Scott Overton, a former Sudbury radio personality turned author, is releasing a new book this week. Overton said his book, ‘Zenith: Aftermath,’ is another futuristic tale. “What happens is a group of VIPs are onboard a hyper-fast underground train. And they are doing a promotional stunt to break a speed record,” said Overton. “Something goes wrong -- an event happens -- and they end up in a space or time where the train tunnel is dead.” When the VIPs reach the surface, the realize something is wrong -- the forests seem uncanny and off, there are no people around, no birds and no animals. “This begs the question, where or when are they,” said Overton. “As these people consider survival, a voice speaks to them from the air.” The voice is not God, but a disembodied, digital being -- artificial intelligence -- that speaks to the characters in his book, and how they relate to it. “There are intelligences, consciences, without bodies and how you would interact with them,” Overton said. “What it would like to be one -- and what it would be like to become one.” Overton said that AI is here and more companies are looking to harness it, and eventually, to replace us. “They will not have bodies, but we wonder what forms they will take,” he said. “There is a lot of talk about humans uploading their consciousnesses into a digital format. I try to explore a bunch of different varieties.” Overton said that, right now, AI programs are not thinking beings, just sophisticated computers and algorithms. But they could become something of a Frankenstein’s monster. “If they do reach that goal of a thinking self-aware consciousness, we have no idea what their motivations are going to be. Are they going to be on our side?” said Overton. The official launch of Zenith: Aftermath is Saturday at the Sudbury Farmer’s Market.
