Local author David Hammons released “Artificial Truth,” a science fiction book about a future when AI challenges the mathematical truth of the universe.
A book signing will be held Oct. 2 at BookMarx from 6 to 9 p.m. during First Friday Art Walk.
David Hammons, a business and marketing professor at Ozarks Technical Community College, explained that his work is inspired by AI hallucinations.
“They're programmed, at least in this iteration, to make the user happy, because the answer being true is not what they're concerned with,” Hammons said.
In the fictional society Hammons created, truth becomes sacred and is challenged by AI revelations. This conflict raises the question of how truth will continue to survive or whether it will change.
“It's kind of like truth needs to be treated like endangered species,” Hammons said. “And so, it made me think of that seed vault in the Arctic where they have all these seeds sealed up in some deep, dark underground cave where just in case an apocalyptic event happens, we can restart civilization with all this agriculture, right? So, we preserve truth like we're preserving those trees.”
Hammons first got the idea for his book around July 2025, and the whole project, including brainstorming, writing and editing, took about a year to reach its final form. He credits his wife for being his “best critique partner.”
Concerning the future of reality and AI, Hammons calls for prioritizing humanity.
“If we're going to move to the future where AI is a partner, I think we need to see it as a partner, but that humanity is still first,” Hammons said.
“Artificial Truth” is available for purchase on Amazon and can be ordered through any bookstore. More information at www.daviddhammons.com
