iPhone, iPad, iSly. Which One Breaks the Mold? Artificial Intelligence – With a Sense of Humor.

The Apple iPhone 4S has drawn a lot of attention lately. Its Siri software has some sass and attitude.
 
 
iSly -1929882645
iSly -1929882645
Oct. 19, 2011 - PRLog -- "One of the top draws to Apple's iPhone 4S is its new speech recognition software, called Siri, that's designed to talk back," writes Geoffry A. Fowler, in his Wall Street Journal article, "Are Smart Phones Becoming Smart Alecks?"

"Siri has two distinct systems at its heart. One listens and translates what customers are saying, the other interprets the meaning behind the request and responds, It's in that last part where the sass comes in,"  Fowler explains, ". . . Real humans are responding to this alarming breakthrough by asking their iPhones ridiculous questions. The good news is, Siri has a sense of humor." And it's seems to be holding its own through a gauntlet of humorous questions.

iSly, on the other hand, is an android with an attitude, but not much of a sense of humor. None that humans can readily detect, but he gets involved in at least one hilarious situation. More on that soon.

eSly androids do wonders in rescuing mankind from one disaster after another. But it all goes wrong when iSly springs spontaneously from eSly, starts to replicate himself, and goes on his own sinister mission. A resurgent Joseph Dane is on the case, with Bluegrass, his colorful sidekick, and TatarKhan, Hypernet Master. They must find the obscure origins of an epic android shift, before a major calamity ensues. The iSly 'droids are displacing the top movers in all fields. World leaders are horrified.

Stanley Gerson is out of the starting gate with iSly, a story that packs a wallop, set in the grandeur of San Francisco North, risen from a new, techtonic geography in Coos Bay, Oregon. For more information, visit www.islydroids.com.  But, humorous breaks in a science fiction: just like in real life? Doesn't that break the mold and loose reader focus? We need to take a look at what has too often become the sci-fi formula book and movie: The heroes are usually cast in stone, having an intensity not even seen in Delta Force operators. Were they to crack a smile, they'd break apart and fall into a heap of rubble.

After character and scene development, the story will pick up speed, mystery, and suspense 'til it reaches critical mass about chapter six or so. Does the reader get some relief, a change of pace, a little levity or even humor? No. Usually the writer ups the ante from there: more numbers of deaths, slaughter, and mayhem. More gruesome suffering of victims. No let-up in the tension. Each chapter from there tries to build on what has come before, heighten the action and suspense 'til the reading experience starts to feel manic, and the reader may even have to put the book down for a while to catch their breath.

What's wrong with this scenario? Answer: the author is not trusting his audience. Since the success of Star Wars, writers and directors seem to think only continuous, adrenaline pumping, action will keep an audience. Maybe the mold of that formula should be broken. There needs to be an element of trust built up, between the writer and the reader. The reader needs to feel trusted that a change of pace or a little comic relief won't cause him to bail. If the reader feels comfortable with the book and writer, they'll keep reading knowing that business will get attended to.

Now back to android humor. The fifth chapter has comic relief in the tecno-thriller, iSly.The heroes dress western, grab instruments, and get into an improv to hide from a helicopter and android dragnet, caused by their probing of iSly programming while posing as medics. The readers know it's a serious situation, but they get a little time-out from the tension: . . . Dane caught sight of a figure coming forward in his peripheral vision. It was an android cop, poking around. He turned left at the front aisle, heading straight towards Dane and TatarKhan. Dane breathed more deeply to stay calm. The officer kept coming. Dane looked down just in time to see TatarKhan slide his banjo case's neck section out into the aisle. Nothing could be done. The 'droid tripped on it, his right foot sliding off in a sprain position. He staggered for balance, right into a section of instrument cases. Slap, slippity, slide, slep, slop. The audience gasped as he lunged forward, falling headlong into the orchestra pit, past the metal railing. A titter of ridiculous laughter was barely suppressed. Clunk! The ‘droid's right foot caught a post in the railing. Slap! A hand grabbed the post. Two seconds later the cop swung back out and limboed to his feet. Some of the audience oohed and started applauding. The rest launched into a fit of gut-busting laughter, no longer able to hold it back. The pros kept on playing but Sal's shoulders were heaving. Even an android cop knows when it's time to leave. . .

The best humor is when the characters are serious, but the premise is ridiculous. So a little humor by the fifth chapter in the improv, a little comic relief, some trust in the reader and back to the techno-thriller.   Please visit www.islydroids.com or why no buy the book at Amazon or Barnes & Noble, and email your sci-fi friends?

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Biographical Publishing Company does book layout and design, proof reading, assigns ISBN, arranges for printing of books, provides promotional services and offers advice on all aspect of book creation including marketing and distribution.
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Tags:Siri, Artificial Intelligence, Sense Of Humor, iPhone, Ipad, iSly, Android, Droid, Smart Phones
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Page Updated Last on: Nov 23, 2011
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