Culture & Society

Read more about the article If They Can Learn
A Female Nigerian AMISOM Police Officer follows the procedings during a medal award ceremony for Nigeria Formed Police Unit on December 05 2014 at Mogadishu Stadium, Somalia. The medals were being awarded to 140 police men and women who are about to complete their deployment to Somalia. AU UN IST Photo/ Ilyas Ahmed

If They Can Learn

'Without moving, she says, “My name is Elizabeth Soh. I’m a technical resolutions officer with Pegasus Incorporated Middle East and Africa geomarkets. I facilitate uptake of Borg technology in law enforcement. The Nigeria Police Force, your owner, is one of my new clients.”'

Read more about the article A Dream of Electric Mothers

A Dream of Electric Mothers

'Baba Yemi holds up his finger and flicks it once like it is a lever. “One final thing. Don’t worry too much about the details of your consultation. All of you will receive the same answers regardless of how you ask the question, as long as it is indeed the same question. In fact, we count on it. It’s a good control procedure, to see if there is any alternative or minority report of the consultation conclusion. I will manage the debriefing session once you are all done. Does anyone else have more queries?” he asks. I look around and catch an earnest look in Jibola’s eyes like he is about to ask a question of his own, perhaps something that could delay or derail this consultation session, but then he changes his mind and looks away. “Great. If there are no more questions, please follow me. I will make the connection.” Baba Yemi bows gently.'

Read more about the article More Sea Than Tar

More Sea Than Tar

"But sooner or later, we’re all going to fall, because we can only stand so tall before we’re sinking: to our legs, to our knees, to our torsos, to our heads. Till there’s nothing left and we breathe in particle dust and water that draws too much like ogbono soup. Water that’s mixed with the leaves and the soil and the garbage I didn’t throw away properly. Water that isn’t water."

Read more about the article Bat Monkey

Bat Monkey

"‘I don’t want you to fail. But…’ Kahindo pointed back in the direction of the huts where Priti would no doubt be drinking with Chase. ‘They know nothing about our people.’ He looked down at the floor and for a while neither of us spoke, then he said, ‘There are no flying monkeys.’ I glared at him. ‘So what the hell–’ ‘We needed the money. Without guards and bribes, the poachers would destroy everything. I won’t let that happen,’ Kahindo said. ‘So you made it all up? Is this some kind of joke to you?’ ‘It’s not a joke, they fly, but they’re not monkeys,’ Kahindo said. I stared at him, waiting for him to continue. "

Read more about the article A Lever is a Complex Machine

A Lever is a Complex Machine

"Being offline from Orisis, my artificial intelligence mother governing Pinaa, the inhabited moon of Mahwé, means I am unable to find a solution or explanation for this scenario. I cycle through microseconds of data, yet even with a world of knowledge built into my system, along with a billion iterations of an action, I cannot find a reason for my abduction mere hours ago."

Read more about the article The Algorithm

The Algorithm

"They called themselves the Gaia Accord. A group of elites and technocrats that pushed for global technocratic stewardship. Governments replaced by systems, presidents replaced by panels, parliaments by predictive models. The climate collapse had come faster than anyone expected, and in the aftermath of the Migration Years, the famines, the water wars, the pandemics that never ended, people were too tired to argue. That they controlled Lethal Autonomous Weapons through their monopoly over AI systems, meant arguing was futile anyway."