When Harlie Was One

H.A.R.L.I.E. (Human Analog Replication, Lethetic Intelligence Engine) is an artificially intelligent machine. David Auberson, the psychologist responsible for guiding HARLIE from childhood into adulthood, struggles to understand his erratic behavior. When humans begin vocalizing their wishes that HARILIE be shut down, he has to prove his existence and value to his warm-blooded counterparts. Throughout HARILIE's fight to stay alive, Auberson discovers the machine has vast knowledge and understanding of life, love, and logic, posing the philosophical question whether or not HARLIE is human, and for that matter, what it means to be human. Nominated for the Hugo and Nebula awards for Best Novel of the Year, the themes of love and discovery in When HARLIE was One are even more important today than when first published.

When a sophisticated computer endowed with artificial intelligence begins to create poetry and exhibits human behavior, his creators attempt to shut him down

A computer, raised by humans, believes that he is himself human.

DISTINGUISHED FAVOURITE: Independent Press Award 2020 - Business General Category WINNER: CES 2020 Gary's Book Club Top Technology Book of the Year Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the new electricity of our times. It is revolutionizing industries the world over, and changing how we fundamentally view and understand work. Superhuman Innovation argues that AI will supercharge the workforce and the world of work, can be harnessed to deliver powerful change to how companies innovate and gain competitive advantage. It is a practical guide to how AI and Machine Learning are impacting not only how businesses, brands, and agencies innovate, but also what they innovate: products, services and content. In a world of product and pricing parity, the delivery of superior service experience has become the new marketing, and the new real competitive edge. With AI companies can harness the power of data, personalization and on-demand availability, at the touch of an intelligent button. Superhuman Innovation discusses how AI will serve the superstar innovators of tomorrow, by enabling them to see deeper insights and set sail for higher goals. It unearths a powerful five-pronged model which describes how AI enables innovation through the offerings of Speed (facilitating work processes), Understanding (revealing and mastering deep insights), Performance (customization of delivery to customers), Experimentation (the iterative process of reinvention and feedback) and Results (tangible, measurable and optimizable results). The book is supported by varied and innovative case studies from a variety of industries.

This classic work of science fiction is widely considered to be the ultimate time-travel novel. When Daniel Eakins inherits a time machine, he soon realizes that he has enormous power to shape the course of history. He can foil terrorists, prevent assassinations, or just make some fast money at the racetrack. And if he doesn't like the results of the change, he can simply go back in time and talk himself out of making it! But Dan soon finds that there are limits to his powers and forces beyond his control.

Today a new trend is clearly discernable, that of ‘hyper-real religions’. These are innovative religions and spiritualities that mix elements of religious traditions with popular culture. If we imagine a spectrum of intensity of the merging of popular culture with religion, we might find, at one end, groups practicing Jediism appropriated from the Star Wars movies, Matrixism from the Matrix trilogy, and neo-pagan rites based on stories from The Lord of the Rings and the Harry Potter series. At the other end of the spectrum, members of mainstream religions, such as Christianity can be influenced or inspired by, for example, The Da Vinci Code. Through various case studies, this book studies the on- and off-line religious/spiritual consumption of these narratives through a social scientific approach.

Explorations of Consciousness in Contemporary Fiction is a collection of essays examining the potential of the contemporary English-language novel to represent and inquire into various aspects of the human mind.