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Anthony Tardiff on AI and "The Final System"
Anthony Tardiff spent over ten years writing The Final System, a thriller in which AI is on the brink of either saving humanity from chaos or dooming us to servitude. Has today’s AI tech turned his powerful fiction into a real life dilemma?
In this mind-expanding episode of Why Authors Write, host Mary J. Cronin sits down with debut novelist Anthony Tardiff to dig into the origins and implications of his gripping novel, The Final System. Recently selected as an Amazon Prime First Read, Tardiff’s novel offers a uniquely convincing and dystopian look at a society attempting to restore stability using the world's most advanced cyber system after a massive technological breakdown.
Tardiff, a university librarian specializing in information literacy, shares the fascinating 18-year journey of bringing this book to life. Originally conceived in 2008, the manuscript required extensive revisions over the years as real-world advancements in agentic AI and ChatGPT continually threatened to overtake his plot.
Listeners will get an inside look at the demanding reality and unexpected joys of traditional publishing. Tardiff opens up about the decade he spent working with his agent in search of a mainstream publisher, surviving a "ground-up" rewrite that shifted his first draft from a young adult novel to a complex, multi-perspective adult thriller, and finally landing a contract. Only to be told he had to cut his manuscript down by nearly 40,000 words. He also shares a glimpse into his creative process—powered heavily by coffee shops and his wife’s unwavering encouragement—and explains how he spent his initial book advance executing final revisions in Hawaii.
In his advice for aspiring novelists, Tardiff speaks passionately about why writers should resist the temptation to use AI as a writing shortcut, how to define artistic success on your own terms, and what it truly means to build a lasting literary legacy. Tune in for an inspiring conversation about how human creativity wins -- even in the era of AI, the enduring love of writing, and the power of revision.
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By Mary J CroninAnthony Tardiff spent over ten years writing The Final System, a thriller in which AI is on the brink of either saving humanity from chaos or dooming us to servitude. Has today’s AI tech turned his powerful fiction into a real life dilemma?
In this mind-expanding episode of Why Authors Write, host Mary J. Cronin sits down with debut novelist Anthony Tardiff to dig into the origins and implications of his gripping novel, The Final System. Recently selected as an Amazon Prime First Read, Tardiff’s novel offers a uniquely convincing and dystopian look at a society attempting to restore stability using the world's most advanced cyber system after a massive technological breakdown.
Tardiff, a university librarian specializing in information literacy, shares the fascinating 18-year journey of bringing this book to life. Originally conceived in 2008, the manuscript required extensive revisions over the years as real-world advancements in agentic AI and ChatGPT continually threatened to overtake his plot.
Listeners will get an inside look at the demanding reality and unexpected joys of traditional publishing. Tardiff opens up about the decade he spent working with his agent in search of a mainstream publisher, surviving a "ground-up" rewrite that shifted his first draft from a young adult novel to a complex, multi-perspective adult thriller, and finally landing a contract. Only to be told he had to cut his manuscript down by nearly 40,000 words. He also shares a glimpse into his creative process—powered heavily by coffee shops and his wife’s unwavering encouragement—and explains how he spent his initial book advance executing final revisions in Hawaii.
In his advice for aspiring novelists, Tardiff speaks passionately about why writers should resist the temptation to use AI as a writing shortcut, how to define artistic success on your own terms, and what it truly means to build a lasting literary legacy. Tune in for an inspiring conversation about how human creativity wins -- even in the era of AI, the enduring love of writing, and the power of revision.