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Ian McEwan speculates on 'What We Can Know' in the 22nd century

Ian McEwan speculates on 'What We Can Know' in the 22nd century

Summary

Booker Prize-winning author Ian McEwan discussed his novel “What We Can Know” with France 24’s Olivia Salazar-Winspear as the book was translated into French. The conversation covered its imagined 22nd-century society, climate change, literature and the possible effects of artificial intelligence on human civilization.

Key Facts

  • The novel is set in a 22nd-century society after a major event called the “derangement.”
  • In the novel, many 21st-century capital cities have been submerged.
  • The story follows academics pursuing a mythical lost poem.
  • The interview considered climate change and the future consequences of the climate crisis.
  • McEwan and Salazar-Winspear discussed celebrity artists and the possible decline of reading.
  • McEwan shared views on how artificial intelligence could reshape human civilization.
  • The France 24 interview was published on October 29, 2026, as the novel was translated into French.
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