Huge Membership Changes for SFWA

This caught me by surprise in the best possible way. On March 23rd, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) voted in favor of changes to the membership eligibility requirements. To become a full member, writers must earn at least $1,000 dollars professionally across all their works. For Associate members, writers only have to earn at least $100 dollars professionally across all their works.

This change makes eligibility far more accessible for writers, especially new writers looking to break into the industry. Lowering the barrier to entry creates new opportunities for writers and creatives to collaborate and network that was previously much more difficult. The price of membership, however, is unchanged at this time. I don’t feel it is a huge barrier at the $100 and $90 a year membership fee, especially when you think about the new opportunities and resources that can be gained.

For more details on the membership requirements, visit the SFWA website.

Another cool note for people who have their science fiction novel out in the world, SWFA does a collaboration with StoryBundle to provide exposure and income for independent and small presses. For more information on how it works, how to qualify, and become a volunteer screener, read the blog post by Sherrie Cronin on the SFWA website.

What great new! I hope you all check it out and I wish you all the best on your writing journey.

Until next time, Read, Write, Edit, Repeat.

- J.J.

The Future of Our Minds

A mild winter makes the mind wander. Dreams of faraway places and technology that could only be considered fiction jumble around in my head and make me think about what could be possible. However, the one science fiction idea that has been coming to my mind recently has been about the mind itself. What are its limits and how could we go beyond it?

Technology has been advancing at a rapid rate and some ideas are becoming closer to reality, like improving our brain’s processing and storage ability (Neuralink). Still, there are still some ideas that are firmly science fiction, especially when it comes to the mind.

The big one that is being talked about more recently has been transferring one’s mind. I first heard about the concept through a movie called, Chappie, but its been talked about in science fiction for decades and most recently with the release of the video game, Cyberpunk 2077.

Cyberpunk 2077, heavily influenced by Neuromancer, is a role-playing video game taking place in a fictional place called, Night City. The people during this time have gone through massive technology advances leading to human technology augmentations. Chips in brains, reinforced legs, blades that can come out of your arms, the sky’s the limit. But neurological advances of transferring the brain is also discussed.

I always found it fascinating what the mind could do, but its even more interesting to learn about what it would take to accomplish the task of transferring one’s mind to either another body or into the internet itself. Desperate to learn more, I stumbled along a video that gives a fun and simple way of approaching a large, complex problem. You can watch the video below:

What I found most interesting about the video were the three layers: Physicalism, Scanability, Computability

I didn’t put much thought into what would be required to actually do the task of moving minds around. Starting at the physical level and being able to construct the proper system to handle the mind would take a tremendous amount of work and require an effective scan of the brain. The scan would have to not only be able to map the mind at the basic structural level, but at a molecular level as well. And then, even if all that was done, there would still be tests to see if it worked properly and efficiently. I mean, were talking about over 2 million petabytes for a single human brain!

This is all under the assumption the mind, the parts that make up you and me, is something we can even replicate. My head’s all over the place when talking about this because I get so excited at all the potential it brings for improvements to humanity.

If you want to read over all of the information that is discussed in the video, I’d highly recommend it.

What are some stories (short story, novels, movies, etc.) that you know talk about mind uploading? There are probably a ton I am just spacing on.

Let me know in the comments.

Until next time, read, write repeat.

-J.J.

Reads for Winter - Book Suggestions

As the holiday season is quickly approaching and the temperatures are dropping, I thought I would give you all a cool list of winter themed books to read during these cold winter days.

You can find the list of books on my Bookshop List called, “Winter Books In Weird Wayward Worlds.” Of the fifteen books on the list, here are the three I am most excited about:

Please note, I am part of the Bookshop.org affiliate program and all links on this post go to Bookshop.org. On any purchases made through these links, I will be receiving a 10% commission.

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin

This thought-provoking story written by legendary sci-fi author, Ursula K. Le Guin, is about a human ambassador sent to an ice planet to facilitate its inclusion in the intergalactic civilization. This book was most well-known for its intellectual approach to psychology and human society, showing a gender fluid world during a time where gender was rarely discussed, examined, or accepted as it is today. If you are looking for a story that challenges you to look at the world, even through a science fiction lens, differently; I suggest this book.

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

This book I had not heard of prior to compiling this list, but after reading the description, I am eager to pick this one up soon. The story takes place in a Russian village where they honor the folklore spirits that protect the village. Once Vasya’s father remarries, her stepmother forbids the family from honoring the spirits. The village’s defenses soon worsen, and it is up to Vasya to save her family and the village. If you are looking for a monsters and magic type of a story, this is the one.

Winter World by A.G. Riddle

The truest to winter story is about a coming ice age that is pushing humanity to the brink of extinction. It isn’t until NASA finds a mysterious object drifting toward the sun do they send a team of scientists to make contact, in the hopes, to uncover the secrets it possesses and prevent the coming end to humanity. This feels like a harder science fiction story that is definitely in the realm of possibility. If you enjoy stories about drastic climate change with the fate of the world in the balance, this might be one to check out.

What are your thoughts on these books? Do any of them sound good? Please let me know in the comments. If you can’t afford to purchase these books, always remember to check your local library.

Until next time, read, write, repeat.

J.J.

Ethics in Science Fiction - Why Morals Matter

As I have been preparing for National Novel Writing Month (now only six days away), I had a question that consistently popped up as I prepared my story: “How does ethics affect technology?”

I had taken psychology classes in college where we discussed morals and ethics, but not through the lens of technology. We didn’t debate the ethics behind self-driving cars or proper levels of encryption for computer programs. The ethics we discussed were framed often around laws and non-technology life such as contracts and business operations. However, that doesn’t cover the full scope of this changing world.

Technology is rapidly changing life as we know it and leading to some incredible, yet potentially scary outcomes. Like social credit systems and growing national surveillance, ethical questions around these topics are more mainstream than even five years ago.

It makes sense that debating the moral and ethical stances of these topics will be a long, winding road for common day people and governments for years to come, but, what if, science fiction had the answers?

For my story, I wanted to learn more about the ethics surrounding A.I. technology. During my search, I stumbled upon an article from Journal of Future Studies entitled, “Science Fiction As Moral Allegory.“ Written by Timothy Dolan, the article dove into science fiction in terms of the broad history of the genre, it’s impact on society, and it’s use for building a better future through moral questions the stories can raise. I highly recommend reading the article if this interests you.

One quote that jumped out at me from a writer perspective was:

“Good science fiction is never about building utopias as much as about warning of the dystopias seeded in their attempt.”

— Timothy Dolan

The idea that good science should not be evaluated for potential dangers it could cause in the future is a real risk we run into everyday. For example, self-driving cars are great, but what if I can’t control the car, or worse, the car ends up controlling me and sends me into the river? Is it moral and ethical to allow technology to operate itself when the lives of others both or outside the vehicle could be negatively impacted? It’s a good question to ask. It doesn’t mean that self-driving cars are evil or bad, but with every technological advancement, risks need to be weighed.

I believe this same approach should be applied to science fiction stories. By not looking at and explaining the possible issues with a science fiction world of your creation, it can lose depth in the story and make it more difficult to build a compelling story.

It’s in asking these questions that brings out great stories and helps us all challenge our own ideas and beliefs.

To learn about the morals and ethics in technology, science fiction may be the best place to start. Science fiction tackles these topics in ways many of us fail to think about. That is why I’m researching topics like these for my next story more closely than I had before and I implore you to do the same for your next science fiction story.

What are your thoughts? Do you think ethics and morals matter in science fiction? Should escapism without moral thought be done in science fiction? Do you think all stories contain some moral or ethical lesson?

Let me know in the comments below.

Until next time, write, read, repeat.

-J.J.

AI and Science Ficition - What is the Future?

I was scrolling through my Twitter feed today and came across an article over at Arstechnica about science fiction and AI. On the article, it has a video interview with Robin Sloan, the author of Sourdough, talking about how to write a novel with machine learning.

The idea of writing novels with machine learning has been around for a few years now, but it hasn't really caught on outside of a fun hobby. Most people probably heard about it, shrugged, and completely forgot about it. 

And I don't blame you, there are still a vast amount of limitations and problems. It isn't exactly Shakespeare, but it certain does try. If you are a curious person and want to learn more, definitely check it out on Robin Sloan's website. He has a cool little machine learning program you can download and play around with.

What the article made me think about was how science fiction is evolving today and how it might look in the future. Many science fiction classics like Blade Runner, Man in the High Castle, War of the Worlds, were created back in the 60s and if you read them, they still feel unique, rooted a fiction world that still seem unbelievable.

However, there are stories about space travel that now seem more likely than ever before. Stories like The Martian and Interstellar feel more possible every single day. I mean, I doubt we'll discover time travel in the vacuum of space after traveling through a black hole, but stranger things have happened before. People still pour all the flavors from the soda dispenser in their oversized cup...

I digress. 

Science fiction and the landscape of the stories will start looking quite different moving forward. It has already started, not just from a content perspective, but a creator perspective. Sci-Fi greats like N.K. Jemisin is an unstoppable powerhouse of science fiction/fantasy stories. Martha Wells is another great science fiction author, creating the Murderbot Diaries (Yes, it's as cool as the name suggests). These two are first names that comes to mind, but there are some many others moving the science fiction genre forward. 

Artificial intelligence is a common subject in science fiction, but the way it can be approached in the future will make for incredibly interesting stories. I just keep thinking about all the amazing possibilities of science fiction moving forward and how it can show us our evolving world.

Stories about the dangers of advanced technology implants (transhumanism), how humans and advanced artificial intelligence co-exist, how the ideas of deities and politics transform when facing superior technology advancements or the discovery of new life.

I'm barely scratching the surface and I know this must sound like complete idea vomit, but I'm really excited about it. 

So, the questions I didn't really address yet, "What is the Future?" More robots? Decentralized economies? AI overlords? All of them? 

I don't truly know, but I am excited to see what's happening next. 

-J.J.