‘I encountered the terror of never finding anything’
The concepts of “sentience” and “agency” in machines are muddled, particularly given that it’s difficult to measure what these concepts are. But many speculate the improvements we are seeing in artificial intelligence (AI) may one day amount to a new form of intelligence that supersedes our now.
Regardless, AI has been a part of our lives for many years — and we encounter its invisible hand predominantly on the digital platforms most of us inhabit daily. Digital technologies once held immense promise for transforming society, but this utopianism feels like it’s slipping away, argues technologist and author Mike Pepi, in his new book “Against Platforms: Surviving Digital Utopia” (Melville House Publishing, 2025).
We have been taught that digital tools are neutral, but in reality, they are laden with dangerous assumptions and can lead to unintended consequences. In this excerpt, Pepi assesses whether AI — the technology at the heart of so many of these platforms — can ever emulate the human feelings that move us, through the prism of art.
“Writer Fuel” is a series of cool real-world stories that might inspire your little writer heart. Check out our Writer Fuel page on the LimFic blog for more inspiration.
