Tanuj Solanki ’s new novel The Machine is Learning follows Saransh, an employee of a life insurance company, who is part of a special proj...
Tanuj Solanki’s new novel The Machine is Learning follows Saransh, an employee of a life insurance company, who is part of a special projects group that is devising an artificial intelligence-based system which, if successfully implemented, will leave 556 employees across the country disposable overnight.
Saransh finds himself in a moral and ethical conundrum on meeting the people whose jobs are on the line because of his project. Meanwhile, his girlfriend, a high-principled ex-journalist, provokes him to question the nature of his work, which could destroy lives in his bid to be seen as a “pioneer” for helping his company realise its ambitions.
The 34-year-old writer’s debut novel Neon Noon was a darkly absorbing account of a man trying to heal a broken heart by travelling to Thailand for a sex-fuelled escapade. His follow-up, Diwali in Muzaffarnagar, was a collection of short stories, largely concerning life in the suburbs, set in his hometown in Uttar Pradesh. The book won him the Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar Award in 2019.
In an email interview with Scroll.in, Solanki unpacked his new novel, its thematic concerns ranging from capitalism to artificial intelligence, and how it is of a piece with his previous works. Excerpts from the interview.
Before we get to discussing The Machine is Learning, what do you make of...
