Interview With Author Gary A. Freitas

 

1. What inspired you to write this book? A lifelong commitment to understanding the human condition (BA in political science and co-major in anthropology, MA in Educational Psychology and PhD in clinical psychology) along with a career as a practicing psychologist). Confronting the ongoing changes in my own life in the face of an evolving electronic interface (computer, internet, cell phone, video games, Ring doorbell, Nest thermostat, Alex and Siri devices, smart watches, ChatGPT). A relationship to my 31 year old son who is immersed in the world of computers and machine learning (BA in Electrical Engineering, BA in Computer Science, MA in Computer Science and a PhD in computer sciences from Georgia Tech in the area of artificial intelligence. Now at Microsoft as a senior data research scientist. This book formally emerged from a documentary being made about my art (see web gallery noted above) and my creation of 3D sculptures from computers and electronic devices, or what I term the fossil artifacts of an arising artificial intelligence. (Please check out my web gallery to understand me and this book.)  

2. What exactly is it about and who is it written for? We are the first electronically linked species –– 7.5 billion people operating with one degree of separation –– it's time to explore the consequence of this reality on human identity –– mine and yours. This book is written for individuals trying to make sense of a dynamically networked world that has the goal of helping artificial intelligence rise –– and changing who we are in the process. There is now the “real you” and an “electronic you.” Raising the question –– which is one is the real you and how is the electronic you, hanging out at the data center rec-room, changing you?  

3. What do you hope readers will get out of reading your book? A handle on the underlying psychology of the electronic-verse and how it is changing us and giving rise to a new species of intelligence that humans have never encountered before. This could be a great alignment or a struggle for the ages — what I have termed the “Anthropocene Explosion” of electronic devices, much as when biological life emerged on Earth in all its fantastic forms, so now is electronic life.  

4. How did you decide on your book’s title and cover design? The title initially emerged from my artwork, but as I wrote about my art, along came a psychologist’s understanding of the world through the development of human identity and how is it being transformed.  

5. What advice or words of wisdom do you have for fellow writers– other than run!?    Writers write!  

6. What trends in the book world do you see -- and where do you think the book publishing industry is heading? As a lifelong obsessive reader since early childhood, the publishing industry appears to be metastasizing into siloed fiefdoms of interest and self-expression. There is too much to take in from my perspective. I gave up on fiction at about age 40 and defaulted to movies and television because it allowed me to better utilize my time and find and enter more experiences more rapidly. I wanted to experience everything and still do. But I read continuously about the ideas of our world — in all printed forms and online.  

7. Were there experiences in your personal life or career that came in handy when writing this book? As young adult I was totally emersed in books of every genre, war gaming, model making, music, sports and not dating (it was more of a thing then). I knew early on the world was big and complex. But early in my career, I was focused on child-adolescent psychology and the parent-child relationship and how we as individuals became formed out of this process and these many connections. Then watching it all go wrong for many adults as a forensic psychologist. Same interests and the same energy watching all the changes we are rapidly undergoing today and the stresses we are experiencing. Still curious how it could all go wrong.  

8. How would you describe your writing style? Which writers or books is your writing similar to? I decide early on to forgo an academic style (too plain, too analytical and too boring) and wanted to interject a more personal and subjective voice into my writing. It is analytical but comes from a deeper vision and a persona that wants to be loose in the world. I have enjoyed—Yuval Harari’s Homo Deus, Kurt Andersen’s Fantasyland, David Deutsch’s The Beginning of Infinity, Michael Lewis’ The Big Short, Carol Rovelli’s The Order of Time. Mostly influenced my writing—maybe not so much similar.  

9. What challenges did you overcome in the writing of this book? Watched less television news in the evening and less sports on the weekend –– and, oh, gave up on relationships for quite some time and no longer endlessly surfed the internet — and clothes shopping was mostly online now (didn’t need much anymore — developed a casual uniform living in the Sonoran Desert) but Covid was really helpful in isolating me from the world and pushing me over the top.  

10. If people can buy or read one book this week or month, why should it be yours? For those who enjoy peeking into the future and want to understand the many forces at play ––this will be an intellectually stimulating, whimsical and cautionary read.  

About The Author: Gary A. Freitas, Ph.D. has been a practicing clinical and forensic psychologist for the past 30 years. A child of the San Francisco Bay Area, he currently resides in Phoenix, Arizona. For the past 15 years, he has been creating 3-D sculptures from computers and electronic components in a series titled Singularity: Arising Electronic Consciousness—The Art of Electric Dreaming. He is also the author of three books (Relationship Realities, War Movies, and Gone Mad in Glory and Ecstasy), as well as professional works on involuntary commitment, workplace violence and malingering competency to stand trial. For more info, please see: www.singularityartworks.com

 

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About Brian Feinblum

Brian Feinblum should be followed on Twitter @theprexpert. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2023. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog. His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent.  This award-winning blog has generated over 3.3 million pageviews. With 4,400+ posts over the past dozen years, it was named one of the best book marketing blogs by BookBaby  http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs  and recognized by Feedspot in 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by www.WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.” For the past three decades, including 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and two jobs at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler. He recently hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America, and has spoken at ASJA, Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. He has been featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald. For more information, please consult: www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum.