Heaven is a Machine: Will AI lead to Dystopia or Utopia?

For my first post, I thought I’d showcase my first piece of short story writing, ‘Heaven is a Machine’. More than anything, it is a commentary on how AI and slowly taking human emotions and creation away could lead to a world completely out of touch with art and feeling. It is also about war and tragedy, and how it can completely obscure our vision of the future.

When in my final year of my undergraduate degree, I had been studying a module in Dystopian and Utopian literature. From when I had been introduced to the genre in my teen years, I was completely spellbound by the style of writing. Atwoods ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ and Butlers ‘The Parable of the Sower’ were two particular works that I was particularly caught by, both of them being futuristic fiction about trying to escape one place in hopes of a better future. I had never been particularly interested in Utopian fiction until I read Morris’ ‘News from Nowhere’, which I particularly enjoyed. I decided to make a short story set in a future in which earth is no longer habited by anything except a few stragglers, and the main character journeys to earth in hopes of obtaining some answers into her own identity.

AI is everywhere now. It always has been, I suppose, but now it’s in our faces at all times. From family members sending some informative or funny AI generated video to their children and grandchildren, to humanoid and non-humanoid robots alike living in our streets, our homes, and talking to us every day. I’ve always toyed with the idea of robots trying to learn more about their predecessors through trying to ‘code in’ emotion, but rejecting it once it causes a problem. The main character, Olive, is not human, but feels like one. She is claustrophobic in her tiny wired body, and her human core is winning her over, much to the dismay of Petunia, the overlord of ‘Heaven’.

Without much futher ado, I’d encourage you to read the short story and the critical analysis afterwards. I was very pleased to write this and obtain a grade of 1:1 (80%), but also to have this published to the Coventry Degree Show 2022 as part of the Humanities subcategory. Please enjoy!