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A chat with David Ebenbach about his new book of poems exploring the intersection of AI and humanity,
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About The AI Suspects It Might Be a Hungry Ghost
The poems in David Ebenbach’s new poetry collection, The AI Suspects It Might Be a Hungry Ghost, speculate: if a chatbot could feel and think, what would it feel and think? What would it feel about the complicated situation we’re all in right now, as well as the prospects for the future? What would it think about itself—and about us, its human creators?
For musical accompaniment, check out the AI Suspects It Might Be a Hungry Ghost theme song (composed by David!)
Praise for The AI Suspects It Might Be a Hungry Ghost
“David Ebenbach’s latest collection, The AI Suspects It Might Be a Hungry Ghost, is a clever exploration of the larger human forces behind AI. Like the “hungry ghost” which can never be satisfied, ‘… AI is the culmination/of the human project.’ In that way, the poems are less about technology and more a self-reflective commentary on the human condition. That intention is made apparent by the titles of the poems, which give AI impossible attributes, but that’s the point of these brilliant poems. Occasional short nature poems are dispersed throughout the manuscript, reminding us of AI’s limitations and the ways in which wonder is something only we can experience. This book is amazing.”—Marjory Wentworth, former poet laureate of South Carolina
“David Ebenbach’s new book brilliantly explores artificial intelligence, probing the technology with a humanist’s keen eye. Each poem cuts through hype and buzz with humor, sympathy, and imagination. Ebenbach’s phrases turn in surprise, outrage, and discovery, drunk with language, taking the reader on a wild tour of the emerging technology. Lines will make you laugh or shudder with dread and recognition.”—Bryan Alexander, author of Universities on Fire
“Brain as ‘Sponge the weight of God,’ in Ebenbach’s ‘The AI Feels Apogee’ now my brain taking the gentle hooks offered, poem by poem, in a cadence calling rhythms that know the body. Ebenbach as the drummer setting hook after welcome hook into origami cortex. 4/4 7/4 5/8 more. In his tempo, his hands molt our hands as hook and hook with lines become vectors in starless space hyperdimensional where semantic search is Braille on lips and everything the shape of questions I need. Thank you for The AI Suspects It Might Be a Hungry Ghost.”—Dawan Stanford, Design Thinking 101 Podcast, President of Fluid Hive
“Sometimes it feels like the world is being rapidly overtaken by AI, but author David Ebenbach is here to remind us that this a world of humans, not robots. In…his newest poetry collection, The AI Suspects It Might Be a Hungry Ghost, he encourages us to rage against the machine, and remember that it is not inevitable as long as we continue to fight the good fight.”—Paul Semel
About David Ebenbach
Photo by Reuben Gartenbach
David Ebenbach writes. He’s been writing ever since he was a kid, when he kept his whole family awake by banging away on an enormous manual typewriter, and he’s never wanted to stop.
In fact, David’s now the author of ten books of fiction, poetry, and non-fiction, and his work has picked up awards along the way: the Drue Heinz Literature Prize, the Juniper Prize, the Patricia Bibby Award, and more.
Born and raised in the great city of Philadelphia, these days David does most of his writing in Washington, DC, where he lives with his family—because he uses a laptop now, he doesn’t keep them awake with his typing—and where he works at Georgetown University, promoting inclusive, student-centered teaching at the Center for New Designs in Learning and Scholarship, and teaching creative writing and literature at the Center for Jewish Civilization and creativity through the Master’s in Learning, Design, and Technology Program.