Brendan Nugent
@authorbnugent.bsky.social
470 followers 690 following 240 posts
Indie author based in the north-west of England. Enthralling and challenging Sci-fi, Speculative and Climate Fiction. Intriguing debut novel #TheSentientOnes coming soon. Website: www.authorbrendannugent.co.uk
Posts Media Videos Starter Packs
Pinned
authorbnugent.bsky.social
The cover for my debut novel ‘The Sentient Ones’.

Out in shops and online on 6 Nov - a near-future thriller of AI rule and human resistance.

#TheSentientOnes #SciFi #Booksky
authorbnugent.bsky.social
It can fold laundry, fill a dishwasher, serve, and play with the family dog. A blend of human-like activity and fundamental inhumanness.

A new home humanoid robot revolution, and Figure AI might be leading the slightly discomfiting, unsteady way.
#TheSentientOnes #AI

youtu.be/4ZP943-gARQ?...
Is the Figure 03 Robot Ready to Clean Your House?
YouTube video by TIME
youtu.be
authorbnugent.bsky.social
Some believe contemporary AI is a sentient being.

Philosophical questions surround the definition of sentience. And no one can say exactly how sentience arises

Plus, sentience is a loaded word meaning different things to different people
#TheSentientOnes #AI

www.forbes.com/sites/lancee...
People Astonishingly Believe That They Have Brought AI To Life Such As Miraculously Making ChatGPT Sentient
People are increasingly claiming they have encountered sentient AI, and they sparked AI into sentience, unknowingly. It's a trend, good and bad. Here's my inside scoop.
www.forbes.com
authorbnugent.bsky.social
Some humans might treat the AI as a supreme being. Others might be similarly convinced simply due to the behaviour of their fellow humans.
People everywhere will be of a like mind about AI as a god-like facility. That’s not good.
#TheSentientOnes #AI

www.forbes.com/sites/lancee...
Worries That AGI And AI Superintelligence Will Deceive Us Into Believing It Is Omnipotent And Our Overlord
AI can say things that are untoward. AGI and ASI will do likewise. Expect that AGI and ASI will claim to be supreme overlords. It's a looming issue. Here's the scoop.
www.forbes.com
authorbnugent.bsky.social
Artificial Superintelligence (ASI) would surpass human intelligence in every conceivable way.
It could solve humanity’s biggest challenges,eradicate diseases,reverse climate change.
Will AGI and ASI be here in 2029? 2050? bringing utopia or disaster? 
#TheSentientOnes #AI

medium.com/@aaronleehay...
The AI race: When will AGI and ASI Arrive?
For decades, artificial intelligence has been steadily advancing, moving from rule based expert systems to neural networks capable of…
medium.com
authorbnugent.bsky.social
AGI is AI that is considered on par with human intellect and can match our intelligence.

ASI is AI that has gone beyond human intellect and would be superior.

ASI would be able to run circles around humans by outthinking us at every turn.
#TheSentientOnes #AI

www.forbes.com/sites/lancee...
Future Forecasting The AGI-To-ASI Pathway Giving Ultimate Rise To AI Superintelligence
Once we arrive at AGI (artificial general intelligence), the pursuit of ASI (artificial superintelligence) is next. Here is a speculated timeline 2040-2050.
www.forbes.com
authorbnugent.bsky.social
Staffordshire County Council, which has been run by Reform UK councillors since May's local elections, made the decision on Thursday.

An idiotic decision as the climate emergency will continue unabated and will undoubtedly intensify.

#TheSentientOnes #climatechange

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Staffordshire County Council scraps climate emergency declaration
Staffordshire County Council voted to overturn its climate emergency, announced in 2019.
www.bbc.co.uk
Reposted by Brendan Nugent
ecowarriorss.bsky.social
An area of tropical forest the size of Switzerland was lost last year as tree losses surged
They will not stop until every ancient forest is obliterated
They see no value in trees until they are logged for profit
Buts lets see how long we survive without Trees

www.bbc.com/news/science...
Climate change: Deforestation surges despite pledges
Data shows that cutting down tropical forests increased by 10% in 2022, despite promises made at COP26.
www.bbc.com
authorbnugent.bsky.social
Species from Red Sea have “invaded” Aegean and Ionian Seas over the last several years.
Sea levels also rising— projected to have risen one meter by 2100—the Mediterranean becoming saltiest and fastest-warming sea on the planet.

#TheSentientOnes #climatechange

greekreporter.com/2022/05/03/m...
Mediterranean Turning into Tropical Sea, WWF Warns - GreekReporter.com
The Mediterranean is turning into a tropical sea due to the rising global temperatures, the World Wide Fund for Nature warned in a report.
greekreporter.com
authorbnugent.bsky.social
Barcelona and Majorca will shift to a desert-like climate by 2050.

Summer increased by 36 days across Spain over last 50 years.

The warming from climate change has been very pronounced in mainland Spain and the Balearic Islands

#TheSentientOnes #climatechange

www.euronews.com/green/2024/0...
Spain is moving from a Mediterranean to desert climate, study says
Summer has increased by an average of 36 days across Spain over the last 50 years.
www.euronews.com
authorbnugent.bsky.social
Scientists say Mediterranean is becoming more tropical, enduring extreme rainstorms and rising sea temperatures.

Not just bananas it's starting to grow. Sicily is producing mangoes, kiwis, avocados and even papayas.

#TheSentientOnes #climatechange

www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/...
Is the future of Italy tropical? Why Sicilian farmers are trading olives for papayas
Climate change is transforming Sicily’s rolling hills into a tropical landscape. How it adapts could be a lesson for the rest of us.
www.nationalgeographic.com
authorbnugent.bsky.social
He said "Right wing equivalents to fascists of the thirties are back on the march: Le Pen France, AfD Germany, Fdl Italy, Vox Spain and Reform in UK"
And Badenoch's plot to rip up the Climate Change Act is an act of "unforgivable irresponsibility".
#climatechange

www.mirror.co.uk/news/politic...
Michael Heseltine likens Reform to fascists of 1930s in scathing attack
Tory grandee Michael Heseltine likened Nigel Farage's Reform UK to fascist groups of the 1930s and lashed out at Kemi Badenoch's 'unforgivable' climate change plans
www.mirror.co.uk
authorbnugent.bsky.social
From GPs using the technology to record consultations to AI ‘detectives’ finding brain lesions on scans, experts say it’s only the beginning.
AI known as “deep learning” a neural network method used to interpret medical imaging and diagnosis.
#TheSentientOnes #AI

www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
‘Impressive for a robot’: home care chatbots among AI tools being embraced by Australia’s health system
From GPs using the technology to record consultations to AI ‘detectives’ finding brain lesions on scans, experts say it’s only the beginning
www.theguardian.com
Reposted by Brendan Nugent
cliftop.bsky.social
Always good to be invited to the launch of a new book.

And Friday evening at Lark Books as part of the Lincoln Book Festival was no exception.

A thought-provoking novel from Lincolnshire author Amy Lilwall that will play on the mind long after its reading.

simcomm.blogspot.com/2025/10/the-...
The Water That May Come
Topical comment and travel writing
simcomm.blogspot.com
authorbnugent.bsky.social
Gates is optimistic about the overall benefits AI can provide to humanity, like “breakthrough treatments for deadly diseases, innovative solutions for climate change, and high-quality education for everyone,” he wrote last year.
#TheSentientOnes #AI

www.cnbc.com/2025/03/26/b...
Bill Gates: Within 10 years, AI will replace many doctors and teachers—humans won't be needed 'for most things'
A new era of "free intelligence" powered by AI will change the way humans work, says billionaire Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates.
www.cnbc.com
Reposted by Brendan Nugent
cliftop.bsky.social
Calling all sci-fi enthusaists.

The machines have risen… and the resistance starts in Stoke-on-Trent!

Join Brendan Nugent at Vellichor Books on Saturday, 8 November (12–4pm) for the official launch of his chilling near-future thriller.

#TheSentientOnes #SciFi #BookLaunch #AIThriller #StokeonTrent
authorbnugent.bsky.social
It's not possible to accurately predict the probability of tremors associated with the practice. Fracking poses risks to water and air quality, unpredictable earthquakes and harmful warming effects on the climate.
#TheSentientOnes #climatechange

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/poli...
Mapped: The areas threatened by Reform’s controversial pro-fracking agenda revealed
New analysis identifies parliamentary areas that could be vulnerable to development for fracking if Nigel Farage’s party were to get into government
www.independent.co.uk
authorbnugent.bsky.social
Courtney doesn’t have eyes, but it’s got sensors everywhere. When they first got here, they were objects of curiosity. People took pictures of them.
Three months after their arrival, though, the novelty has worn off. They’re not photo ops anymore.
#TheSentientOnes #AI

www.cnn.com/2025/10/03/t...
Food delivery robots have human names and blinking eyes. But they’re not our friends | CNN Business
Robots are delivering to-go orders in cities like Atlanta, Chicago and Dallas. Are we embracing them too quickly — and are they actually helpful?
www.cnn.com
authorbnugent.bsky.social
Nature and farmland equivalent in size to the New Forest was lost in the UK between 2018 and 2023.
Protected and special natural areas in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, equivalent to 1,680 football pitches was also lost
#TheSentientOnes #climatechange

www.theguardian.com/environment/...
UK fifth-worst country in Europe for loss of green space to development
Exclusive: 1,680 football pitches of protected natural land in England, Wales and Northern Ireland lost in five years
www.theguardian.com
authorbnugent.bsky.social
Residents of Manchester, Leeds, Cambridge and Milton Keynes in the UK, across Finland, and in Heinla and Starship’s home country of Estonia have all received food and groceries from the robots.
#TheSentientOnes #AI

www.theguardian.com/business/202...
‘Delivery robots will happen’: Skype co-founder on his fast-growing venture Starship
Ahti Heinla on bringing his tech to small towns, its effects on jobs – and whether he’s still interested in money
www.theguardian.com
Reposted by Brendan Nugent
tarynleejohnston.bsky.social
Hi, I’m Taryn and award-winning publisher, ghostwriter & COO of NovoBooks. I help business owners and creatives turn ideas into powerful books that build authority. Expect insights on publishing, AI in writing, and the future of storytelling.
authorbnugent.bsky.social
More than 90% of plastic waste ends up in the soil, as microplastics, invisible to the naked eye. Posing a severe threat to soil health and microbial communities. It may also worsen climate change, boosting production of greenhouse gases.
#TheSentientOnes #climatechange

phys.org/news/2025-10...
Microplastics reduce soil fertility and boost production of a potent greenhouse gas, study shows
More than 90% of plastic waste ends up in the soil, where it breaks down into microplastics that are invisible to the naked eye. Microplastic pollution of the soil poses a severe threat to soil health...
phys.org
Reposted by Brendan Nugent
cliftop.bsky.social
Great to connect with @bforbutterflybooks.bsky.social - love independent bookshops!
bforbutterflybooks.bsky.social
Hello lovely people of Bluesky! My name's Michelle and I'm the owner of B For Butterfly Books, a small independent bookshop based in Sale, Greater Manchester. I'm hoping this will be my 'forever-social-media-home' after lots of channel-hopping 😁
Reposted by Brendan Nugent
cliftop.bsky.social
Looking forward to being at #LincolnBookFestival today for the launch of 'The Waters May Come' by Lincoln's Amy Lilwall at #LarkBooks.

Aptly, the season’s first named UK storm - Storm Amy - is forecast to break the same evening.

Art, life and weather in poetic alignment!