by Alex Lukeman
The Chinese proverbs quoted by Minister Deng and General Liu are genuine. A search of the Internet will reveal many such gems of wisdom.
We are now in the age of artificial intelligence, something that may not be good for human beings and other living things. If you've ever seen the Terminator series of films, you're looking at a Hollywood version of a possible future reality. A lot has happened in the field of artificial intelligence since the movies were made. The basic premise of the story, war between humanity and machines, is no longer as far-fetched as it might seem.
Many functions previously handled by humans are now being relegated to intelligent machines. Journalists gush over the possibility of robots having babies and robot/human hybrids. We're told that everything is going to be so much better because of robots and machines with AI.
AI computers such as Freddie or Merlin probably exist, although I doubt you and I will hear about them. Prototypes exist of robot soldiers who will replace humans on the battlefield. We all know about lethal drones. They are still guided by human operators, but that is changing. More and more functions of war are being handed over to machines. One day, wars will be fought by intelligent machines. Humans will be collateral damage.
In China, armed police robots are now on the streets. They are used for crowd control and look vaguely reminiscent of the robot policeman in the movie RoboCop. Think about that for a moment. Armed robots now exist with the potential to make life-and-death decisions about humans. It's reality, not science fiction.
Welcome to our brave new world.
Alex Lukeman
2018
Acknowledgments
As always, my wife Gayle. It simply wouldn't be possible to write these books without her support.
Neil Jackson for creating wonderful covers for the books. Thank you, Neil.
All of the people who have written to me telling me how much they enjoy the books and how (sometimes) the books have affected their life. You know who you are and I deeply appreciate your comments. Thank you.
Last, but definitely not least, you the reader. None of this means a thing without you.
*****
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Did you love Phoenix? Then you should read High Alert by Alex Lukeman!
When an American missile submarine is sunk in the Sea of Japan, it's the opening move in a madman's devious plan to plunge the world into war. A day later, the Chinese ambassador to Washington is assassinated. Meanwhile, the unstable leader of North Korea prepares to attack America with a terrible weapon.
The U.S. President calls in the Project, a deep black ops unit that goes places and does things others can't or won't do. They've had tough assignments before: but this time they're up against an unknown enemy, a man bent on vengeance against all of humanity. He won't rest until the world is turned into a radioactive hell… and when it comes to the Project, it's personal.
Can the Project team find him before he unleashes nuclear Armageddon?
