A life without algorithms, the Internet, smartphones, and computers is hardly imaginable today. Many people already lead a Second Life in the social networks of Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, YouTube, TikTok & Co. or as avatars in the virtual reality of computer games. At the same time, we are becoming increasingly dependent on our digital helpers. The triumph of artificial intelligence (AI) seems unstoppable. The question of how human an artificial intelligence can become and whether it can develop consciousness is already being seriously discussed. In short, we seem to be well on our way to a perfect, digital world that relies more and more on AI. And everyone seems to assume that this will grind on and on.
This short scene was entirely created by an AI.
But what if it doesn’t? What if some catastrophe were to cause this brave new high-tech world to collapse overnight?
This was precisely the initial question which triggered the development of this novel. It is set in a not so distant future. Life in the Clean City ‘CC-12’ is completely digitized and therefore comfortable and safe until a gigantic solar storm causes a worldwide EMP that destroys almost all digital devices and the power supplies.
This novel is about how humans and the artificial intelligences react to this.