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N. John Williams

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Genre

Science Fiction

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May 2022

URL

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N. John Williams studied computer science, linguistics, and philosophy at Stanford University before working on DARPA-funded research in A.I. and then later in private enterprise. He has presented papers at academic conferences around the country on topics in Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality, and Ethics.

He writes as an open invitation, seeking engagement and discussion not on the issues of the day, but on the issues of tomorrow. "Story" will likely play a more important role than "argument" in grappling with these issues, and that is why he wrote his first novel, In the Shadow of Humanity. That story is meant to be a beginning, however, and not an ending.

N. John Williams lives in Southern California with his beloved wife and their i ...more

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Can you tell us a two-sentence horror story?

N. John Williams Horror isn't my thing, but this is a fun question so I gave it a shot:

"The chill night air swirled over his bare skin, sharpening his senses. Only the…moreHorror isn't my thing, but this is a fun question so I gave it a shot:

"The chill night air swirled over his bare skin, sharpening his senses. Only then did he realize this was no nightmare; the blood on his claws was real, and it was hers."(less)

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How do you deal with writer’s block?

N. John Williams First thing I do is go for a walk outside, with no distractions. I talk myself through “how I got here” and then explore possible next steps. Sometime…moreFirst thing I do is go for a walk outside, with no distractions. I talk myself through “how I got here” and then explore possible next steps. Sometimes I’ll even have conversations between characters (out loud, as I’m walking), testing different possibilities. Before an hour has passed, I usually have the beginning of something. Then I race home.

I’ve also learned to be ready for the “breakthrough” to happen at any time, sometimes while I'm driving, sometimes while I’m trying to fall asleep. Whenever it comes, wherever I am, I write down enough detail so that I can pick it up during my next writing session.

Finally, I’m not afraid to throw away entire chapters. I let myself start writing, even if it doesn’t feel perfect, because I know I’m willing to throw it away if it can’t be fixed. This helps prevent writer’s block in the first place, sometimes, I think!(less)

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N. John Williams’s books

Average rating: 4.0 · 64 ratings · 26 reviews · 1 distinct work • Similar authors

In the Shadow of Humanity

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11 posts
N. John Williams's Blog

A.I. and the Metaverse

The intersection of A.I. and the Metaverse is an interesting place, fraught with ethical complexity.

The Metaverse will be the first and only environment where human beings and A.I. exist on nearly equal footing, where interacting with an artificial being could be not only indistinguishable from interacting with another human, but where those interactions can be equally rich and multidimensional.

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