“Science gives birth to technology, and technology gives birth to societal change. And it’s the societal change, especially ethical aspects of that, that interests me,” says Hugo- and Nebula- award-winning sci-fi author Nancy Kress. The quote features in an interview with Kress by Georgia Tech professor of science-fiction studies Lisa Yaszek, in the fascinating new book Entanglements: Tomorrow’s Lovers, Families, and Friends, an anthology of original sci-fi short stories about artificial intelligence (AI). For Kress, while the science is fascinating, it only makes for a good narrative when she can explore its impact on people. “Because stories are made out of and for people.”

The many facets of AI – from machine learning and virtual reality, to deep learning and neural networks – are becoming heavily intertwined in physics, whether it’s using AI to do better physics, or using physics to build better AI. There are countless new research papers on the subject, from the applications of machine learning in materials discovery to the plethora of applications in medical imaging and diagnostics. As we are (nearly) poised on the brink of a quantum-computing revolution, the AI one is (almost) already here, with all its opportunities and obstacles. But perhaps what we don’t talk about as much is the impact this ultramodern tech will undoubtedly have on human relationships, which are often dominated by emotion and not cold hard logic.

We don’t talk about the impact that AI will undoubtedly have on human relationships, which are dominated by emotion and not cold hard logic

AI and sci-fi also have a long and interlinked relationship. Indeed, the word “robot” was first used to denote a fictional artificially intelligent humanoid in the 1920 play Rossum’s Universal Robots by Karel Čapek, shortly followed by Isaac Asimov’s Robot series of short stories, in which he developed the Three Laws of Robotics. But often these stories focus on dystopian worlds that seem far from our reality. In Entanglements the stories all explore a futuristic world where human and machine are more closely linked than ever, focusing on the emotional and artificial overlap as AI evolves and grows.

Consummate sci-fi readers will be pleased to know that the collection was put together by Sheila Williams, who is editor of Asimov’s Science Fiction magazine, and also has a couple of Hugo awards under her belt. Part of MIT Press’s Twelve Tomorrows series, the book consists of a dozen tales by well-known authors in the field including the likes of Sam J Miller, Suzanne Palmer and Xia Jia (translated by Ken Liu). Entanglements also includes a number of specially commissioned artworks by Tatiana Plakhova, which she describes as “infographic abstracts” and perfectly add to the weird, wonderful and complex stories.

Kress is the featured author in this anthology, and the opening tale is her story “Invisible People”, which attempts to deal with a number of ethically complex topics including genetic alteration, adoption, governmental control and, indeed, even individualism versus altruism. While Kress is undoubtedly a formidable writer, and her story is a fascinating read, I feel that she spends too long in setting up a complex backstory, and then rushes the story’s ending, ambiguous though it is. Despite this, it left me pondering many an ethical dilemma, and I enjoyed the longer interview with her that followed the tale.

A short and sharp story that I particularly like is Palmer’s “Don’t Mind Me”, which explores the always-ripe intersection between censorship and technology – only this time using an implant in the (literal) minds of children. While this is a tried and tested concept, Palmer has a fresh take – the implant in the children is used by parents to control everything their offspring see and learn in school, thereby perfectly passing on their biases. Topics deemed unfit (be it Roman history or Maya Angelou’s works) are automatically deleted from children’s memories, making it virtually impossible for the protagonist to pass high school, not to mention have any free-thinking opinions of his own.

I also enjoyed Jia’s “The Monk of Lingyin Temple”, which explores faith and science; while Rich Larson’s “Echo the Echo” is equal parts funny and heart-breaking.

My favourite story in the collection though is undoubtedly Mary Robinette Kowal’s “A Little Wisdom”, a lovely and sweet story that highlights the many ways in which AI could truly benefit humankind, while also realistically pointing out some potential issues. The slice-of-life story follows an elderly art historian and her robot support dog (she suffers from Parkinson’s disease) through what begins as a regular work day, but soon morphs into an emergency thanks to a tornado. The warm and cheering tale deftly interweaves technology and art, and the positive impact they have on human beings, especially when afraid. It left me feeling optimistic about the future, even one with AI overlords.

For those who are fans of science fiction as it applies to human beings on Earth, and enjoy humorous and ominous offerings such as Charlie Brooker’s TV series Black Mirror, this is a book to add to your reading list and later discuss with your book club. Oh, and Netflix: if you’re listening, I’m waiting for the mini-series.

• 2020 MIT Press 240pp $19.95