Maniac

The Instituto Cervantes of New York invites you to attend the first session of the Jorge Luis Borges Library Book Club, dedicated to MANIAC, the acclaimed novel by Benjamín Labatut. Published in 2023, MANIAC offers a literary and fictional portrait of mathematician and visionary John von Neumann, a central figure in the development of modern computing, game theory, and the earliest models of artificial intelligence. The novel places him within a narrative triptych that spans from the scientific crises of the twentieth century to the celebrated showdown between AlphaGo and professional player Lee Sedol. Recognized for its originality and depth, this work reflects on the limits of reason, the transformative power of science, and the ethical dilemmas of a world shaped by cutting-edge technology. The session will take place on the second Tuesday of the month at 6:00 p.m. It is free to attend and will focus on collective analysis of the book, as well as selecting the reading for the following month. This is an opportunity to explore, as a community, a text that has received broad critical acclaim and that forcefully engages with some of today’s most relevant debates surrounding science and artificial intelligence.