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TECH: Is a South Korean Company Making Killer Robots?

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killer robot - pixabay

The artificial intelligence (AI) community has a clear message for researchers in South Korea: Don’t make killer robots. Nearly 60 AI and robotics experts from almost 30 countries have signed an open letter calling for a boycott against KAIST, a public university in Daejeon, South Korea, that has been reported to be “develop[ing] artificial intelligence technologies to be applied to military weapons, joining the global competition to develop autonomous arms,” the open letter said. In other words, KAIST might be researching how to make military-grade AI weapons. By Laura Geggel – Full Story at Live Science

ANNOUNCEMENT/GIVEAWAY: Creature, by Kim Fielding

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Creature Blog Tour

Kim Fielding is about to release book three in her “Bureau” series! The book comes out on May 7th, and can be read as a stand alone. You can preorder it now! About the Book: Alone in a cell and lacking memories of his past, John has no idea who—or what—he is. Alone on the streets of 1950s Los Angeles, Harry has far too many memories of his painful past and feels simply resignation in facing his empty future. When Harry is given a chance to achieve his only dream—to become an agent with the Bureau of Trans-Species Affairs—all he … Read more

ANNOUNCEMENT: The Book of Songs, by Louice Svedin

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The Book of Songs

QSFer Louice Svedin has a new queer fantasy book out: Anne has led a privileged life: she is a weaver, a magic user, in a world ruled by the extraordinary. Yet one day it all changes. She is deemed too powerful by the aristocracy and is sent to a monastery for life. To avoid this fate she embarks on a journey, driven by a prophecy she doesn’t want to fulfill. But will she have any choice in the end? The Book of Songs is the first stand-alone novel in The Weaver Trilogy. Written by Louice Svedin, it’s a story about … Read more

Rabid Reader Recommendations — R3 Wednesdays!

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WELCOME to Rabid Reader Recommendations, or R3 WEDNESDAYS! We host this discussion the first Wednesday of every month; it’s a great opportunity to recommend and discuss works you have enjoyed in queer speculative fiction. For May’s R3, the theme is: Other World Sci Fi! (Sci Fi that takes place on other worlds besides Earth, or in another non-Earth universe.)   HOW IT WORKS: The works have to be QUILTBAG Speculative Fiction. They have to be related to the theme. This is a reader discussion. Don’t recommend your own works–get someone to do it for you! Please include a Goodreads link … Read more

SPACE: How Close Are We to a Starliner?

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boeing starliner

Picture this: A team of space travelers blasts off from Earth in a fully automated shuttle that carries them to an outpost orbiting around the moon, where they will embark on a voyage to Mars. Though it sounds like science fiction, this fantastic journey may be closer than you think: An automated spacecraft designed to transport people into low Earth orbit could be ready for its maiden (uncrewed) voyage as early as this summer. The new spacecraft, called the Crew Space Transportation (CST)-100 Starliner, is being developed in partnership with NASA by a private company generally associated with commercial airplanes: … Read more

ANNOUNCEMENT/GIVEAWAY: Night Traveller, by L.V. Lloyd

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Night Traveller

QSFer L.V. Lloyd has a new MM sci fi book out: Lieutenant Mike Oliver has long dreamed of a Patrol ship berth, flying between the stars—surely this time his application will be successful. What he doesn’t expect, is to be sent to establish a Patrol station on Asra, a tiny mining settlement on a frozen mudball of a planet, blanketed with nitrogen storms. Deeply resentful, Mike suspects he is being discriminated against. The only option he can see is to become celibate, at least while he is on Asra. And that means rejecting the advances of both Callan Rian, the … Read more

SPACE: Most Distant Star Ever Seen – 9 Billion Light-Years Away

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Farthest Star

Astronomers have observed a star that’s so far away, its light took 9 billion years to reach us here on Earth — about 4.5 billion years before our solar system even existed. And while scientists have peered at even more distant galaxies, which are visible due to light from their billions of stars, this helium-burning orb, nicknamed Icarus, is the most distant ordinary individual star an Earthling has observed, according to a statement from the University of California, Berkeley. (An ordinary, or main-sequence, star is one that is still fusing hydrogen to create helium; about 90 percent of the stars … Read more

ANNOUNCEMENT/GIVEAWAY: Made in L.A

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Made in L.A.

QSFer Cody Sisco has a queer paranormal story in a new anthology: Readers in Los Angeles are thirsty for stories that bring their city to life. This anthology features a diverse range of voices and genres. Like the City of Angels in which these stories were born, nothing is off-limits. Literary or contemporary, noir or ghost story, fabulism or science fiction, each story in this volume will forever change the way you look at this iconic metropolis. Made in L.A. Writers is a collaborative of Los Angeles-based authors dedicated to nurturing and promoting indie fiction. This 2018 volume is the … Read more

SCIENCE: The Bubble That Will Destroy the Universe

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Higgs Boson - Pixabay

Scientists say they know how the universe will end. It won’t be a cosmic collapse but rather a giant cosmic bubble that devours everything in its path. According to a recent paper, published on March 12 in the journal Physical Review D, the final moment for the universe will be triggered by a bizarre consequence of subatomic physics called an instanton. This instanton will create a tiny bubble that will expand at the speed of light, swallowing everything in its path. It’s only a matter of time. “At some point you will create one of these bubbles,” study lead author … Read more