Exhalation, by Ted Chiang
In Ted Chiang’s science fiction, advanced technologies and alternate realities are the backdrop for deeply human stories. He catapulted to fame with his first collection, Stories of Your Life and Others—and that book’s title story was adapted into the film Arrival, directed by Denis Villeneuve. In his second collection, Exhalation, Chiang writes thoughtful, searching narratives that explore AI’s risks and rewards, species extinction, archaic theories of consciousness, and more. In “The Lifecycle of Software Objects,” a zookeeper named Ana joins a software start-up trying to make endearing AI pets. The start-up fails, but Ana and her coworker, Derek, can’t abandon the digital creatures they’ve grown to love: “The practice of treating conscious beings as if they were toys is all too prevalent,” Derek muses, “and it doesn’t just happen to pets.” Another story, “The Great Silence,” shows an endangered parrot trying to communicate with humans: “Human activity has brought my kind to the brink of extinction, but I don’t blame them for it … They just weren’t paying attention.” Chiang’s fiction is informed by complex scientific concepts, but his writing style makes them accessible and compelling. Despite the unfamiliar settings, each story feels like a prescient and emotionally insightful commentary on the technological challenges facing us today.
What to Read When You Have Only Half an Hour
Sci-Fi with Cred? It might be worth a look.