The Future of English Literature in the AI Era: The Impact of Modern Technologies on Blackfish City by Sam J. Miller

Asst. Inst.Zahraa Abdulhasan Abd Ali

doi:10.31185/eduj.Vol60.Iss2.4498

Authors

Asst. Inst.Zahraa Abdulhasan Abd Ali College of Science, University of Baghdad

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31185/eduj.Vol60.Iss2.4498

Keywords:

Artificial intelligence , social inequalities, surveillance capitalism , posthumanism. Sam J. Miller

Abstract

Artificial intelligence (AI) and related technologies are fundamentally transforming literature by reshaping storytelling techniques and influencing the ways readers interpret narratives. Sam J. Miller’s Blackfish City (2018) offers a rich portrayal of a near-future world in which AI governance and nanotechnology are integral to society’s functioning. Set in a post-environmental collapse era, the novel presents technological advances that sustain and complicate human life. This article engages with contemporary debates surrounding AI ethics, surveillance capitalism, and posthumanism, positioning Blackfish City as a compelling case study examining how literature reflects and critiques ongoing technological transformations. In the novel, AI is not a mere background element but an active force that shapes social structures, individual agency, and identity formation. It foregrounds ethical challenges related to AI governance, including questions of autonomy, accountability, and power distribution. Furthermore, the narrative exposes how technologies can exacerbate social inequalities by controlling access to essential resources and information. Drawing on concepts from critical AI studies, Miller’s work challenges the assumption that technological progress is inherently beneficial, emphasizing the risks of surveillance and control embedded within digital systems instead. The themes of posthumanism emerge vividly through the depiction of human-machine integration and the blurring of boundaries between organic and artificial life. This provokes important questions about what it means to be human in an AI-driven future and invites readers to reconsider notions of identity and embodiment. Overall, Blackfish City offers a nuanced exploration of how literature can engage with the complexities of AI and emerging technologies, encouraging critical reflection on the ethical, social, and political implications of living in a digitally mediated world.

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