I Still Dream
“A strikingly intelligent book about intelligence itself” – Sarah Perry, author of The Essex Serpent
1997.
17-year-old Laura Bow has invented a rudimentary artificial intelligence, and named it Organon. At first it’s intended to be a sounding-board for her teenage frustrations, a surrogate best friend; but as she grows older, Organon grows with her.
As the world becomes a very different place, technology changes the way we live, love and die; massive corporations develop rival intelligences to Laura’s, ones without safety barriers or morals; and Laura is forced to decide whether to share her creation with the world. If it falls into the wrong hands, she knows, its power could be abused. But what if Organon is the only thing that can stop humanity from hurting itself irreparably?
I STILL DREAM is a powerful tale of love, loss and hope; a frightening, heartbreakingly human look at who we are now – and who we can be, if we only allow ourselves.
”'Smythe's most accomplished work… Utterly engrossing” - Observer
”'Superbly evocative… a book about varieties of intelligence (human, artificial, moral and emotional) which showcases the novelistic one of its very smart and very talented creator” - Sunday Times
”'The best fictional treatment of the possibilities and horrors of artificial intelligence that I’ve read” - Alex Preston, Guardian
”'I Still Dream is amazing!” - Beth Lewis, author of Wolf Road
”'Sad, beguiling…a beautiful mixtape about what it is to be human, and alive, and to love another more than oneself” - Irish Times
”'A haunting meditation on the implications of AI, on intelligence itself, and on what it means to live and die in the age of technology. I Still Dream is a must-read for fans of David Mitchell, for anyone who’s ever used a smartphone, and for anyone who appreciates riveting plots and beautiful prose.” - Emily St. John Mandel, author of Station Eleven
”'A humane, thought-provoking and powerful book … superbly orchestrated … beautiful, involving, emotionally compelling” - Adam Roberts
”'One of the most affecting and brilliant books I've read this year … a huge achievement: toweringly ambitious, and yet beautifully controlled and crafted” - Sam Byers, author of Idiopathy
‘This is a visionary novel about what it is to be human. It is a startling look at intelligence, empathy and grief in the face of technology. Smythe has written his masterpiece’Nikesh Shukla, editor of The Good Immigrant and author of Meatspace -
”'I STILL DREAM begins with melancholy nostalgia, before growing urgently contemporary and finally chillingly prescient. It is a strikingly intelligent book about intelligence itself: artificial intelligence, emotional intelligence, and all the ways we watch each other. Having read it, you may wish to turn off your phone” - Sarah Perry, author of The Essex Serpent