Can humans adapt to their own creations?

Juraj Čorba and Dávid Marcin’s graphic novel focuses on the dilemmas created by new technology.

Polys: All Those WorldsPolys: All Those Worlds (Source: Dávid Marcin & Juraj Čorba)

New technologies have always brought with them new challenges and uncertainty, from the printing press to today’s technology in fields like artificial intelligence or augmented reality.

Some people believe these machines could pose a threat to mankind. But should people fear the future? Juraj Čorba and Dávid Marcin deal with this, and other questions in their graphic novel Polys: All Those Worlds. The Slovak Spectator spoke with Juraj Čorba about the book, new technologies and a Bratislava-born inventor’s chess-playing automaton.

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TSS: How would you describe your graphic novel, without giving away too much of its plot?

Juraj Čorba (JČ): It’s a story about two highly qualified security experts as they deal with the security threat posed by an anti-technological revolt and who, despite their expertise, begin to struggle to orient themselves in coexisting worlds. It’s about new situations and the fundamental dilemmas new technologies bring about.

TSS: Why did you decide to write the book?

JČ: My idea was to write a story about personal transformation, but in a contemporary context.

About two and a half years ago I came across new technologies in artificial intelligence, machine learning and augmented reality. At the time, these topics weren’t as ‘hot’ as they are now, but, as I’m lawyer and I also have a background in social sciences, they interested me from legal, ethical, social and other points of view.

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TSS: Why did you choose to do a graphic novel?

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