October 25, 2026 — 5:00am

Ted Chiang has been thinking about some of the worst people in the world.

Considered one of the greatest living science-fiction writers and known for fighting the rapacious rise of artificial intelligence, the New York-born, Seattle-based writer is bound for Sydney for Powerhouse Parramatta’s 23-day opening festival . Chiang will give a keynote address on November 8 about billionaires and capitalism and whether immortality can be pursued ethically.

Author Ted Chiang will make a guest appearance for the opening of Powerhouse Parramatta in November. Kate Joyce

Spoiler alert: probably not.

“It seems like a lot of the people who are interested in pursuing immortality in recent years, they seem like the worst people in the world,” Chiang says. “I guess this raises a couple of questions.…