Book Discussion: All That We See Or Seem - A Sci-Fi Thriller by Ken Liu
Join us for a special book discussion of All That We See or Seem, a sci-fi thriller by Ken Liu, award-winning author of speculative fiction!
Following our fireside chat with Ken 2 weeks prior, many of us expressed an interest in discussing the book. If we're lucky, Ken himself might join us! So get the book and come!
In the discussion, we will explore questions like:
What happens when art, memory, and technology merge — and even our dreams can be shared?
How does machine-augmented creativity change what it means to tell stories or make art?
Where do we draw the line between human and machine imagination?
Can fiction help us prepare for the emotional and ethical challenges of human augmentation?
To get a signed copy of the book, visit the MIT Press Bookstore's website and request a signed copy at checkout.
About the Author:
Ken Liu is an award-winning American author of speculative fiction. His collection, The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories, has been published in more than a dozen languages. Liu’s other works include The Grace of Kings, The Wall of Storms, The Veiled Throne, a second collection The Hidden Girl and Other Stories, and the forthcoming Julia Z series. He has been involved in multiple media adaptations of his work, including the short story “Good Hunting,” adapted as an episode in Netflix’s animated series Love, Death + Robots; and AMC’s Pantheon, adapted from an interconnected series of short stories. “The Hidden Girl,” “The Message,” and “The Oracle” have also been optioned for development. Liu previously worked as a software engineer, corporate lawyer, and litigation consultant. He frequently speaks at conferences and universities on topics including futurism, machine-augmented creativity, the history of technology, and the value of storytelling. Liu lives with his family near Boston, Massachusetts.
About Ken's new book:
Julia Z, a young woman who gained notoriety at fourteen as the “orphan hacker,” is trying to live a life of digital obscurity in a quiet Boston suburb.
But when a lawyer named Piers—whose famous artist wife, Elli, has been kidnapped by dangerous criminals—barges into her life, Julia decides to put the solitary life she has painstakingly created at risk as she can’t walk away from helping Piers and Elli, nor step away from the challenge of this digital puzzle. Elli is an oneirofex, a dream artist, who can weave the dreams of an audience together through a shared virtual landscape, live, in a concert-like experience by tapping into each attendee’s memories and providing an emotionally resonant narrative experience. While these collective dreams are anonymous, Julia discovers that Elli was also dreaming one-on-one with the head of an international criminal enterprise, and he’s demanding the return of his dreams in exchange for Elli.
Unraveling the real and unreal leads Julia on an adventure that takes her across the country and deep into the shadows of her psyche.
Find Ken Liu online: https://kenliu.name/
Instagram: @kenliu.author
Bluesky: @kyliu99.bsky.social
About the Augmentation Lab:
We are a transdisciplinary community of philosopher-builders developing human augmentation tech. We host residencies, events, and discussion groups that bridge philosophy, science, and design to reimagine the boundaries of human experience and capability.
Website: https://augmentationlab.org/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/augmentationlab/
X: @auglab
Instagram: @augmentation.lab