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Ahmed's Reviews > The Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect
The Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect
by
by
Ahmed's review
bookshelves: science-fiction, singularity, ai, favorites, hard-science-fiction
May 19, 2015
bookshelves: science-fiction, singularity, ai, favorites, hard-science-fiction
This is a great novella.
It discusses a technological singularity in which a computer scientist manages to create a sufficiently intelligent AI, programmed with Asimov's Three Laws, which then progresses to remake the world to best serve the Three Laws.
I'm actually quite surprised how well-written this book is, considering the author has not published much other work. It is not only thoughtful hard science fiction, but also very well written and engaging as a story. More sci-fi writers should be able to write like this.
As hard science fiction, this book is very interesting. Topics discussed include the nature of physical reality, the all-importance of information, the various possible levels of emulating the physical world (from molecular-level to high-level emulation that skirts away the details, but you wouldn't be able to tell the difference), and human happiness.
[Spoilers in this paragraph]
The physical nature of information is important idea, even though it is only hinted at in the book. The author brilliantly demonstrates the compressibility and redundancy of human beings when Prime Intellect decides to do away with the redundant copies of genetic information contained in each cell, and instead keep only one DNA copy and the brain information. People cannot tell the difference when the change is done, as PI continues running things in a high-level emulation mode, having taken over lots of low-level physical processes.
As for happiness, the book makes an important point (further elaborated if you read the author's commentary on the genesis of the story). To be happy, you have to work to achieve something. This meaningful process of labor and achievement is what fulfills people. When all other physical requirements are provided for (food, drink, sex), it is all that remains, and when that too is taken away by the all-powerful your-wish-is-my-command Prime Intellect, people start to lose their marbles, with some reverting into artificial scarcity economies.
I find this to be very insightful. It is also incidentally one of the basic tenets that Ted Kaczynski elaborates on in his Manifesto (http://cyber.eserver.org/unabom.txt).
You may read the whole book (and background, and commentary) on the author's website:
http://localroger.com/prime-intellect...
Very highly recommended.
It discusses a technological singularity in which a computer scientist manages to create a sufficiently intelligent AI, programmed with Asimov's Three Laws, which then progresses to remake the world to best serve the Three Laws.
I'm actually quite surprised how well-written this book is, considering the author has not published much other work. It is not only thoughtful hard science fiction, but also very well written and engaging as a story. More sci-fi writers should be able to write like this.
As hard science fiction, this book is very interesting. Topics discussed include the nature of physical reality, the all-importance of information, the various possible levels of emulating the physical world (from molecular-level to high-level emulation that skirts away the details, but you wouldn't be able to tell the difference), and human happiness.
[Spoilers in this paragraph]
The physical nature of information is important idea, even though it is only hinted at in the book. The author brilliantly demonstrates the compressibility and redundancy of human beings when Prime Intellect decides to do away with the redundant copies of genetic information contained in each cell, and instead keep only one DNA copy and the brain information. People cannot tell the difference when the change is done, as PI continues running things in a high-level emulation mode, having taken over lots of low-level physical processes.
As for happiness, the book makes an important point (further elaborated if you read the author's commentary on the genesis of the story). To be happy, you have to work to achieve something. This meaningful process of labor and achievement is what fulfills people. When all other physical requirements are provided for (food, drink, sex), it is all that remains, and when that too is taken away by the all-powerful your-wish-is-my-command Prime Intellect, people start to lose their marbles, with some reverting into artificial scarcity economies.
I find this to be very insightful. It is also incidentally one of the basic tenets that Ted Kaczynski elaborates on in his Manifesto (http://cyber.eserver.org/unabom.txt).
You may read the whole book (and background, and commentary) on the author's website:
http://localroger.com/prime-intellect...
Very highly recommended.
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Reading Progress
Started Reading
May 19, 2015
– Shelved
May 19, 2015
– Shelved as:
science-fiction
May 19, 2015
– Shelved as:
singularity
May 19, 2015
– Shelved as:
ai
May 19, 2015
–
Finished Reading
March 28, 2016
– Shelved as:
favorites
March 30, 2016
– Shelved as:
hard-science-fiction
