Maniac

The audiobook Maniac, written by Benjamín Labatut, translated by Michal Prokop. Narrated by Luboš Ondráček, directed by Miloš Vrána. The most dangerous scientific invention of the 20th century was the atomic bomb; now, artificial intelligence is hot on its heels. When we trace the stories of these two discoveries far enough back into the past, we find that they intersect in the person of John von Neumann, who is often described as the smartest person who ever lived. Hungarian-born von Neumann was a child prodigy whose talents frightened people. His discoveries contributed to the development of quantum mechanics and genetics. He founded game theory, built the first programmable computer, which was named MANIAC, and through his participation in Oppenheimer's Manhattan Project, he arrived at the very foundations of artificial intelligence. Similar to his debut, When We Cease to Understand the World, Labatut allows us to peer into the mind of a man whose scientific discoveries are pushing humanity forward, but at the same time carry terrifying consequences that are impossible to foresee. This gripping story, which combines fact and fiction, confronts the reader with the deepest questions we face as a species. BENJAMÍN LABATUT Benjamín Labatut (1980) was born in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. He spent his childhood in The Hague and Buenos Aires, and at the age of twelve, he moved with his parents to Santiago, Chile, where he now lives with his wife and daughter. His previous novel, When We Cease to Understand the World (2020), was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize in 2021 and has been translated into thirty-two languages. LUBOŠ ONDRÁČEK Luboš Ondráček is a Czech actor and voice artist. He graduated from JAMU and his first engagement was at the satirical theatre Večerní Brno. He spent six years at the Petr Bezruč Theatre in Ostrava and also collaborated on various projects with the ČT Ostrava television studio. He also worked with Czech Television on the programme Toulavá kamera. He now dedicates his time to, among other things, voice-over direction and narrating audiobooks.