7 Books SciAm Recommends So Far in 2024
Here are seven fiction and nonfiction books we recommend from the past few months. They involve broken hearts, killer robots and epic failed experiments
Arts
Contributors to Scientific American’s April 2024 Issue
Writers, artists, photographers and researchers share the stories behind the stories
Poem: ‘SnapShot, 1968’
Science in meter and verse
How to Grieve Our Changing Planet
A new book on the perils of human exceptionalism
How the Strange Relationship between Chickens and Humans Shaped Our World
Chicken takeovers, the missing histories of silk, a dazzling memoir of gravity, and more books out now
This Computer Scientist Seeks a Future Where AI Development Values Copyright
The new nonprofit Fairly Trained certifies that artificial intelligence models license copyrighted data—which often isn’t the case
Meet the Real-Life Versions of Dune’s Epic Sandworms
A Dune-loving worm paleontologist makes the case that worms have been just as important on Earth as they are in the blockbuster film
Poem: ‘Want’
Science in meter and verse
A Sexbot Gains Sentience in an Eerie New Novel
In a dark thriller, a sexbot questions her owner's demands for love
What Plant Migrations Tell Us about Ourselves
New insights into why animals play, how to hunt an asteroid, and more books out now
Artists Are Slipping Anti-AI ‘Poison’ into Their Art. Here’s How It Works
Digital cloaking tools such as Nightshade and Glaze help artists take back control from generative AI—but they’re no forever fix
Sculptures about to Land on the Moon Join a Long History of Lunar Art
A lunar lander nicknamed Odie carries 125 small moon sculptures by artist Jeff Koons that could become the first authorized artwork on the moon