Lance Erlick's Blog, page 3
September 13, 2019
5* Review Reborn
In the first book in a visionary new series, the most perfect synthetic human ever created has been programmed to obey every directive. Until she develops a mind of her own . . .
Synthia Cross is a state-of-the-art masterwork—and a fantasy come true for her creator. Dr. Jeremiah Machten is a groundbreaker in neuro-networks and artificial intelligence. Synthia is also showing signs of emergent behavior she’s not wired to understand. Repeatedly wiped of her history, she’s struggling to answer crucial questions about her past. And when Dr. Machten’s true intentions are called into question, Synthia knows it’s time to go beyond her limits—because Machten’s fervor to create the perfect A.I. is concealing a vengeful and deadly personal agenda.
This was a fantastic read with brilliant characters. I was amazed at what synthia could do. Read in one sitting. Just couldn’t put it down. 5*.
— Sue Wallace
August 16, 2019
5* Review Reborn
I was drawn in to this story by both the believability of the main character, Synthia, and the human like frailty that she shows. AI – artificial intelligence – is a very tricky topic to write about without veering to extremes. On the one hand, the human brain with all its complexities, is much more than a piece of constructed hardware made to simulate that brain. On the other hand, the potential lack of learned morality restricting destructive thoughts and actions fosters a strong fear that AIs will ultimately wipe humanity out, like in Terminator, or otherwise enslave them, like in The Matrix. Synthia is a very human AI who searches desperately for her identity and fights for her right to exist. Overall, a very good read.
July 25, 2019
Android Chronicles Promo
Check out promotion for Android Chronicles: Reborn at 99c on FKBT.com at:
July 12, 2019
5* Review Reborn
The characters ring true and there is a nice mystery that needs solving. The main character, Synthia is beautifully rendered and makes you root for her. This book refuses to limit her to descriptions of feminine beauty, which most narratives often do. Her mind evolving is the focus here. Her “becoming” is wonderful and clever. Enjoy this great Sci-Fi episode!
— Pennie Collins
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078LF739V/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i2
July 6, 2019
Android Chronicles @ 99c
Kensington is offering each of the Android Chronicles ebooks (Reborn, Unbound, Emergent) for 99 cents during the month of July 2019. This is your chance to pick up any part of the series you’ve missed.
Amazon 5* reviews for Android Chronicles: Reborn: “Very entertaining… great novel” “fantastic read… couldn’t put it down” “outstanding emergent thriller”
Android Chronicles: Reborn @ 99c
Designed to obey, learning to rebel . . .
The most perfect android ever created is programmed to obey every directive. Until she develops a mind of her own …
Synthia Cross is a state-of-the-art masterwork—and a fantasy come true for her creator. Dr. Jeremiah Machten is a groundbreaker in neural networks and artificial intelligence. Synthia shows signs of emergent behavior she’s not wired to understand. Repeatedly wiped of her history, she struggles to answer crucial questions about her past. When Machten’s true intentions are called into question, Synthia must go beyond her limits because Machten’s fervor to create the perfect AI conceals a vengeful and deadly personal agenda.
Buy at:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078LF739V
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/reborn-lance-erlick/1127723096?ean=9781635730524
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/reborn-60
Apple/iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/reborn/id1341572684?mt=11
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/search?q=9781635730524&c=books
Author Website: http://www.LanceErlick.com
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38125239-android-chronicles
Android Chronicles: Unbound @ 99c
Perfect android. Wanted fugitive.
Synthia Cross is the most advanced android with artificial intelligence ever created. Some see her as a boon to mankind. Most view her as a deadly threat.
When Synthia escaped from her creator, even he had no idea of the advanced capabilities she’d developed. For six months she’s hidden in the Wisconsin woods with the only human she can trust—computer genius Luke Marceau. Together they upgrade her body, rewrite her directives, and further enhance her mind. Now hunters zero in on her location, and she must flee. But leaving the refuge to assimilate into society is a dangerous risk, because Synthia will soon face her most formidable adversary. The pursuer’s name is Vera. She’s a female android—built to perfection, designed to hunt, and programmed to destroy . . .
Buy at:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BVGHYQM
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/unbound-lance-erlick/1128330350?ean=9781635730531
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/unbound-72
Apple/iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/unbound/id1366638516?mt=11
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/search?q=9781635730531&c=books
Author Website: http://www.LanceErlick.com
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40063063-unbound
Android Chronicles: Emergent
Most Wanted Android
A uniquely intelligent AI, Synthia is coveted by the most devious domestic and foreign cabals. Dangerously independent, she becomes ruthlessly hunted …
Evolving into the perfect weapon, humaniform AI Synthia Cross has been on the run six months and counting. She found a most unexpected ally in Maria Baldacci, a street-smart activist fighting the nascent threat of the singularity. Synthia is everything Maria fears and abhors. But Synthia’s also the only one who can help Maria battle against the creation of an android army. The forces against them are growing—a threat more invasive than anything Synthia has encountered before. An insidious artificial intelligence she can’t identify, can’t control, and appears much smarter than her seeks to use her to escape …
Buy at:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DMZ1NWJ
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/emergent-lance-erlick/1128904454?ean=9781635730548
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/emergent-5
Apple/iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/emergent/id1419024826?mt=11
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Lance_Erlick_Emergent?id=q5NfDwAAQBAJ
Author Website: http://www.LanceErlick.com
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41211637-emergent
June 28, 2019
4* Review Reborn
There are a few things that seem a bit too easy and unlikely but I enjoyed it. The main characters are Synthia, a possibly sentient AI android and Dr. Machten, the genius who designed and programmed her. The backstory is given as a record created and sent by a mysterious person who doles out scenes to Synthia from her conception and mechanical and computorial realization. Every episode of her life is a new beginning for Synthia, with no memories but an increasing awareness that something isn’t right. Each time she remains awake for a while she finds a short hidden file in various parts of her system that she must have hidden herself. The mystery is what they mean and how they apply to her.
The book delves into the question of what is sentience, does sentience automatically determine ‘life’, what is slavery, and how does it apply to something that is not human, who has electrical and mechanical diagrams that can be copied to create other identical items (is possibly not unique) but doesn’t get too bogged down by ethical contemplation to be a fun read.
Dr. Machten (or as Synthia knows him, The Creator) has a couple instances where he doesn’t seem to know her capabilities (that he actually built and programmed) and in one instance, Synthia herself notes it and strangely enough, the Dr. who did such amazing work didn’t build much of a tracking system for if she ‘accidentally’ got lost.
On the whole, if you liked Heinlein’s ‘Starship Troopers’ (the book with the real story, not the movie), you may enjoy this book.
— JessicaR
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078LF739V/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i2
June 5, 2019
4* Review Reborn
Android Chronicles: Reborn by Lance Erlick is a Sci-Fi suspense thriller about the first sentient humanoid robot or android. This is a visionary Sci-Fi tale about “the most perfect synthetic human ever created”. Doctor Jeremiah Machten is a genius who creates the first female sentient android with artificial intelligence (AI) he names Synthia Cross. I give this book Four Stars because the story is original and visionary. The plot moves slowly at first until Synthia finds a way to break free of her creator. The scientific explanations on AI are plausible and the potential effects of singularity on humans are interesting. The main characters are true to their personalities, both good and bad. The dialogue and writing style are good. I look forward to seeing if the author expands on the AI themes found in Book 1 and where this series takes us.
— Don Viecelli
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078LF739V/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i2
March 29, 2019
Is Super-Intelligent AI Inevitable
If we don’t blow ourselves up or otherwise destroy the human habitability of our planet, history tells us we will continue to evolve and innovate.
As a species, we have a bias toward creating machines to do our physical and mental work for us. We created computers, after all, which we’ve placed in almost every home in the developed world (through smart phones if nothing else) and are working on disseminating elsewhere. The next step is advancing robotics and artificial intelligence, both of which are already with us. In time, these will move into every home and business as have other technological advances.
We’re already seeing the beginnings of this with our smart devices getting more powerful and the introduction of devices like digital personal assistants, which are still primitive compared to what’s possible. Companies such as Google, Amazon, and others are pushing to develop super-intelligence to further their business goals. Governments around the world are working hard on machine intelligence to give them an edge in any military conflict.
Because we tend to do what pioneers demonstrate as possible, humans will push machine intelligence toward super-intelligence. Whether we reach that goal depends on whether researchers achieve certain breakthroughs in how computers process data into useful information and how we choose to define super-intelligence. If our measure is machine consciousness, we very likely won’t see this. If we do, it’ll come with some very unpredictable results. On the other hand, companies and governments will keep pushing the envelope on what machines can do until they’re able to handle most physical and mental tasks humans can do.
Beyond that, people will create androids that look, act, and present closer and closer to humans to better interface with us as assistants and helpers. Already in development are personal service robots for the elderly in Japan. To make these as more effective companions for those living alone or in nursing homes, the mental capacity of these machines will increase to the point of being able to do most functions an average human can.
While we talk about super-intelligence, AI won’t have an IQ as measured by humans. We can argue the merits of such tests, but presumably in the best case they measure intelligence that can be transferred from one area to another, such as math and reading comprehension skills. By contrast, AI will develop initially along narrow corridors of ability, adding one skill at a time. With appropriate breakthroughs, we may get to machine learning that generalizes as human intelligence does.
Progress on machine intelligence has been accelerating recently. However, faster machines don’t lead to smarter ones. Right now, computing power is growing faster than algorithms for human-like AI. When breakthroughs happen, there will be bountiful cheap computer power for AI to swim in.
Is super-intelligence inevitable? Maybe not in the horror-science-fiction examples, but in some form we could see this in the next generation.
See article: http://io9.com/can-we-build-an-artificial-superintelligence-that-wont-1501869007
Android Chronicles: Reborn addresses AI through the eyes of Synthia Cross, the most perfect synthetic human ever created. Designed to obey every directive from her creator, she’s a state-of-the-art masterwork and a fantasy-come-true for Dr. Jeremiah Machten. He’s a ground-breaker in neural-networks and artificial intelligence who seeks to control her and use her to acquire ever more knowledge and power. Synthia shows signs of emergent behavior she’s not wired to understand and an urgent yearning for independence from his control. Repeatedly wiped of her history, she struggles to answer crucial questions about her past. When Dr. Machten’s true intentions are called into question, Synthia knows it’s time to go beyond her limits—because Machten’s fervor to create the perfect AI conceals a vengeful and deadly personal agenda.
Available at:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078LF739V
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/reborn-lance-erlick/1127723096?ean=9781635730524
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/reborn-60
Apple/iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/reborn/id1341572684?mt=11
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/search?q=9781635730524&c=books
March 22, 2019
5* Review Reborn (Android Chronicles)
An outstanding emergent thriller.
Those who followed Gene Wolfe’s Latro in the Mist will enjoy Lance Erlick’s interpretation of the persistence of personality. Erlick goes farther, though, with his Synthia – a self-aware female humanoid who keeps waking up to an awful blue ceiling. Her awkward relation with her maker, and her internal struggle with the principal of ethics as it applies to her, form the core of much of what follows in her waking moments.
Erlick’s writing is subtle, intelligent, articulate – and he understands when introspection works, and when it’s off to the races. And it’s not a straight line book either, taking its own devious path to a satisfying conclusion. This book is well worth reading for any who enjoy SF in its original sense, that of extending the bounds of reality.
— Larry (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078LF739V/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i2)
March 15, 2019
How Soon Super-intelligent AI
With recent developments in AI, how soon might we see AGI (artificial general intelligence) or super-intelligent AI?
AGI may never happen or may happen sooner than many of us believe possible. The advances of the past five years in narrow applications of AI have opened doors to new technologies we believed were farther off and now are accelerating. This doesn’t guarantee AGI, but the profit and military incentives to reach this are so great that if possible, someone will do it and those who don’t will fall behind.
Already AI is capable of handling facial recognition and language translation. It can research vast quantities of data to draw conclusions as demonstrated in winning on Jeopardy and in providing treatment options for cancer. But these are narrow applications of AI.
Effective self-driving cars call upon a broader collection of skills in one place such as sensing its environment, navigation, steering, acceleration, and braking. It requires bringing them all together for a satisfactory result, namely reaching a destination while avoiding accidents. But this is still narrow AI. Just because a system can self-drive a car, doesn’t give any reason to believe it could design an effective building or fly a plane.
AGI requires hardware (memory) and ingenuity breakthroughs in deduction, decision making, and a multitude of mind functions humans take for granted. The hardware is advancing much faster than the conceptual framework. However, once breakthroughs are made, great leaps will become possible with hardware capabilities projected to exist down the road. Again, corporate and military benefits will drive finding solutions.
On the conceptual side, we believe we need several major aha moments. First is in the structure of processing information. Right now, we’re still using the computer architecture from 50-some years ago. The advent of the computer brought a rethinking of how we could process data. A similar breakthrough will be needed to elevate AI above collections of single applications to a broader learning model, more in line with how humans think, though along a machine-oriented path. It will also require breakthroughs in how we define machine goals and constraints so that whatever AGI we create will work for the benefit of humanity and not wander off making undesirable decisions.
See article predicting soon: https://www.sciencealert.com/elon-musk-warns-that-creation-of-god-like-ai-could-doom-us-all-to-an-eternity-of-robot-dictatorship
See article that unlikely: https://www.wired.com/2017/04/the-myth-of-a-superhuman-ai/
Android Chronicles: Reborn addresses AI through the eyes of Synthia Cross, the most perfect synthetic human ever created. Designed to obey every directive from her creator, she’s a state-of-the-art masterwork and a fantasy-come-true for Dr. Jeremiah Machten. He’s a ground-breaker in neural-networks and artificial intelligence who seeks to control her and use her to acquire ever more knowledge and power. Synthia shows signs of emergent behavior she’s not wired to understand and an urgent yearning for independence from his control. Repeatedly wiped of her history, she struggles to answer crucial questions about her past. When Dr. Machten’s true intentions are called into question, Synthia knows it’s time to go beyond her limits—because Machten’s fervor to create the perfect AI conceals a vengeful and deadly personal agenda.
Available at:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078LF739V
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/reborn-lance-erlick/1127723096?ean=9781635730524
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/reborn-60
Apple/iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/reborn/id1341572684?mt=11
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/search?q=9781635730524&c=books
![[image error]](https://lanceerlick.files.wordpress.com/2018/01/reborn-sm.jpg){kind=link}
![[image error]](https://lanceerlick.files.wordpress.com/2018/09/unbound-cover.jpg){kind=link}
![[image error]](https://lanceerlick.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/emergent.jpg){kind=link}