I chose writing, and specifically science fiction novels, as my art form. After seven years and six books, I can report that I’m having a blast on my journey, and there’s no end in sight.
Science fiction is a natural fit for me. It’s what I read in my youth. And as a professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Connecticut, science is in my blood. My research at UConn focuses on automating manufacturing plants to make them safer, cleaner, and more profitable. I spent years studying how neural networks and other artificial intelligence technologies might serve in that role. Over time, my research shifted away from AI, but my interest in the technology never died.
Now I use my imagination to explore the subject. My interest is in how human-AI interaction might impact our society. I did this first in The Crystal Series, four novels of action and suspense that center on two great sci-fi themes—artificial intelligence and adventures in space. The overarching personality in the series is Criss, a “good” AI with the cognitive ability of a thousand humans. He is hard-wired to protect and serve his human leadership team, which includes Dr. Juice Tallette, the crystal scientist who created him; Cheryl Wallace, captain of a Fleet space cruiser; and Sid, a covert operative for the Union of Nations.
I am currently writing the Bump Time Trilogy, where the stories center on AI and time travel. In these books, Ciopova is a “bad” AI who manipulates humans to her own ends. We follow David “Diesel” Lagerford, his wife Lilah, and daughter Rose across time as they confront Ciopova and seek to end her dominance.
To illustrate what I mean by exploring human-AI interaction, I’ve chosen a few examples from different books and present them below.
First up is a scene from Crystal Deception, book 1 of The Crystal Series. Here, Criss is a few weeks old and growing in capability. Juice, his creator, is seeing him for the first time as a projected image—a holographic trick of light that makes him seem real—and has a human reaction.
“Agents are watching you, Juice,” said Criss. “But they’re seeing what I show them. I suspect they’ll become quite bored with what they believe is your daily routine.”
She examined the features of his face as he spoke. “You look a lot like my dad when he was younger. You did this to make me like you more?”
“I want you to feel comfortable with me. Is this okay?”
“You chose well.” Juice leaned to see him from the side. “I may develop a crush on you, though.”
Over the course of the series, Juice and Criss develop a deeply personal relationship. Here is a scene from Crystal Rebellion, book 3 of The Crystal Series. In this scene, Juice learns that her love-interest, Alex, was seen kissing another woman. We join Juice in her bedroom, confiding in Criss, who is sitting with her as a projected image.
“I’m so sad,” whispered Juice.
Criss caught her eye. “While Anya loves Alex, he does not feel the same about her.”
Juice shook her head, but because it rested on a pillow, it was more of a chin shake. “Sorry, Criss. They were kissing. You’ll never understand human matters of the heart.”
“Igor Dolovich has loved you for more than a year. You sat on his lap six weeks ago. Should Alex be upset?”
“There were five of us in a car and I was the smallest person by far. What was I supposed to do?”
“You danced with him four weeks ago. A slow dance. You kissed at the end.”
“It was a company party and he asked me. And I know you chose a slow song to get me to spend time with him.” She didn’t believe that last part was true, but when he didn’t object, she wondered if it might be. “And we didn’t kiss. He gave me a peck on the cheek.”
“You love Igor.”
She rolled back to face the wall. “That’s dumb and this isn’t helping.”
“Alex doesn’t love Anya, just the way you don’t love Igor.”
Beginning to understand his logic, she looked back at him. “Are you sure?”
Criss nodded. “Ask him yourself.”
Criss has a different relationship with Sid, a highly-trained military operative. When no threats are present, Sid treats Criss like a frat-brother. Here is a scene from Crystal Escape, book 4 of The Crystal Series, where Sid goads Criss into making a wager.
With the launch test completed, Sid pushed Criss to bet on whether the chicken egg inside survived. “Pick either broken or intact.”
“Which do you want?” Criss replied.
“You go first,” Sid insisted. “Broken or intact? You have to choose.”
“I’ll take broken.”
“You really think the equipment is that bad?”
“No. I’d say the chance of failure is small. But I know you want to pick intact, so I’ll take broken.”
Giving him a sidelong glance, Sid stood and made for the exit. “You are the opposite of fun.”
But when danger lurks and tensions rise, Sid’s hard edge emerges, creating difficulties for Criss. In this scene from Crystal Escape, the AI must negotiate his path carefully.
As they raced to intercept the stolen craft and rescue Juice, Sid called to her, “Is it just you and Lazura on the ship?”
“I think so,” Juice replied. After a brief pause, she continued, her voice rising. “And Sid, don’t even think about making a move on her until I’m back and we talk. Criss, you hear me?”
Cheryl offered her support. “We’ll wait.”
“Acknowledged,” replied Criss, who used formal language to convey that he would be following strict protocol during this period of leadership disharmony.
Outnumbered, Sid, who wanted to destroy Lazura at the first opportunity, grunted and folded his arms.
Not all interactions need be dramatic to be interesting. In this scene
from Bump Time Meridian, book 2 of the Trilogy, Lilah’s first time-travel experience is to jump to the future to visit an older version of her daughter, Rose. While there, Rose has her try out a neural link with Luca, the home AI.
Rose watched Lilah go quiet and begin to sway, and knew that meant Luca was giving her the grand tour. His valley excursion made you feel like you were flying over the hillsides as he glided you past amazing wildlife and dramatic geographic features. His extended tour included virtual visits to notable homes along the mountain ridges, a sampling of the popular winter and summer sports, an overview of the local history, and more.
“Luca,” Rose called aloud. “Please keep the tour short. We have work to do.”
She’d committed a major faux pas by speaking to the AI about a linked human. In polite society, one always addressed the person. But she was anxious to move things along and counted on Lilah’s inexperience to miss her gaffe.
But when the bad AI shows her cards, like Ciopova does in this scene from Bump Time Origin, book 1 of the Trilogy, it becomes the kind of interaction we all fear.
Tap. Tap. The knock on the workshop door caused Rose to turn. Whispering to Ciopova, she asked, “Who is that?”
“It’s your father," replied the AI.
“It’s not my dad.” Her tone was matter-of-fact, almost dismissive. Then she thought about it. “Unless you reactivated the T-discs?”
She’d always felt safe in this house and comfortable with Ciopova. That history tempered her caution, and, in the moment, she made a critical error. She unlocked the door.
The instant Rose disengaged the door lock, the house bot forced it open from the outside and lunged for her.
Whew! While this is a tiny sample of the human-AI interactions I explore, I hope you’ve gained a sense of what you’ll find inside the pages of my books.
Thank you so much for hosting me. I am grateful for the opportunity to visit your wonderful blog.
“Which do you want?” Criss replied.
“You go first,” Sid insisted. “Broken or intact? You have to choose.”
“I’ll take broken.”
“You really think the equipment is that bad?”
“No. I’d say the chance of failure is small. But I know you want to pick intact, so I’ll take broken.”
Giving him a sidelong glance, Sid stood and made for the exit. “You are the opposite of fun.”
But when danger lurks and tensions rise, Sid’s hard edge emerges, creating difficulties for Criss. In this scene from Crystal Escape, the AI must negotiate his path carefully.
As they raced to intercept the stolen craft and rescue Juice, Sid called to her, “Is it just you and Lazura on the ship?”
“I think so,” Juice replied. After a brief pause, she continued, her voice rising. “And Sid, don’t even think about making a move on her until I’m back and we talk. Criss, you hear me?”
Cheryl offered her support. “We’ll wait.”
“Acknowledged,” replied Criss, who used formal language to convey that he would be following strict protocol during this period of leadership disharmony.
Outnumbered, Sid, who wanted to destroy Lazura at the first opportunity, grunted and folded his arms.
Not all interactions need be dramatic to be interesting. In this scene
Rose watched Lilah go quiet and begin to sway, and knew that meant Luca was giving her the grand tour. His valley excursion made you feel like you were flying over the hillsides as he glided you past amazing wildlife and dramatic geographic features. His extended tour included virtual visits to notable homes along the mountain ridges, a sampling of the popular winter and summer sports, an overview of the local history, and more.
“Luca,” Rose called aloud. “Please keep the tour short. We have work to do.”
She’d committed a major faux pas by speaking to the AI about a linked human. In polite society, one always addressed the person. But she was anxious to move things along and counted on Lilah’s inexperience to miss her gaffe.
But when the bad AI shows her cards, like Ciopova does in this scene from Bump Time Origin, book 1 of the Trilogy, it becomes the kind of interaction we all fear.
Tap. Tap. The knock on the workshop door caused Rose to turn. Whispering to Ciopova, she asked, “Who is that?”
“It’s your father," replied the AI.
“It’s not my dad.” Her tone was matter-of-fact, almost dismissive. Then she thought about it. “Unless you reactivated the T-discs?”
She’d always felt safe in this house and comfortable with Ciopova. That history tempered her caution, and, in the moment, she made a critical error. She unlocked the door.
The instant Rose disengaged the door lock, the house bot forced it open from the outside and lunged for her.
Whew! While this is a tiny sample of the human-AI interactions I explore, I hope you’ve gained a sense of what you’ll find inside the pages of my books.
Thank you so much for hosting me. I am grateful for the opportunity to visit your wonderful blog.
When he is not writing science fiction novels, Doug fills his day
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Doug, it's an honor having you as our guest today. Your series sounds interesting! Thanks for dropping by.
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