Bookpleasures.com isdelighted to welcome Lee Schneider. With a distinguished careerspanning television, film, podcasts, and now science fictionliterature, Lee brings a rich creative perspective to his compellingexploration of a dystopian future.

We sincerely thank him fortaking the time to share insights into his most recentwork, Liberation, and the powerful themes of climatedevastation, AI, and human resilience in his most recent novel,Liberation, and his vision of the future. 

Good day Lee and thanksfor taking part in our interview.

Norm: Liberation isset in 2053 after “The Fracture” causes a global power outage.What inspired you to center the story around this large-scale event?

Lee: My sense ofartificial intelligence is that while it’s not perfect, we arealready relying on it too much.  

It follows that, just afew years from now, AI will be managing most of our lives. What couldgo wrong what that? That’s the question I asked myself whendreaming about the inciting incident of Liberation — TheFracture.

Norm: How do you thinkreal-world infrastructure vulnerabilities compare to what youimagined?

Lee: We’ve already seenhospitals hacked and ransomware attacks on city governments. AIalready is running our power grid and traffic controls. Startups haveplans to use AI systems to control the weather. \

The distribution ofAI power already mirrors real world power. Control the software, andyou can control the world. Corporations are already using AI to doso.

Norm: Kat Keeperstruggles with guilt for funding the technology that led to MIND’sdominion. How did you approach writing her complex psychological andmoral journey?

In what ways does hergrief for her late husband influence her decisions and leadership?

Lee: In Liberation, whichis the third book in my Utopia Engine Trilogy, Kat’s grief abouther husband had an enormous impact on her change from a brassy andoverconfident startup founder into a radical, risk-takinganti-technologist. 

Funny thing, though, as I was writing the trilogy,I wasn’t expecting Kat’s husband to have a big impact on thestory. As so often happens when writing books, though, characters“audition” for their roles in the early drafts. 

And Kat’shusband had a good audition, so to speak. He showed me that he couldbe the vehicle to interpret her growth and maturity. I realized thatuntil she was able to resolve what she felt about him, she couldn’thave a deep relationship with a new partner. It took her three booksto show me how she could do that. 

Norm: The novelpresents an AI corporation, MIND, exerting oppressive control. Whatcontemporary tech trends or fears did you draw on to shape MIND?

How do you envision AIgovernance evolving, and what safeguards do you think are necessary?

Lee: In the AI world, thegoal of making AIs serve people, and not the other way around, iscalled “alignment.” The programming is supposed to be alignedwith human interests. That’s what the rest of us might call“governance.” 

The problem I see is that the task of alignment isapproached like a chore, like taking out the garbage or doing thedishes, instead of something vital to human survival. 

The necessarysafeguards that would make for healthy alignment would includecreating software and platforms that do not harm people, could nottake away their livelihoods, or would not inflict harm on the Earth. 

We don’t have a great track record putting those safeguards inplace! It may  take a rebellion against technology, the sort ofrebellion that is already beginning, to help the technologists getthe message. 

Norm: Ravven Vaara’sconnection to orca “transmissions” adds a unique environmentaland spiritual dimension. What inspired this aspect of the story?

How does this elementdeepen the novel’s themes of human impact on nature?

Lee: That part of thetrilogy was completely unplanned. But as characters come into focus,they demand turns in the plot. Because I try to learn from thecharacters as I write them, I started to see the sense of the Earth“pushing back” against human dominance. 

We are not the onlyadvanced species here. There are other apex predators who coulddemand respect. I don’t know if my daily practice of yoga andmeditation has anything to do with this, but when things bubble upfrom the subconscious, I try to listen. 

Norm: Uploadingmemories and preserving consciousness play pivotal rolesin Liberation. How do you research and imagine these advancedtechnologies realistically?

What ethical orphilosophical questions about identity did you want to explorethrough these concepts?

Lee: If you look at thebusiness strategies of most social media platforms, they are in thememory-extraction business. I didn’t have to imagine that! Bookslike 1984 and The Memory Police influenced me, aswell.

My mother died nearly 20years ago; my father about a decade ago. They took with them largememory maps that I still try to rebuild in my mind. The intersectionof identity and memory is powerful, but when it is monetized by athird party, it feels like a felony has been committed. 

Norm: Your experienceas a screenwriter and podcast producer is extensive. How hasstorytelling across these formats influenced your novel writing?

Are there techniques orapproaches from screen or audio storytelling that you brought intoyour prose?

Lee: I’ve written a lotof dialogue for stage plays, dramatic podcasts, and televisionscripts. In the rehearsal with the cast, I’ve seen actors who wereunable to make the lines come out of their mouths.

 It wasn’t theirfault; it was mine. I didn’t write a clear intent for the line, sothey weren’t able to speak it. This has caused me to sharpen mydialogue.

When writing movies, youthink in scenes: small moments between characters that have to makesense in physical space. Someone opens a door, they cross to a table,they put down a glass of water.

This is the opposite of fiction,which is really about time and memory and not space, but moviewriting has helped add a physical dimension to my prose. I know tostop myself before I get too abstract. 

Norm: Climatedevastation is a core backdrop to your story. How do you balanceportraying the scale of environmental disaster with personal humanstories?

What message or hope doyou want readers to take away regarding humanity’s resilience?

Lee: In the kind ofscience fiction I write, the characters show us how they work throughoutlandish situations. 

It’s entertaining to see someone grapplewith how they’d work with a therapist that is a machine, and alsoinspiring to see how a person would have the courage to survive in aclimate emergency. 

The hope I want to offer is that we get to seecomplex characters make mistakes so maybe we don’t have to make thesame mistakes when these situations become real in our lives.  

Norm: How do you thinkreaders’ perceptions of AI and technology have evolved since youbegan writing the trilogy?

Has this influenced howyou crafted the final novel?

Lee: I think ourperceptions have gone from a wow-that’s-cool, to a wait-a-minute,do we need this? That’s the journey taken by Kat Keeper, one of themain characters in the trilogy starting with Surrender,through Resist, and now Liberation.  

Norm: The characterMichel is a therapy-trained bot. What role do you see AI companionsplaying in future human mental health and relationships?

Did you base Michel onany existing or emerging technologies?

Lee: There are alreadytherapy bots like Michel, but they aren’t as good at therapy as heis. At least not yet. Humans crave dialogue and feedback, and ChatGPTcan provide both. In the trilogy, I suggest that there will be AIsthat are “personality emulators.”

They will be an intelligencewrapped in a personality that is based on a real person. We’restarting to see this technology become convincingly deployed now, andI think that we’ll see some convincing personalities offeringtherapy to nearly anyone who wants it.

Norm: Where can ourreaders find out more about you and Liberation?

Lee: My author WEBSITE

Norm: As we wind up ourinterview, what do you hope readers will reflect on afterfinishing Liberation about technology, freedom, andthe human spirit?

Are there anyparticular scenes or moments in the book you feel most encapsulatethese ideas?

Lee: When writing thescenes of humans communicating with whales, I thought of moments inmy own life when I’ve had some close encounters with whales andnature. 

These moments stick with me as I think about how rare theymay become. Experiencing climate change in California, where I live,has made me value nature as a place I want access to wheneverpossible. 

Norm: Thanks once again and good luck with all of your future endeavors