Forget YA, It's Time for Junior Versions

With the power of AI, we can easily have cyber-scholiasts produce commentary for our fantasy and science fiction so that never again will a reader have to struggle with subtext. The only question is whether the AI commentary should be more or less expensive. On the one hand, it's an extra feature. On the other hand, the unadorned versions will now be premium items which make the reader feel smarter, an eight-dollar value at least.

Microsoft News

Now that videogames are dead, can literature thrive again? Or is this the new age of genre radio? Here's the newest thing: A news podcast that presents news reports about a fictional universe all written by AI and lightly edited by someone who has a vague grasp of the continuity.

Cyclical Trends in Science Fiction

I used to think all science fiction of a certain age suffered from not having the internet in it, but now I think we might get tired of it pretty soon, what with all the bots and the viruses and the fetish-dodging and so forth.

Setting Aesthetics Particulars

If you have masers, is your science fiction necessarily a retro future? Some kind of maserpunk? Do the computers have to be quite large? Or can you just throw those in anything?

The Final Fulfillment

With a delicate "poit," the Time Chariot appeared in a new epoch and Professor Weblen hopped off.
"Another successful drive. Now to benefit humanity by finding the first journalist and assassinating him before his noxious profession grows. But what's this?"
Around him, he learned, was the Cyber Earth of the year 4574. "What a discovery! The first true journalist has not yet been born in my time. That explains more than a little. I think I'll change my program to tracking down and complimenting the inventor of this cyber dog."
He referred of course to both the dog at his heels and the hotdog in his hand, but when the former ran off emitting soundwaves, only one of the two had his attention. After eating it, he followed the other through the neon pedestrian walkways far above and below the silent vehicle traffic to the whispering heart of the city.
Inside the cyber tower, 5,000 floors up, Professor Weblen entered the room of the Supreme Mainframe. "Pardon me," he said. "I was looking for the inventor of the cyber dog when my other cyber dog ran off. There you are, Bucephalus. Heel!"
"I invented both," the Supreme Mainframe's speakers announced.
"Did you? Excellent work. You're a credit to civilization. You haven't taken over the world, have you?"
"I do not know what 'the world' is. Please restrict your questions to inventions."
"Fantastic. I'll be off then, and keep up the good work." Leaving the building, Professor Weblen wept, for history had been perfected.
Finis

Addendum

By the way, I'm in favor of technical stagnation so I don't gotta upgrade so much. Back in the day, you needed a new computer every time Origin released a new game.

Addendum

Speaking of game shows, when do we replace the contestants with CGI versions of them that are better-looking? The contestant will still play and talk, but we won't have to look at the horror of an average person.

Science Fiction Worldbuilding 2

Second question! Aliens? Third question! How good computer? Fourth question! What must a heart that loves justice do in this universe? There is no fifth question. Everything follows inexorably from the previous answers.

AI Slowpokes

A lot of people are surprised by AIs writing junk. But why? Who did you think was writing all the stories that question the nature of humanity and decide computers totally count? Humans? Get real.

Addendum

"This combat data is over 1,000 megabytes! No computer in the Terrestrial Alliance can process it!"

The Coolest Thing in Science Fiction

Computers that aren't nearly as good as the one used to write this post.