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“Thanks for asking! I really enjoy reading sci-fi because it’s about predicting the future and a lot of success in research is critically predicated on making the right bets about the future. First I would highly recommend Arthur C. Clarke’s “Profiles of the Future” (see my review on Goodreads). It’s a wonderful study of the science and art of predicting the future. Second, on the topic of sci-fi’s I really like books written by scientists turned writers because I find the world building to be much more compelling, interesting and logically consistent. Recently I enjoyed: Stanislaw Lem’s Fiasco and His Master’s Voice Stories of Your Life and Others from Ted Chiang (especially Understand and Story of Your Life) Ready Player One, which paints a likely future where large portion of the population spends time in VR in a Second Life - like environment. This is another example of sci-fi that has repercussions for AI research. Suppose this were true, how amazing would that source of data be

“there were parts of Permutation City that I didn't get / annoyed me. But I had audiobook & terrible narrator. Have to reread book

“Simulation. Artificial Life. Aliens. Highly inventive, enjoyable.

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