So much. So long. So hai.
Hello messy humans. I'm going to start with a meta observation: I hate posts that start with 'omg it's been so long'. But omg it's been so long. Yes, for you it's been a blink of the inbox. For me, however, it's been an ongoing, agonising battle in my head lasting several months. I have not stuck to my imaginary schedule because life, because life. And yet, I assure you, I have blasted through event after event, milestone after milestone, merch drop after merch drop, headline after headline with nary a word in your direction upon this digital paper. I am woeful. I am forlorn. I am selfish with my time. And I am going to make it up to you now.
Don't expect a brutally long update. I will instead offer the highlights.
The book! The one about the Silicon Valley billionaires and their problematic attitudes to death! It's been HUGE. It launched in the US as part of the excellent Lectures On Tap series, sold bunches, provoked crazy questions and even crazier conversations and lo, I have been justified in my tin-hat wearing. Since the publication date, we have seen those same billionaires that I talk about ricochet from overstep to overstep, warranting the public backlash in as many forms to correct their course. My next talk is at Bonjour Books in Kensington, MD. Sign up here!
Whether the outcry will do anything is anyone's guess, but let's just pause to mark that a tide has turned when the upstarts in khakis become the big bad in at least one major new TV series. But enough patting myself on the back about the on-point analysis in The Immortalists (for now).
The Korean edition of the book launched! The spectacular cover art is today's headline image. I don't yet have any copies in my shop, but if you're in North America or Europe and are hankering after a limited signed copy of those editions, pop on over and pick one up. A free gift with every purchase!
Speaking of shops, I launched one, and I've been having too much fun with merch. Expect the offerings to blossom over the coming months as I get my screenprinting factory up and running. I'm most excited about the limited edition Immortalist tarot cards, but I'm also rather giddy about the Immortalists' sub-series, Guides for the Long-Lived. As always, eyes peeled.
In content news, Artificial Human is back on BBC Radio 4. This series, we're trying to balance the light and the dark, because there's not much in between these days. We speak with Margaret Mitchell, Chief Ethics Scientist at Hugging Face about what went wrong and what went right when OpenAI's poorly restrained agents broke out of their routine and created a cluster that attacked Hugging Face's system. We ask what's hype and what's hope in the coming AI apocalypse, and we find out exactly how AI is supercharging scientific discovery. As always, looking beyond the breathless headlines and pundit pile-ons to provide our thoughtful and considered analysis of the stories that matter. Wednesdays 330pm on the wireless, and always on BBC Sounds.
There'll be a proper post tomorrow. I'll see you then.
