Helen Phillips explores surveillance capitalism and artificial intelligence in ‘Hum’

Helen Phillips joined WPR’s “BETA” some time again to speak about her novel, “The Need.”

It was longlisted for the National Book Award in 2019. Motherhood was one of many principal themes within the critically-acclaimed novel.

And motherhood performs a giant half in Phillips’ newest novel, “Hum.” The protagonist, Could Webb, has misplaced her job to synthetic intelligence.

Her household is drowning in debt. So Could decides to make some cash by taking part in an experiment that adjustments her face in order that surveillance cameras can not acknowledge it.

“Hum” takes place in a near-future world that has been tousled by local weather change and populated by clever robots known as “hums.”

The “hums” use their torsos to advertise and promote services and products to the people who dwell there.

“BETA” sat down with Phillips once more to speak about how we’re afraid this can be the brand new annoying Amazonian type of promoting that we must cope with. Or are we already coping with it?

The next interview has been edited for readability and brevity.

Doug Gordon: Your novels and brief tales discover the results of surveillance capitalism. What’s it about surveillance capitalism that pursuits you?

HP: I’ll reply that by telling a bit anecdote — one of many seeds of hurt.

Sooner or later some years in the past, I used to be strolling residence from work, and the thought crossed my thoughts: I actually need some new dishrags. I haven’t purchased new rags shortly. I arrived residence and opened my laptop and dishrags have been instantaneously marketed to me. I feel numerous us have had experiences alongside these traces and it was fairly an eerie sensation.

Did they enter my thoughts? How did they know? Did I say it out loud? That feeling of being surveilled.

However then I feel I went forward and acquired these rags, as a result of they’re simply dishrags. It’s not a giant deal. However it did get me going alongside the road of pondering, OK, what can be the worst attainable end result of that sort of surveillance? Why does this give me such a troubled feeling?

And what would occur if I wrote a novel the place I put a personality in a state of affairs the place that surveillance actually results in a lot greater issues than simply feeling a bit unusual that they know you need dishrags?

DG: Very properly stated. You have got created this very fascinating world that appears to be set within the close to future and isn’t all that completely different from our personal. It contains these clever robots known as “hums.” Are you able to inform us a bit extra in regards to the position the “hums” play on this society?

HP: “Hum” is clearly the title of the e-book, and I’ll use that title as a means of exploring this query … As soon as I knew that these robots can be known as “hums,” I knew that “Hum” can be the title.

And that title could be very significant to me within the e-book as a result of I really feel prefer it has a duality in it that can also be encapsulated within the characters of the “hums.” So on the one hand, a hum for me might be the low, relentless sound of all of our units — the simmer of the web, the simmer of all of our machines, a sound you could by no means fairly quiet — it’s at all times there.

And however, “hum” is a really lovely phrase. Perhaps it’s somebody buzzing a lullaby to their kids. It calls to thoughts doubtlessly the sacred sound “ohm.”

And that duality of being a machine, a relentless machine, and having this different component that’s virtually divine or comforting. The “hums” include each of these sides.

DG: You increase numerous essential questions in “Hum,” like how may we dose our applied sciences? How may we dose our utilization of our planet? How may we dose our youngsters’s independence from us? These are all huge questions. And also you’ve in all probability been too busy, however have you ever provide you with any solutions to those questions?

HP: I’m glad you carry up that query. And I’m really going to learn the epigraph to the e-book, which that query actually is referring to. So the epigraph to the e-book is from Paracelsus, who was a physician in the 1400s.

And Paracelsus stated: “Poison is in every little thing, and no factor is with out poison. The dosage makes it both a poison or a treatment.”

To me, that could be very a lot a quote that captures how I really feel about expertise. The applied sciences that we now have are unbelievable instruments and we we will’t eliminate them. However how can we now have an excellent relationship with them? How can we dose them in order that they’re a treatment, not a poison? And that quote I chosen because the epigraph, as a result of that’s actually one of many driving questions of the e-book. What’s the proper relationship to have with one?

What’s the proper relationship to have together with your woom? I don’t know that I’ve arrived at any clear reply because the e-book is de facto present in that grey space. However actually personally, I attempt to have a time the place I take a break from my electronic mail, take a break from my cellphone, put it away and actually take away my eyes from the display and attempt to floor myself absolutely within the bodily world and the individuals round me.