Emeritus professor’s new novel completes a trilogy that began three years ago
Professor emeritus of urban planning & public policy Scott Bollens didn’t set out to write a trilogy when his debut novel, ReStart: Stories of the Cairn Age, was published in 2021.
But jump ahead two years, and ReForm: Combating the Algorithmic Mutation was published. On Oct. 8 came book number three from Atmosphere Press, Precipice: When Algorithms Triumphed.
“Although written last, Precipice is actually the first book in the story’s timeline,” Bollens explains. “It takes place in 2032, when artificial intelligence is first used by the massively integrated supercomputer to influence human consciousness and behavior. For first-time readers of the trilogy, Precipice is the place to start.”
The latest novel kicks off what Bollens calls “an unsettling 25-year journey describing the damaging consequences of humanity’s deepening reliance on artificial intelligence (A.I.).
“ReStart covers the war years caused by interconnect’s fostering of fabricated narratives of hatred and grievance,” he says. “ReForm covers a period when the algorithmic dictatorship mutates into a seemingly hopeful guide for humanity. But all is not what it seems.”
The protagonist throughout the trilogy is a disillusioned former academic who is consistently confronted with the split in his mental life between machine-curated fabricated reality and organic reality, according to the author.
“Precipice, and the trilogy as a whole, is a cautionary tale about what might happen to our ability to think and act independently when more and more of our life is turned over to algorithmic determination of our personal needs and social media ‘echo-chamber’ influence on our beliefs,” Bollens says. “In many ways, the trilogy is an exaggerated projection of our possible future. However, in this day and age of warped disinformation, it may become our reality. I sure hope not!”
That hope should be further embraced when one considers the events the author imagines for Precipice happen only a decade from now.
“The interesting thing about Precipice is it occurs closer to today than the other two books in the trilogy,” Bollens says. “It’s only eight years from now. It made me think more about what really could happen in real life over the next eight years. In which directions will artificial intelligence take humanity?”
To create such a nuanced world over three books might seem to require a detailed outline before the first word of the trilogy is written, but Bollens is adamant that wasn’t the case.
“This has always been a one-novel-at-a-time deal with me, not thinking about a trilogy at all,” he says. “But, as I finished one book, there was always more story to develop. After the first two books, when I thought of a third, at first, I thought of moving the story forward in time. But then I thought, ‘Wait, let’s go back to when A.I. first started to warp humans and tell that story, when we were on the precipice and about to fall.’”
Having previously written seven non-fiction books based on his decades of research of and visits to conflict zones and politically polarized cities around the globe, Bollens is proud of what he has accomplished in a comparatively short time as a novelist.
“For someone who first transitioned to fictional writing only four years ago, it’s cool now having a trilogy out,” he says. “I’m happy with the overall story line, lots of psychological twists and turns.”
And he’s not resting on his laurels.
“I am currently writing a new novel called The Memory Pool, a futurist work that portrays a scenario where memories can be retrieved and transferred, and the consequences of this technology on an individual’s autobiography and sense of self.”
Precipice: When Algorithms Triumphed is available to order on Amazon and at most retailers and independent booksellers.
— Matt Coker