Marianne Pickles is a human author with a birth certificate to prove it. Her books feature an AI character called Ben whose heart seems to be in the right place (although he’d be the first to admit he doesn’t have internal organs or viscera of any kind). Like all of Marianne’s work, Ben is entirely human-authored.

The impact of artificial intelligence on creative industries can feel demoralising. However, there are plenty of reasons to feel optimistic… as long as we temper it with a healthy dose of cynicism.

To read Marianne’s reflections on why human storytellers are here to stay, check out her creative manifesto and discover what it means to be geekfully thinksome.

Marianne is currently writing Book 3 in the ArkTech Series – Those Not Recovered. Charlotte’s adventures continue as she takes on the most awkward question of all: what really happened aboard the Citrine platform all those years ago? And, importantly… why?

All being well, the novel will be available towards the end of 2026.

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