The vast programMaxime Vernet's first novel, is a work of anticipation in which it is largely a question of artificial intelligence.
Born in Clermont-Ferrand and based in Marat for several years, Maxime Vernet has just published his first novel, The vast program. A doctor in fundamental physics, he delivers here a work of anticipation where it is largely a question of artificial intelligence. It was after the end of his thesis, in 2019, that Maxime Vernet began to write.
It came like that. I was in the midst of a personal and professional questioning. I started writing for myself, a bit like a diary. And then I wanted to create something new, not to be the center of my own world.
Maxime launches into The Vast Program, an anticipation story which “could happen in around ten years”.
Before the ChatGPT explosion
The AI is a character in its own right, while Maxime wrote his story before the explosion of ChatGPT.
There is AI in my book because there is today and there will be in the future. In my book, AI is a pretext to say “let's imagine that society has choices to make in terms of geopolitics, global warming… If so, there is a good solution, things that should be put in place”. I figured someone had the solution. But who, humanly speaking, can impose his voice without being a dictator? Hence the idea of a machine that cannot be blamed for abusing power.
“For once, the machine is not the problem, it takes control but for the good of humanity.” So utopia or dystopia? The author says he is unable to decide. “Perhaps this is a prologue to a utopia.”
The subject of his book came to him while he was watching a television report. “It was Cash Investigation. The show was about content moderators, these people who get paid a pittance to watch atrocious videos. By removing content, they train a machine to do moderation.”
The idea started from there, with a question:
Can humans teach a machine the notion of good and evil so that it can sort things out and become a sort of internet super policeman?
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If Maxime is today a physics-chemistry teacher in a local college, he is also studying for a degree in psychology:
I still have a strong interest in social psychology. That’s why anticipation appeals to me. I have a weakness for George Orwell. It’s this vein that I like, this global vision of society. In my book, I tried to create a link between the current and the possible future. And even if it's not on the agenda, I could very well make a sequel.
In any case, one thing is certain, Maxime does not plan to stop writing anytime soon. “I have another project on the go.”
Publication. The vast Program, Maxime Vernet, editions Les Presses littéraires, €15.
Dedications. The author will be at the Yssingeaux Book Fair on November 24 and December 7 at the Les histoireurs d'histoires bookstore in Chamalières.
