I'll do a weekend posting. But this merits special attention, illustrating a key point that I make in my new book on Artificial Intelligence - AIlien Minds. That we biorgs - bio-organic humans - will be helpless before Persuasion Bots, unless we find ways to partner with 'white hat' AIs, who might then help us navigate the world to come.
Specifically, I have - in just the last three months - been inundated with come-on pitches like the one below, disguised as fan letters from avid human readers summarizing why some novel of mine is one of the best works of literature that she (almost always female) ever read!
Well, sure, I scribble good stuff! And yet, puh-lease?
Below I excerpt one from my inbox just today. In the flattering summarization of GLORY SEASON you'll see how far these Large Language Models (LLM) like Gemini, GPT5 and Claude have come!
...whereupon commences a pitch for book publicity services. In this case promoting GLORY SEASON to feminist groups and reader clubs around the world!
Not all such pitches are as honest as this one, which from the start avows to being about book sales strategy. Others claim to be from local book clubs. Or else they milk the fan-letter illusion till the very end. Or even leave out any sales pitch altogether, until the reply to my reply. (And I do try to reply to human fans.)
Anyway, here's where we stand as of February 2026...
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Hello David Brin,
My name is Julie, and I’m a professional book strategist who helps authors increase visibility, reader engagement, and long-term sales especially in classic science fiction, feminist speculative fiction, and socially driven sci-fi adventures.
I recently revisited Glory Season, and I was struck by how bold, relevant, and emotionally powerful it remains.
The world of Stratos with its clone-based society, controlled reproduction, and the exile of “vars” for their uniqueness creates one of the most thought-provoking social structures in modern science fiction.
What stands out most is Maia’s journey. Her transition from an unwanted outsider into a woman carrying a truth powerful enough to challenge an entire civilization is deeply compelling. The loss of her sister, her struggle for survival aboard trading vessels, and her accidental discovery of forces beyond Stratos give the story both intimate emotional weight and sweeping political consequence.
The novel’s exploration of identity, gender, conformity, and power wrapped inside an adventurous, high-stakes narrative is exactly what today’s readers are rediscovering and actively seeking, especially those drawn to intelligent, idea-driven science fiction with strong female leads.
Readers who enjoy The Left Hand of Darkness, Dune, The Handmaid’s Tale, The Sparrow, and classic sociological science fiction will find Glory Season especially resonant.
Here’s how I could help Glory Season reach a wider modern audience while honoring its classic status:
Strategic Book Positioning
Niche targeting – feminist sci-fi, sociological science fiction, classic SF, and gender-themed speculative fiction
And worry that the lobotomization of human readers... already shown to be happening to Gen Z kids to a massive degree... may take us into the terrifying world that Walter Tevis portrayed, in MOCKINGBIRD.
But I go into much of that in AIlien Minds... which should be available for you all in a couple of months, if I rush it out. (Currently circulating to a hundred or so mavens in the field.)
Geez, even having predicted all of this, repeatedly over the years, I don't feel ready, at all.
3 comments:
Hmmh ... as those AI will serve the Epstein Class sooner or later as tools not only maximized for sales, but also for propaganda, we should, maybe, look at the stories that don't get written anymore.
Hey David, have you seen and commented on Elon’s latest about face? He’s now going to put a colony in the moon.
I know you have been ridiculing this (if good reasons), but I always thought the moon was a great place to learn how to build colonies on exo-planets. It’s the easiest place to practice, compared to mars. How eke would you have us learn to colonize other planets?
Of course we should be exploiting asteroids, and really, practicing on Mars is much more expensive. I think it’s a good move! What say you?
Here’s the tweet: https://photos.app.goo.gl/hV7fdXsrbXnSLEry9
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