E-Book Overview
From Literature to Biterature is based on the premise that in the foreseeable future computers will become capable of creating works of literature. Among hundreds of other questions, it considers: Under which conditions would machines become capable of creative writing? Given that computer evolution will exceed the pace of natural evolution a million-fold, what will such a state of affairs entail in terms of art, culture, social life, and even nonhuman rights? Drawing a map of impending literary, cultural, social, and technological revolutions, Peter Swirski boldly assumes that computers will leap from mere syntax-driven processing to semantically rich understanding. He argues that acknowledging biterature as a species of literature will involve adopting the same range of attitudes to computer authors (computhors) as to human ones and that it will be necessary to approach them as agents with internal states and creative intentions. Ranging from the metafiction of Stanislaw Lem to the "Turing test" (familiar to scientists working in Artificial Intelligence and the philosophers of mind) to the evolutionary trends of culture and machines, Swirski's scenarios lay the groundwork for a new area of study on the cusp of literary futurology, evolutionary cognition, and philosophy of the future.
E-Book Content
from literature to biterature
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preface
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FROM
L I T E R AT U R E TO
B I T E R AT U R E Lem, Turing, Darwin, and Explorations in Computer Literature, Philosophy of Mind, and Cultural Evolution
PETER SWIRSKI
McGill-Queen’s University Press Montreal & Kingston • London • Ithaca
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© McGill-Queen’s University Press 2013 isbn 978-0-7735-4295-2 (cloth) isbn 978-0-7735-8991-9 (epdf) isbn 978-0-7735-8992-6 (epub) Legal deposit third quarter 2013 Bibliothèque nationale du Québec Printed in Canada on acid-free paper that is 100% ancient forest free (100% post-consumer recycled), processed chlorine free This book has been published with the help of a grant from the Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences, through the Awards to Scholarly Publications Program, using funds provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. McGill-Queen’s University Press acknowledges the support of the Canada Council for the Arts for our publishing program. We also acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund for our publishing activities.
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication Swirski, Peter, 1963–, author From literature to biterature : Lem, Turing, Darwin, and explorations in computer literature, philosophy of mind, and cultural evolution / Peter Swirski. Includes bibliographical references and index. Issued in print and electronic formats. isbn 978-0-7735-4295-2 (bound). – isbn 978-0-7735-8991-9 (epdf). – isbn 978-0-7735-8992-6 (epub) 1. Computers and civilization. 2. Artificial intelligence. 3. Social evolution. 4. Literature – Philosophy. 5. Philosophy of mind. 6. Language and languages – Philosophy. I. Title. qa76.9.c66s94 2013
303.48'34
c2013-902978-8 c2013-902979-6
This book was typeset by True to Type in 10.5/13 Baskerville
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Foreword
Dedicated to Jaakko Hintikka, Sami Pihlström, David Livingstone Smith, and other bibliosophers of today and tomorrow
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Contents
Lemmata Narrative Intelligence; Test of Time; Avocados or Wombats; Institute for Advanced Studies; Builtware and Bitware; Paignton Zoo 3
part one 1
Biterature Toscanelli’s Map; Bloomsday; Titan; Manchester Mark; Manglers and Mashers; Suits for the Dawn Patrol; Charabia; Short f