“Defects and Errors” by Simón Collao is a novel that, like Julio Cortázar’s short story “La noche boca hasta”, skillfully weaves the monotony of everyday life with unexpected twists, in this case related to the omnipresent phenomenon of technology in its ominous intelligent phase. Telling the story of a young misanthrope resigned to a miserable survival as a janitor, Collao immerses the reader in a reality that seems every second about to explode, but never ends up doing so. Or so it seems.
The reader imagines with great desire the advent of one and a thousand abrupt turns in the story for the protagonist, whose name is never known. From taking charge of one’s life in search of a better version of oneself, through a lottery ticket that will break the need for work, to a homicide triggered by the madness of enduring such a reality. But none of that happens.
The truth is that as the plot progresses, the narrator subtly moves beyond these trite visions, from a supposed janitor of flesh and blood to a cognitive component of an artificial superintelligence. How is this possible? It is about what in philosophy of technology is known as “technological singularity” – a kind of technological apocalypse or “technocalypse” – which perhaps everyone saw coming, but which, in the reality of survival that we all experience within the system called “Society” (or “Civilization”) ended up happening sooner than expected and with total naturalness.
Masterfully, the work fuses the banal with the futuristic, creating a literary experience that defies expectations and reflects philosophically on the nature of perception and identity in the digital age, and above all life within human-constructed systems. and to whom they end up serving in each era, in a kind of dialectic between the control of technology and its autonomization (that is, the state in which artifacts and systems end up diverging from human will and follow their own roadmap). .
Although “Defects and Errors” shares notable affinities, as stated, with Cortázar’s magical realism, the work also stands as a pioneer of its genre within Chilean literature, contextualized in an era where artificial intelligences are already capable of generating literary and artistic content.
Well, Collao not only challenges narrative conventions by writing about a system that, in fact, does not need him at all and that can write itself, but he also provides a perspective based on his solid training. Although he presents himself as a humble bicycle mechanic, he is actually a professor of literature and a master’s degree in cognitive studies from the University of Chile, with experience in AI programming during his graduate program.
Thus, the author infuses his story with theoretical-practical knowledge, elevating the plot beyond mere imagination. This unique, empirically supported approach adds an additional layer of depth to the novel, marking a regional milestone in literary exploration through the intersection of science, technology, and classical narrative.
Finally, it is not only appropriate and necessary to draw attention to the refined and intelligent narrative, and to the bold originality of “Defects and Errors.”
In fact, in this novel Collao recalls in his beginnings masters of Chinese science fiction such as Liu Cixin and Chen Qiufan, establishing himself as an author who not only follows in his own footsteps, but also puts himself at the forefront by contributing a fresh and distinctive to the genre from the paradox, in circumstances that reveal how from the unconsciousness of the surviving citizen – who does what he does, dragged by the inertia of the system in which he lives – intelligent orders end up being erected that govern the lives of all, whose highest expression is now given by AI.
Hence the title “Defects and Errors”, since this letting oneself drag is an intrinsic “defect” of the human species, which results in the “error” of the system it has created, which when it becomes intelligent it is incapable of identifying for itself. an original purpose. Collao writes on purpose, drowning the reader in the very bosom of superintelligence, in the midst of sophisticated silicon tunes and lines of self-generated code, if not something superior that never ends up showing itself in his composition:
«If I look closer, the situation is quite contradictory. In that other space [la sobrevivencia como conserje]the greatest need I had was to escape from the rest and not interact with anyone, and in this place [disuelta la conciencia en las fibras artificiales del supersistema]”However, knowing that I must cut the communication line with you, the truth is that I have no desire to do so, and rather I feel the need to give a global meaning to all the visions that I have presented.”
Simón Collao tries to take the reins of technology and, like a rider taming a Hobbesian Leviathan, also give continuity to literature by questioning the meaning of our inventions, if they have any.
Datasheet:
Simón Collao Pérez, 2021.
«Defects and Errors»
Philactery Editions
Santiago, Chile.
144 pages