Microsoft publishes short story collection inspired by its future tech
Microsoft has released a book of short stories investigating its technological advances in a bid to draw attention to - and dramatise - its work.
Microsoft Research enlisted nine writers to explore the realms of quasi-fiction in its endeavours to develop machine learning, computer vision, speech, and artificial intelligence technology. The collection, ‘Future Visions: Original Science Fiction Stories Inspired by Microsoft’ was today (18 November) made available for free to download on digital book stores.
Looking to branch the gap between science and sci-fi in light of the company’s research, each of the nine stories were accompanied by a computer-generated image.
Harry Shum, executive vice president of technology and research at Microsoft said in the book’s foreword: “My hope for you as a reader is that you will be inspired by these stories, as I was by the popular science fiction of my time.
“May they incite you to pursue a new field of study, to chase possibility you think impossible, to let your imagination take you to places you never thought you could go - for we are only limited by our imaginations.”
The roster of writers includes Greg Bear, Elizabeth Bear, Nancy Kress, David Brin, Ann Leckie, Robert J. Sawyer, Jack McDevitt and Seanan McGuire.