The CEO’s Reading List For Navigating The Digital Future

Story Machines: How Computers Have Become Creative Writers by Mike Sharples and Rafael Pérez y Pérez (Routledge) 

In Story Machines, Mike Sharples and Rafael Pérez y Pérez, experts in the field of computational creativity and AI literary technologies, give a brave new insight into the past, present and future of automated creative thinking. A fascinating critique of this mind-boggling field, these two pioneering professors of creative AI, set the scene for a world where all writing is potentially done by computers, from the latest screenplays and best-sellers to the newspapers and alerts we receive. 

In a contemporary world, where AI is already influencing how humans tell stories, from video game characters with responsive dialogue to chatbots and automated news reports, this book explores key ethical questions such as, is it ethical to trust or market AI story generators that don’t understand what they have written, and that don’t possess empathy? And how will computer programmes that tell stories influence writers and society?

Reacting to the inherent dangers involved in AI narrative generation, and its possible benefits, this book will get your brain ticking and questioning how far we can take our digital transformations, as well as what it means to be human. 

Can we really replicate imagination? Ask the computer!