#8 When SF gets real
On sex robots, cultured meat, euthanasia machines and artificial wombs.
I’ve been in a reading slump for some months now and Goodreads keeps reminding me that I’ve fallen behind my annual reading target by seven books already. I’ve been trying to tell myself that I went through some - more or less - challenging weeks and months after quitting my job in March (and dying my hair pink!), having to find a new way of affording a decent living in London and now learning to embrace and the highs and lows of freelancing.
I’m still struggling to accept that whilst I could have read more, organised my time more efficiently, and generally, done better, I didn’t and that’s OK.
There’s a time and place for everything. Whilst I don’t like the idea of letting fate decide on my reading habits, my encounter with what turned to be the remedy to my literary indigestion, was an innocent trip to Foyles Charing Cross Road Bookstore.
It took the journalist and documentary filmmaker Jenny Kleeman five years to write a book that explores the promise - and problems - of ground-breaking technology by interviewing inventors on disrupting certain aspects of life. She comes to question how human experience and existence will change in the future based on the the way we love, eat, reproduce and die.
How about having an intimate connection with Harmony, a $15,000, slim-hipped, French-manicured doll who consents to every sexual urge?
She’s still made of silicone, but her creator, a former rock star called Matt McMullen, insists that her AI turns her into a proper long-term partner with whom you can discuss politics, philosophy or whatever else you’re in the mood for. People like McMullen believe sex robots can have a social impact: reduce loneliness and male violence. Kleeman is more cynical and links sex robots to incels, or “involuntary celibate” men who blame women and society for their lack of romantic success.
What if we could have meat without having to kill animals?
Lab-grown meat, cultivated from a tissue sample, not plant-based substitutes that are currently on the market. Is this the holy grail to saving the planet too? Kleeman argues that “vegan meat depends on a pessimistic view of human beings: the belief that we are incapable of changing the way we eat.” (It’s more complicated than just giving up on meat, isn’t it? And this comes from a vegetarian.)
Could artificial birthing methods such as the “biobag” or the womb outside the body relieve women from pregnancy?
As it stands, “social surrogacy” is in demand, according to Dr Vicken Sahakian, because “having a child doesn’t fit into [these] women's schedule.” Many women come to Dr Sahakian because they want to have babies that are biologically their own, but they just choose not to be pregnant, so they use IVF and then hire another woman to gestate and give birth to their baby. Mind-blowing or revolutionary? Nonetheless, artificial birthing could be a solution to saving premature babies, who would not otherwise survive. And Kleeman knows best, having had her own miscarriage at 20 weeks (four weeks later and it would have been considered a stillbirth).
And finally, would you trust Philip Nitschke, “the Elon Musk of assisted dying,”to end your life painlessly with the push of a button? Shifting the paradigm towards the legalisation of euthanasia is a difficult conversation to have (yet, necessary?). Not sure if someone should take pride in a 3D print capsule that gets you asphyxiated with the aid of liquid nitrogen?!
I didn’t expect this book to be the one that would save me from my reading impasse but it was eye-opening, at times scary and challenging in making my own opinions.
Kleeman’s concerns are real: technology can be(come) misleading, especially when money dictates and morality is rarely taken into account.
Yet, there must be a ray of sunshine in this world full of darkness and unfortunately, Kleemans refuses to see it. I am a digital native, after all. Surely, I - we - can do better.
***
That was some heavy content you’ve just read. Well done on getting this far!
Now, as a reward, your weekly dose of cultural recommendations. Enjoy!
I’ll meet you in your inbox, next Friday, as usual.
Happy reading, happy learning,
Teodora x
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🥁 📚 The latest in the literary world
John le Carré completed a novel - Silverview - before he died, and it will be published, globally, on 14 October, in the week that would have marked his 90th birthday! Written alongisde his last two novels, “A Legacy of Spies”(2017) and “Agent Running in the Field”(2019), “Silverview” is the only complete full-length novel left unpublished at the time of le Carré's death. What a fitting parting gift from the master of the spy novel! 🕵️
The current UK Poet Laureate, Simon Armitage, just released “A Vertical Art,” a collection of his expansive and spirited public lectures delivered during his tenure as Oxford University Professor of Poetry. Expect to find answers to what values and what use poetry has in contemporary society, notes on rhyme, prose, metre and lists, peppered with anecdotes that I imagine are intriguing, to say the least. Oh, oh, and the cover! THE COVER! 😻 I don’t know why poetry books aren’t given the same importance as other books - well, the general opinion would be because poetry isn’t read as much - but certainly the cover on this one is… *chef’s kiss*! 👀
Graham Norton, the nine-time BAFTA Entertainment & TV winner, welcomes you to his new book club, but only if you’re an Audible member. I don’t have an Audible subscription, so there you go. It’s your turn to have a listen and tell me whether you’d recommend this or not! 🤔 In the meantime, Norton’s best-selling novel, “Holding,” will be turned into a four-part drama for ITV with filming planned for this summer in Ireland. 🎬 🎥
The first storytelling festival organised by The Evening Standard and Netflix aims to find voices that are under-represented. Will Young will be judging a stories competition and among the speakers are the two debut novelists, Naoise Dolan and Megan Nolan. Stormzy’s publishing imprint, #Merky Books, will be there too. 📖
🎧 📰 👀 My media diet this week
I’m not a big fan of Eurovision, although I have some fond memories around this show. One of them is from three years ago when I was in a bar in New York with a dear friend of mine and we got to watch the chicken lady win! In anticipation of this year’s grand final in Rotterdam, I listened to this 30-minute programme with Andrew Mueller from Monocle’s Foreign Desk discussing Europe’s most popular cultural event. Why listen to it? Mainly because it’s nice to attempt to demystify the real-world political potency behind the glitter-encrusted musical performances. 💃 🕺 👯♀️
Brace yourselves for another intergenerational war! An article from VICE about Gen Z taking on Millenials for being “cheugy.” Why read it? If you don’t want to put yourselves at risk of being “basic, uncool and outdated,” have a go at what this trend entails. I’ll mention pumpkin spiced lattes, overused inspirational quotes and Gucci belts with a double G buckle. Whilst you’re at it, take some notes. It’s a long list. 📝 🤭
LSE media professor Charlie Beckett’s essay on the power of emotions in journalism is fascinating. It’s actually based on a lecture he gave at Northwestern University in April 2019, so if you want a summary, you have access to the slides. 💡 Why read it? This was written and delivered pre-pandemic and yet, it’s relevant now perhaps more than before. You’ll learn about the value of emotions to audiences (do people value news? How does it fit into their lives?), to journalists (it’s more than just engagement!) and to “quality” ( authenticity can go hand in hand with authority, news doesn’t have to be rigid). Clever and insightful, my favourite combination. 🤩
📌 Random news in brief
I guess me drinking oat milk is overrated because there is now another alternative on the market. Pea milk, anyone? 🥛
The world's first 100% compostable face mask is here! Even better, plant it and it will grow into a beautiful flower. Sometimes you’ve gotta love science. 🧑🔬 🌺
I’m enthusiastic about plants. Ocasionally. 🌱 I have to, I guess. I am a plant parent to Louie and Jenny, both bought from IKEA nearly eight months ago and both struggling to live. But I think even for a proper plant lover, “cardening” might be too much. Or does the thought of creating a mini garden bed inside your car not concern you in the slightest?🪴 🤔
Before we say goodbye… 🥺
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Woah that was some really throught provoking topics I might have check this book out if and when I can get the time to read a book again. But yeah subjects like that always are interesting. That why I really like stuff like black mirror. If you have ever seen it? Also that milk sounds strange 🤔 kind of curious to try. This was a fun one :D