12 Bytes

Author Jeanette Winterson
Narrator Jeanette Winterson
Publisher Random House
Publish Date 29 July 2021
Run Time 9 hours
Format Audio
Genre Artificial intelligence, Feminism and feminist theory, Gender studies, gender groups, Impact of science and technology on society, Literary essays.

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What to expect

Brought to you by Penguin.

A 'BOOKS OF 2021' PICK IN THE GUARDIAN, FINANCIAL TIMES AND EVENING STANDARD

Twelve bytes. Twelve eye-opening, mind-expanding, funny and provocative essays on the implications of artificial intelligence for the way we live and the way we love - from Sunday Times-bestselling author Jeanette Winterson.

In this original, deeply researched and lively new book, Jeanette Winterson traces the history of the AI revolution. She talks to some of the boldest and most imaginative thinkers in the field and looks to religion, myth and literature to help us understand the radical changes to the way we live and love that are just around the corner.

When we create non-human life-forms, will we do so in our image? Or will we accept the once-in-a-species opportunity to remake ourselves in their image?

What do love, caring and attachment look like with a non-biological life form? And what happens to the gender binary?

What will happen when our destiny is not contained by physical bodies, and our destination is not planet Earth?

With wit, compassion and curiosity, Winterson tackles AI's most urgent talking points, and asks readers to consider their role in imagining a more just and equal future.

"What makes this audiobook essential listening is not just its content (a mix of enthusiasm and castigation), but the electricity of Winterson's narration." - Times, Audiobook of the Week

© Jeanette Winterson 2021 (P) Penguin Audio 2021

Critics Review

Thought provoking and necessary

Guardian

Briskly and breezily, it [12 Bytes] joins the dots in a neglected narrative of female scientists, visionaries and code-breakers

Observer

12 punchy, fact-laden and witty essays… Her writing engulfs you in lucid, fairytale-like realities that take you on gender-bending and time-warped explorations of religion, love, sex, and sexual identity.

Independent

An unusual and entertaining read…[12 Bytes] is inflected with the same delightful, dry humour as the rest of her work… With its imaginative, insightful and wide-ranging essays, 12 Bytes will undoubtedly prompt readers to begin their own circlings around AI.

New Scientist

Aspects of this AI future are frightening…[and] for any non-scientist wanting to understand the challenges and possibilities of this brave new world, I can’t think of a more engaging place to start.

Observer

Quite brilliant.

This is, among other things, a very funny book… we are hardly short of dystopias, fictional and otherwise. Winterson’s approach is much richer and more fun: a kind of comparative mythology, where the hype and ideology of cutting-edge tech is read through the lens of far older stories.

Spectator

[Winterson’s] essays…are agile, fascinating, richly varied and beautifully idiosyncratic.

Literary Review

Winterson… is always passionate and provocative.

New Statesman

Refreshingly optimistic.

Guardian

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