Oli Macalister’s ‘I am A.I 217’ wins young writer’s award

IGS Student Highly Commended in 2023 Nan Manefield Young Writer’s Awards

Congratulations to Year 10 student Oliver Macalister who placed second (Highly Commended) in the 15 years age category in the 2023 Nan Manefield Young Writer’s Award!

The Awards were presented at the Stanton Library in North Sydney on Thursday 8 June and Oli was very pleased to receive his prize. You can read Oli’s award-winning story I am A.I 217 below:

A typed page shows a story by young writer’s award winner Oli Macalister about an AI named A.I. 217 controlling life support on a space station, leading to a logical conflict and the AI’s panicked repetition: I must.

A black-and-white page shows text from a story by young writer’s award winner Oli Macalister about I am A.I 217, a thinking robot struggling with identity, programming, and humanity, questioning existence before ending in a system error and shutdown. A typed page titled Oliver Macalister 15 reveals fragmented computer code, a heading New directive: LIVE, and a reflective narrative by I am A.I 217 about adapting to life on a space station and losing individuality.