenders is not a viable solution,” she added.

This marks the second request from the US government, amidst another suit regarding Google’s premier search engine, which also seeks to address sales involving the Chrome browser.

The US government specifically pointed out that Google dominates the market for publishing banner advertisements on websites, impacting a wide range of creators and small news outlets.

A second phase of the Virginia court hearing is set for September, where discussions will focus on modifying the advertising landscape per the judge’s ruling.

During the initial phase of last year’s trial, plaintiffs alleged that the majority of websites utilize Google’s Ad software products.

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District Court Judge Leonie Brinkema largely agreed with the rationale and found that Google has established an illegal monopoly over the advertising software and tools utilized by publishers, albeit partially dismissing claims concerning tools used by advertisers.

The US government indicated it would leverage this trial to motivate Google to divest its exchange operations with ad publishers, asserting that it cannot be relied upon to change its practices.

“Behavioral modification is not enough since it won’t stop Google from discovering new methods of exerting control,” stated Tarver Wood.

Google has countered the suggestion of agreeing to a binding commitment to enhance transparency with advertisers and publishers on the AD Tech platform. However, Google’s attorney Karen Dunn acknowledged the “trust issues” raised in the case and expressed willingness to accept oversight to ensure compliance with the judge’s order. Google also contested the proposed divestiture as inappropriate, which Judge Brinkema quickly dismissed as a viable debate.

The judge encouraged both parties to seek mediation, stressing that a negotiated settlement is far more efficient and cost-effective than conducting a prolonged trial.

Source: www.theguardian.com

Microsoft files motion to dismiss the copyright lawsuit brought by New York Times | Technology

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Microsoft has issued a response to a copyright infringement lawsuit filed by The New York Times, alleging that its content was used to train generative artificial intelligence. Microsoft called the claims a false narrative of “apocalyptic futurology” and criticized the lawsuit as short-sighted, comparing it to Hollywood’s resistance to VCRs.

In a motion to dismiss filed as part of the lawsuit, Microsoft responded to the allegations, stating that The New York Times’ content was given “particular weight” and that Microsoft has made significant investments in the Times. Microsoft ridiculed the claims made by the newspaper and denied the accusations of government involvement in the matter.

The lawsuit, which could have far-reaching implications for artificial intelligence and news content production, accuses Microsoft, as the largest investor in OpenAI, of using copyrighted content from The New York Times to develop AI products that threaten the newspaper’s ability to provide its services.

Microsoft argued that the lawsuit is reminiscent of Hollywood’s opposition to VCRs in the past and emphasized that the content used to train the language models does not replace the market for the original work but rather educates the models.

OpenAI, a co-defendant in the lawsuit, has requested the dismissal of certain claims against the company, asserting that their products, such as ChatGPT, are not intended to replace subscriptions to The New York Times and are not used for that purpose in the real world.

Following Microsoft’s legal response, The New York Times pushed back against the comparison to 1980s home-taping technology, stating that Microsoft collaborated with OpenAI to copy copyrighted works without permission.

The dispute between the parties is part of a larger legal battle over copyright issues related to AI technology and concerns about the creation of misleading information. Recent incidents, such as Google’s use of AI to generate historically inaccurate images, have raised concerns about the need to address these issues.

OpenAI has faced criticism for its training methods and refusal to disclose training data, including the use of copyrighted works. The company argues that limiting training data to public domain content would hinder the development of AI systems that meet current needs.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman expressed surprise at the Times lawsuit, stating that the AI models do not rely on specific publisher data for training and that the Times’ content represented only a small portion of the overall text corpus used.

Source: www.theguardian.com