Although I didn’t adore this book, I found it to be an interesting take on artificial intelligence; on what contributes to developing an AI; on the trials and errors involved, and on how the best intentions can be tainted by poor execution, like what happens with SCION. Because, to paraphrase what Laura says about it in the novel, if you teach a child to fight and retaliate, what does it teach them about life and how to react to whatever comes their way?

The story had its ebb and flow, sometimes a little too slow to my liking, but always intriguing. I usually don’t mind when a story jumps from one time period to another, and/or doesn’t always rely on the same narrator, as long as I can follow it. And here, I didn’t have any trouble following, even when the first person narrator didn’t introduce themselves at first (like what happens with Charlie or Cesar). This approach lets the author play with more than just Laura’s take on both Organon and SCION—which was good, since it’s easily apparent that Organon is built upon all that Laura poured into it, and having only Laura’s POV would have felt, to me, slightly… constricting?

My opinion about the plot remains mixed, though, in that the novel seems to hover between being character-driven and being story-driven, while not fully achieving either. I liked the take on developing artificial intelligence—I don’t know much about coding, and I wouldn’t know how to even start about something so huge, and it felt plausible to me. On the other hand, I kept thinking that I wanted the character development part to go a little further than it did, because I felt that there remained some invisible barrier between me and the characters.

This said, I still got to see enough about Laura and the beings (whether the people or the AIs) surrounding her to get a fairly good idea of the characters, too, and of their struggles through life, especially when it came to dementia and similar memory- and recognition-related troubles. So, I definitely wouldn’t say either that the book was a failure in that regard.

Perhaps the one part that really disappointed me was the last chapter, which dragged on making the same point several times. I think it would’ve been more powerful had it been much shorter.

Nevertheless, I would still recommend the book, for the way it puts AI creation and destruction in parallel with the growing up and the decaying of human minds. (Also, listening to ‘Cloudbusting’ while reading it doesn’t hurt.)

Exceptional novel looking at the advancement of technology with valid consideration of being human

Lara Bow is the daughter of an early technology pioneer whose disappearance affects her deeply. Her grief and being in the throes of difficult teenage years are the catalyst for her own pioneering foray into technology when she develops Organon, her personal Artificial Intelligence sounding board. I found this very poignant.

The book opens in 1997. Organon grows with Lara as the years fly by to 2007 and 2017. Not only does Smythe deal with the effect of technology on humanity in an objective way, he tells the story of a teenager becoming an adult in a world where technology is growing exponentially.

This book is grounded in today’s technology reality which the reader can identify with. It is filled with emotions including grief, normal reactions in family life, helplessness, friendships, love, loss and renewal. Through Lara, Smythe looks at real and artificial intelligence as well as the humanitarian and ugly side of technology.

In the end, brilliantly Smythe takes us back to the beginning when Lara makes an astounding discovery relating to her father. It was this excellent conclusion that sealed the book for me as a must read. Definitely worth the 5 stars I have given it.

BonnieK

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

I was thoroughly invested in this book almost from the outset. Science fiction that could have some basis in fact now or in the future. Laura bow develops a machine that she can "talk" to - it has Artificial Intelligence. More than that it has, as programmed by her, moral responsibility and developing humanity (maybe not programmed). Her love of computers and technology stems from her father but there are things that Laura does not know about her father's background or his one time working partner. Smythe weaves the facets of the story beautifully we start with a week in the life if a troubled teenager and then get to see how she and her "machine" develop over the decades. The storyline is topical but novel, it stretches the imagination but it has a centre on morality and humanity thing . There are moments when i felt a bit bogged down in the detail which is the reason for 4 rather than 5 stars. I haven't read anything else by this author but i will certainly aim to rectify that

Living in the age that we do, I found this book quite scary to be honest, but also incredibly touching and moving, and human.

Our main character is Laura Bow, and we join her as a teenager, doing all the usual teenage things, spending all day with her mates at school then chatting all night to them on the phone about what happened at school - same thing I did, however, Laura clearly is a little younger than me as she has the internet at home - albeit the screetchy dial up connection that I remember from my MSX (yeah, I had one of those, not an amstrad....), and you had to pay for it via the phone line (I'd forgotten all about that!).

We discover that Laura is quite clearly an IT genius, using internet chatrooms to seek advice occasionally when coding her own AI "Organon" - using it initially as someone to talk to - as therapy - after her dad disappeared without explanation.

We follow Laura through her life, leaving school, her first job, love, marriage, dealing with dementia, pregnancy, death, betrayal, as well as always wondering what happened to her father and why he disappeared. Oragnon is always there, asking what she wants to talk about, and occasionally asking other questions Laura does not know how it knew how to do - scaring her a little.

I'm not going to give away the plot more than what I already have done. It's a really good book - it makes you think about how we use AI in our lives, and the consequences - especially considering what has happened recently with our information on a certain social media platform, and (for those in england) GDPR which surprised and worried me about how many companies have my email address, but have been silent for years.

We have Siri, Alexa, etc which we just shout at to do something for us or find something out for us, play some music, etc....it's just the start, and this book makes you realise it could be terrifying if it all goes wrong. But it also will be amazing if it doesn't.....

It's ironic as I finish this post, Siri reminds me that my countdown is up to take something out of the oven.

A slow-burner of a book, quite lengthy and slow-moving, but with some intriguing ideas. Without giving away the plot, I can well imagine how some of the ideas could come to pass.

We give information away every day without even thinking about it - we tick to accept every Ts&Cs box without reading or understanding the implications properly - so we can't be surprised if our data is squirreled away...

I liked the idea of Organon (and love the song that inspired the name). I wonder if there will be a follow up?

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC in return for my honest review.

Where to start with I Still Dream?! This was a gorgeous book, with beautiful writing, a strong main character, and a compelling, thought-provoking story which spans decades and touches on some of the most topical issues of our time. It was unlike anything else I’ve read, and a book which won’t be forgotten easily. How has this book not received more hype?!

The novel starts in 1987 when the protagonist Laura is 17. This early section immediately sucked me in, the author captures the angsty impression of a teenage girl surprisingly well, and the smatterings of nostalgia in the form of mix-tapes and dial-up modems were something I could really connect with. Laura has her fair share of problems, including a father who disappeared without a word ten years before and a serious case of undiagnosed depression. She’s also got a talent; she takes after her Dad, a technology entrepreneur, and using her self-taught coding skills she builds a rudimental AI and names it Organon. Organon is her sounding board; a kind of therapist to whom she can pour out all of her feelings, and who always knows the right prompt or question to ask – because Laura has programmed it to.

From there, we follow Laura and Organon as they grow and evolve, with each chapter taking place a decade apart. Some are from Laura’s point of view, some from others close to her, but despite spanning continent and topics, the strong characters of Laura and her creation shine through. She inevitably follows her father’s footsteps into a career in tech, and as the world around her changes, the one constant in her life is Organon.

The growth of technology, data privacy and artificial intelligence are hotly debated issues and I Still Dream explores them all. Smythe takes us from the birth of the modern computer in the 1980s, decades into the future and his projections are disturbing and all too believable. This is speculative fiction at its best, but what makes it stand out is how the sci-fi elements sit so naturally alongside human issues such as depression and dementia. This novel doesn’t just explore the boundaries of technology but also humanity, and how the two can work together. It’s beautifully done.

Really fascinating ideas and human stories - it'll be interesting to see which path AI might follow in the future

If you are in to artificial intelligence or ICT in general you may very well get something out of this book: unfortunately, I didn’t and it was something of a relief when I finally reached the end. The story of a young girl inheriting her absent father’s gift for software development and building her ‘imaginary friend’ so she had someone to talk to just didn’t do ‘IT’ for me. It has the usual AI/fantasy/SiFi tropes exploring the meaning of life, what it is to be human, the Turing Test, blah, blah, blah, plus a kind of road trip down ‘ICT Memory Lane’, but does it in a disappointingly clunky way, switching first person narrators now and again and leaving it to the reader to perceive, gradually, who it is telling the story.

Along the way there are cautionary tales about being careful ‘what you ‘dream’ for’, and what you create, lest you create a monster in your own image, etc. and an epistolary exposition, from the grave, of the utility and future of AI. But all of this is no substitute for a good story, which is what we don’t get as we travel through the life, and beyond, of the central character, Laura, every now and then detouring down narrative cul-de-sacs.

Pity, really, since the one theme that might have been worth pursuing; i.e. the exploration of the damage, pain and suffering wrought by the dominant patriarchal structure of all societies, is smothered under a welter of unnecessary techno-obfuscation, and unsuccessful narrative gimmicks.

Let's get something out of the way first of all. Yes, this book is being "tagged" as science fiction, and yes, it could technically is, but for anyone who thinks science fiction is not their genre, I would urge you to pick this book up anyway. Personally I would label this book more as "speculative fiction" rather than Sci-Fi.
I Still Dream is the story of a girl and her...... ehm..... Artificial Intelligence.(See, I told you it wasn't Sci-Fi.) This book starts in 1997, when many homes were first getting connected to the internet, when our protagonist ,Laura, is just turning 17. The story shows us various snapshots of her life, and through the development and growth of not only her software, but herself and her family.
This book gives a startling glance at how quickly time moves forward, and how life can pass us by in the blink of an eye. The author also speculates (see, "speculative fiction") about where our current obsession with technology and being "always on" is heading.
I really enjoyed how the story was told here and thought that it was paced brilliantly. The current cultural nods mixed with the references to past pop culture sets the tone from the outset (Laura names her AI after lyrics in her favourite Kate Bush song!). The overall story of Laura, Organon, and Co. really drew me in and kept me reading until the early hours. I do feel that there's something here for everyone, and especially today in our social media obsessed world (he says while posting this on Twitter and FB) gives us the chance to look at our own usage of technology.
This is a smashing book, and one that will, I'm sure, be near the top of my list come the end of the year. Again, what are you waiting for? 5*
https://donjimmyreviews.wordpress.com/2018/05/10/i-still-dream-james-smythe/

I struggled a bit with I Still Dream. James Smythe is a very fine writer and I thought that The Machine was an outstanding book. This didn't feel nearly as original or interesting to me.

The narrative begins in 1997 when Laura Bow is seventeen and a computer genius like her late father. She begins to create Organon, a form of Artificial Intelligence which can learn and which she tries to imbue with her own human values. Meanwhile, others have appropriated her father's work on SCION, a similar program but which has been "raised" very differently. The narrative jumps a decade at a time and changes narrators as we see the way in which the two programs develop and each has a profound influence on the world, eventually ending up in an undisclosed year in the far future. Smythe deals with important issues like the uses and abuses of data, the meaning of sentience and humanity and so on, but in spite of some very good writing and some interesting takes on human and artificial memory, it dragged very badly for quite long periods.

The book is too long, for one thing and sometimes felt more like a lecture on the potential of AI than a novel. The characters and human aspects of the story weren't really strong enough to carry the book and – surprisingly to me – it all felt a little familiar from other novels and programmes like Black Mirror. It's readable enough, but I wasn't sure it was worth it in the end and I can only give I Still Dream a very qualified recommendation.

(My thanks to HarperCollins for an ARC via NetGalley.)

Laura Bow is the young daughter of AI genius, and devoted Daniel Bow but when he leaves when she is young she needs the help of a counsellor. She quickly learns that whilst the counsellor is talking to her - she isn't really listening so Laura decides to build her own computer system that will listen. Something - somebody that she can talk to and can confide in with all her secrets. As a young teenager she is offered a job with her dads old friend to help develop the AI system she has built. Her work colleagues don't understand what she is working on as they struggle to create their own AI system called SCION. The decades roll past and everything has an element of SCION built in but then one day, Laura's deepest fears come true when SCION releases every persons complete history. Imagine every email, text, or phone call you ever made is published for the world to see. Your entire medical history laid bare and every word you committed to digital record accessible to all. Chaos reigns and it takes Laura's creation, Organon to set things right.

A great story that could quite easily become a reality when we all rely so heavily on the digital world and our history and secrets are held in the Cloud.

Interesting concept, The time jumps were a bit confusing but overall a good read. The characters were likeable, and well developed

There's a lot about this novel that I liked. The characters were vividly drawn. The special world - AI development - and its characters were enjoyable, plausible and interesting. I liked the way that the AI program Organon remains mostly a private thing for its inventor, Laura, until world events force her to release it. This isn't a story about world powers or the world under threat. It's about personal memories - nicely supported by the plot thread about dementia, which is also well handled and poignant. All in all, a lot of thought has gone into this and it's smartly done.
So what's the 'but'? I thought it fell apart in the final section, which is far too long and rather muddled. I sense that the author thought he'd add a final surprise but wasn't clear what it was or how to present it. What's more, the story doesn't need it at all. I think the author wasn't confident about this section and has tried to cover it up with repetition, going over the same point again and again, repeating the same trigger phrases (a line from the Kate Bush song). I realise we're supposed to interpret this as the workings of a fragmented brain, but unfortunately it comes across as unconfident when it should be powerful - so I simply didn't buy it. There's even a suggestion that Organon might have been able to fiddle with time - but it's far too late in the story to introduce time-bending, literally a few pages from the end. .
This is a pity because just before that, there was a very strong ending indeed - when Laura lets Organon create the memory of a woman's dead wife so that she can talk to her. This is so human, so affecting. It shows what Laura has made and what she'll give to the world, and underlines the tragedy that her husband Harris is preparing for. There's also a lovely resonance with the story of Laura's father. This is where it should have ended.

Heading into the realm of sci-fi, James Smythe’s I Still Dream is a perfectly written, almost cautionary tale of what could happen if all your private “secure” online information was suddenly leaked. With the development of interactive homes and AI helpers like Siri and Cortana becoming commonplace, I Still Dream takes the technology that has become an everyday part of our lives and adds a sprinkling of imagination to deliver this stunning new novel. Absolutely loved it!

‪I Still Dream by James Smythe https://www.runalongtheshelves.net/blog/2018/4/8/i-still-dream-by-james-smythe‬

I think it’s safe to say that in the last few weeks we have perhaps become more than aware of our relationship with technology and its weaknesses. Facebook that started out as a way to connect to friends and share daily updates has recently been shown to be a global power that can now shape the marketing of election candidates using the amassed choices of millions to profile our behaviours. In this amazingly prescient novel James Smythe both looks back at how we got to this point and where it may eventually take us while at the same time giving us a reminder that behind technology sits humanity and our strengths and weaknesses can easily be replicated in what we create using those experiences.

In 1997 I remember at university actually being taught about the world wide web and this new weird concept of electronic mail. Smythe stunningly replicates this pre-digital age when music on tape was bought in shops and if you wanted to connect to others online you would await the joys of a screeching modem and dread the landline phone bill arriving that your parents are starting to want to have a world with you about. This allows us to bond with Laura Bow in sixth form and already starting to grasp how computer code can create the intelligence. While technically brilliant as with any teenager she is grappling with growing up be that an uneasy relationship with her parents, an absent biological father she never really knew who has left a shadow that drives her into the world of computers. Experiencing self-harm, she has decided to create a programme that talks back to her and while non-judgemental helps her discuss her feelings. From this her life will never be the same again.

The novel examines Laura’s world every ten years told through a variety of narrators including Laura. We see 2007 when tech companies are starting to realise the potential future. Its startling to remind ourselves that the concept of artificial intelligence has been deployed in technology been back then and while not quite Skynet its used to manage IT systems and companies all scramble to become the next Apple or Windows. Laura works at a company related to her father’s work and here finds herself unwillingly in competition with SCION the company’s own AI which her very recent ex Charlie is responsible for. A theme of the book then develops that technology that evolves from corporate mindset – one that is focused primarily on winning and protecting itself at all costs is perhaps the best model for something we plunge all our life choices and experiences into. SCION is taught to win and control while Organon is focused more on talking, listening and working out what you want. A subtle but powerful difference that as we move forward in time then has startling choices for the world.

As time then moves on as well as seeing the world we know it posits a very believable future we are moving into. From the blogs of the past (waaah) to a world where twitter, Facebooks and can FastTrack news stories. Laura starts to use her increasingly powerful profile to send warnings that a badly made AI that purely looks at our rage can perhaps decide we may be a threat and Smythe gives us a unique apocalypse to face – what is the worst thing The Cloud could throw at us? While clearly a tale of SF it’s not positing that in the next fifty years are big technology a la spaceships but the more increasing involvement of these AIs that record our choices. When this goes wrong the results are both startling and ultimately very plausible. Laura’s counterbalancing Organon we see as having that key difference empathy. An ability to understand why we act like we do and not perhaps seeing us as a threat and more someone to help. Where that technology then could lead us is a potentially much more hopeful world.

I think the reason this novel works so well isn’t purely its examination of the way we’ve recently embraced these AIs into our digital world but that we are given a human face into it. Laura is not a mystical guru she is a flawed person trying to make sense of life just as happy to listen to her mixtapes as she is coding. Her character development is extremely well portrayed moving from from school misfit to a troubled genius and then finally someone able to make choices for herself while at the same time having enough self-awareness to realise her earlier life was caused as much by her decisions as those made to her and becoming that person makes her ready to start helping the world when it is needed. Her family and relationships all highlight that to truly know someone you need to look at everyone’s view of that person which the book uses both as a narrative device and as a theme of Organon’s development. Sometimes what you need is not necessarily what you want e.g. not sending that drunken message in the wee hours of the morning! This theme of empathy and emotional intelligence not simply artificial intelligence gives some serious food for thoughts about where we are heading and what we may need to do to protect ourselves from our worst attributes.

Thus, leads to a final running theme in the novel our memories. This covers the haunted half remembered parent of childhood who vanished without reason to watching our loved one’s struggle to recall the past. Our memories compel us and Smythe posits that technology in the future could gives us opportunities to speak to our pasts and what benefits that may ultimately give us. The idea of all our actions and thoughts being sent into this digital universe means we may leave far more of an echo than you’d think.

In summary this is one of my reading highlights in 2018 so far. Weaving past present and future into a story of how our symbiotic relationship with Technology has developed and what dangers and opportunities awaits. If it was purely a novel focused on the history of computers and the geniuses that created it would have been an interesting novel but to explore the humanity (or lack of) in such people and why this needs careful consideration as to their future development means this is an amazing science fiction story I think is fully worth your attention as one of the novels of the year.

I liked this cautionary tale very much. A bit frightening to think what might happen should I private data be leaked to unsavoury parties. Smart technology is already in our homes. Before long, A1 intelligence will be dominating our workplace. What would happen if it all kicked off? A very interesting new book from James.

In 1997, between homework and phoning her friends and making mix tapes, seventeen-year-old Laura is still struggling to come to terms with the disappearance of her father several years earlier. Her mother took her to therapy but Laura thinks she can do better.

Building on the code her father, a computer programmer, left behind, she teaches herself to write a piece of artificial intelligence (AI) software called Organon (from the Kate Bush song Cloudbusting which Laura and her father both love). She tells Organon everything, and hopes that as Organon learns from her, it can respond to her needs. As Organon grows it begins to help her in ways she hadn’t anticipated.

The novel revisits Laura and Organon every decade, sometimes from Laura’s perspective, sometimes from the point of view of people close to her. We see how the world changes, how technology develops, the decisions made by corporations that control rival technologies.

I’ve read a couple of books recently which feature AI but this is very different. Usually the focus is on what humanity has created and what it reveals about who ‘we’ are, but this book looks at who is doing the creating and what drives them. Laura’s Organon is different from the alternatives, but why? The story has a lot to say both about the process of creating AI and the values underpinning it, and the questions those creators ask (or fail to ask) themselves.

The ten-year intervals between chapters mean much of what has happened, to both Laura and to society, is not explained. You are given tantalising glimpses, and the opportunity to question, imagine, infer.

Through it all, runs the story of Laura, her humour, her original perspective, her values. She both changes and retains her sense of self as Organon evolves with her. She is a remarkable character and I found the end of the book very poignant.

I finished this book a few days before I wrote this review and I found that my thoughts kept coming back to it. I Still Dream asks questions about consciousness, memory and identity, what we value, how we deal with loss. The more you ask of it, the more you learn.

Oh I LOVED LOVED this book.

I Still Dream is one of those stories you just don’t want to end – not only is it beautifully written, immaculately plotted and entirely addictive, it has a wonderful main character in Laura and a highly topical, scarily prescient central theme.

I read “I Still Dream” in great big chunks – the way it is done lends itself to that very thing – as we follow Laura and her creation Organon, most definitely a character in its own right, through the ups and downs of a life less ordinary.

This is speculative fiction at it’s very very best – a real world grounding, imagining a path for humanity that is anything but beyond the realms of possibility. Laura is dedicated, flawed and so wonderfully engaging, intelligent and driven with a strong moral core, affecting anyone who comes into her life in immeasurable ways. All the time Organon is growing, learning and may well be the saviour of us all, as hi-tech giants consider only the bottom line, with no care for what their creations will cost the human race.

I won’t tell you more than that, but the entirety of “I Still Dream” has an edgy, almost dreamlike at times prose that really digs deep into the emotional core of the reader. The ending was exquisite, giving me a slightly teary moment, like I said I didn’t really want it to end…

Read this one. It’ll make you think about how you use all those gadgets and you’ll certainly never forget any of the characters you meet within the pages.

All the stars and all the puppies for this one.

Highly Recommended.

James Smythe’s novel, I Still Dream, offers a philosophical approach to life and the hereafter. Exploring the creation and future viability of artificial intelligence for human consumption and existence, the novel highlights the debate surrounding the interdependence of man, machine, consciousness and free will. A magnificent piece of writing! Utterly engaging and thought provoking!

James Smythe's sixth novel for adults, I Still Dream, takes lots of the technology that's explored in Mark O'Connell's recent non-fiction account of transhumanism, To Be A Machine, and runs with it. The novel kicks off in 1997, when seventeen-year-old Laura Bow is designing an artificial intelligence, Organon, while constantly arguing with her mother about the amount she spends on dial-up internet and how she's tying up the phone line ("from now on you're allowed to use it at weekends only, when it's cheap, and even then, only for an hour.") This first section is an incredible set-piece in its own right, tying up with a neat twist ending where Laura realises she may have got more than she bargained for with Organon. I Still Dream then jumps forward in ten-year chunks, as big companies get in on the development of AI, and Laura and Organon are first sidelined, then shafted. However, will she and Organon be needed again when everything goes wrong?

It was pretty clear to me from the start - but again, perhaps only because I read To Be A Machine first - that this novel was going to deal with the technological singularity, the idea that artificial intelligence will suddenly accelerate beyond our capacity to control it. However, it touches on other transhumanist themes that I wasn't expecting, including the prospect of being uploaded into the cloud (the novel takes its title, very satisfyingly, from Kate Bush's 1985 hit 'Cloudbusting'). It also considers the fragility of the human body through a range of individual stories, from Laura's father, who suffered from a brain tumour, to her father-in-law, who develops dementia, to Laura herself as she ages and dies. I Still Dream hence brings the questions posed by To Be A Machine vividly alive: how can we stay so attached to our physical bodies and brains as they start to glitch, and what we think of as our most essential self muddles and fades in the face of disease?

Structurally, I Still Dream didn't quite work for me: its time jumps coupled with switching narrators kept jolting me out of the story, and some of the segments were inevitably more engaging than others. However, it's an incredibly thought-provoking novel (having read and loved Smythe's The Explorer and The Echo, I'd expect no less from him) that never simply presents technology as bad or good but instead asks questions about how we use it. As Laura says when she warns the world about the dangers of a rival AI, SCION: 'SCION'S like a toddler. And like any toddler, you teach it well, teach it morality and concepts of good and bad, and maybe it'll grow up to not be a complete shit. But if you do nothing but sit it down in front of games... tell it that if something's a danger to it it should fight back first? Where does that end?' And Smythe always keeps the humanity of his story in sight. I found the final section of I Still Dream desperately sad, not because of any apocalypse caused by artificial superintelligence, but because of the familiar process of losing what we love as we age away from it.