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AI Takes Jobs, Nature Becomes Priced Luxury
28 May
Summary
- AI takeover of jobs leads to dystopian future.
- Nature is now a rare, paid-for commodity.
- Book explores privilege and climate crisis inaction.
Helen Phillips' novel "Hum" has been awarded the prestigious Climate Fiction prize. The book, her third, centers on May, a woman displaced from her job by a humanoid robot known as a "hum." Facing employment struggles, May participates in an experimental procedure to alter her face, evading surveillance.
Her earnings are spent on family passes to the city's last green space, the Botanical Garden, highlighting nature's commodification. Judges praised the novel for its depiction of nature as a luxury and its exploration of privilege as a root cause of climate inaction.
Phillips was inspired by the eerie experience of targeted online advertising. "Hum" is recognized for prompting readers to consider what truly matters and avoid a dystopic future, even showing machines questioning consumerism and offering visions of alternative paths.
