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HITS |
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Famous Books |
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Copyright © 2006-2007 onlybooks.110mb.com Goldie |
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Two Faces of Tomorrow |
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By the mid-21st century, technology had become much too complicated for humans to handle--and the computer network that had grown up to keep civilization from tripping over its own shoelaces was also beginning to be overwhelmed. Something had to be done. As a solution, Raymond Dyer's project developed the first genuinely self-aware artificial intelligence--code name: Spartacus. But could Spartacus be trusted to obey its makers? What makes TTFOT such a treat is the amount of thought that Hogan put into what it would take to create an artificial intelligence from computer programming and a little human ingenuity (a feat even more impressive when you realize he wrote the novel back in 1979!). He offers us interesting, ingratiating, believable characters set against a background of action that normally would seem fantastical. Its a testament to Hogan's skills that you never stop to think of how implausible it all might be (a fact that comes up with many, far-lesser science fiction novels). In fact, Hogan goes a long way towards convincing you it all is QUITE plausible. Its fun and stimulating and recommended. Jim Hogan is one of the most underrated SF writers that I know of, although I suspect that many people have read and enjoyed his books. His vision of tomorrow's technology and where it might take us is second to none, making some famous authors like Arthur Clarke and Isaac Asimov seem foolishly optimistic in some of their predictions. One reason for this is that Hogan is a qualified engineer with very wide knowledge of the computer industry, which he extrapolates very convincingly. (I think more SF writers fail in their expectations of future computing than in almost any other department - Heinlein, for instance, has recognizably 1950-1970 computers in many of his stories set centuries in the future). Some of Hogan's other books contain similar ideas - notably "Code of the Lifemaker" - and several of his later novels deal with virtual reality. The core idea of "Two Faces of Tomorrow" is one of the fundamental dilemmas facing humanity today and in the coming years. Namely, if a computer system is not more intelligent than we are, it cannot (in principle) achieve anything we can't. But, if it is more intelligent than we are, how can we trust its recommendations? Let alone its actions if we equip it to control machinery directly? In this book, a team of scientists, with military backup, are charged with running a full-scale experiment to find out whether an executive AI could resist all efforts to shut it down, and if so how. The outcome is very surprising, in both positive and negative ways. As other reviewers have noted, Hogan does not put much effort into characterization, preferring to linger over engineering details. That's a stylistic choice, however, and a writer cannot do everything in the scope of a normal-length novel. This book should definitely be on your reading list if you're an SF devotee, and I think that all politicians and decision-makers should be aware of its core ideas. One day we are going to have to do something similar, although it may not be quite as dramatic as Hogan's story. |