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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
I think this is one that I will grow to appreciate more as I think about it. I don’t have much insight outside of that.
Un cuento sobre emulación de mascotas en entornos virtuales. Buenas ideas y se deja leer. Costumbrista.
Quite an enjoyable read. My imagination had me flipping between The Sims and Ready Player One..!!
I loved the forward thinking that you could interact with the AI ‘pet’ in a virtual world, care for it and watch it grow and develop (bit like Pokémon?). You could maybe make some vague comparisons between this type of learning and bring up a child and/or pets which was quite funny at times. I felt the characters were really well thought out throughout the story and I especially loved the AI characters.
My only niggle was at 72% I was like ugh when the book got to talking about turning the AI into a sex orientated AI.. Only if said AI was mature enough and self aware enough to make a decision to be ok with it..!! Again ugh..!!
The ending was satisfactory if not a little bitter sweet for one of the main characters who I came to like.
I loved the forward thinking that you could interact with the AI ‘pet’ in a virtual world, care for it and watch it grow and develop (bit like Pokémon?). You could maybe make some vague comparisons between this type of learning and bring up a child and/or pets which was quite funny at times. I felt the characters were really well thought out throughout the story and I especially loved the AI characters.
My only niggle was at 72% I was like ugh when the book got to talking about turning the AI into a sex orientated AI.. Only if said AI was mature enough and self aware enough to make a decision to be ok with it..!! Again ugh..!!
The ending was satisfactory if not a little bitter sweet for one of the main characters who I came to like.
This novella takes the following simple (near-future) idea and really runs with it to create a thought-provoking narrative : Breeding a cyber life-form from a genome in its binary form, and then rearing and caring for this virtual animal as a pet in a cyber environment. The idea that human-like intelligence cannot be programmed, but instead must be developed by a learning-like procedure is well-accepted these days, but the author proposes that software must exactly mimic the learning abilities that humans use : to adapt and learn through trail-and-error and forming emotional connections.
2.5 rounded down
One of Chiang's longer stories, this follows two people who work for a startup that creates digital pets. The company eventually folds and they each adopt one of the prototypes, and it shows the trials and tribulations of loving a digital being when technology moves so quickly. As always, super thought provoking, but the story itself didn't quite hit the right notes for me, and it was unfortunately one of my least favorite stories I've read from this author. The love triangle aspect was weird, and despite the fact that there was heaps of potential to really tug on my heartstrings, I never really cared about any of the characters.
One of Chiang's longer stories, this follows two people who work for a startup that creates digital pets. The company eventually folds and they each adopt one of the prototypes, and it shows the trials and tribulations of loving a digital being when technology moves so quickly. As always, super thought provoking, but the story itself didn't quite hit the right notes for me, and it was unfortunately one of my least favorite stories I've read from this author. The love triangle aspect was weird, and despite the fact that there was heaps of potential to really tug on my heartstrings, I never really cared about any of the characters.
Read for free online here:
https://subterraneanpress.com/magazine/fall_2010/fiction_the_lifecycle_of_software_objects_by_ted_chiang
https://subterraneanpress.com/magazine/fall_2010/fiction_the_lifecycle_of_software_objects_by_ted_chiang
A fun scenario about software-evolved digital talking animals who can be given simple robot bodies. With the current state of AI and robotics in 2024, it barely feels like sci-fi, except for the digital animals’ sentience. Like a lot of sci-fi, especially short sci-fi, it is content to explore ideas arising from its “what ifs,” and doesn’t bother to have strong plotting or characterization. Also, the present tense is not my favorite.
Thought-provoking. The fact that I found myself highlighting a lot of passages in my Kindle is a testament of Ted Chiang's success in making me think and sometimes even philosophizing. I don't do RPG, or that farming thing people do in Facebook, I don't know why Pokemon Go is a hit and I never have any Tamagochi pet either. I always have a dog ever since I could remember, so it was rather mindboggling reading about these characters basically devoted their lives for their virtual pets, aka digients. This includes having to spend money for the VIRTUAL pets' education, digital space and dedicate lots of time for interaction such as playing with them so they won't get bored or depressed. Umm...why?
Anyway, to each his or her own. Maybe people in the near future prefer to have everything in cyberspace. The human characters even had business meetings in a virtual room using their avatars. I guess Skype and Bluejeans (or landline) went bankrupt in this world.
Ok, back to the book. It is enjoyable to read about the progress of this digient-rearing. However when they grew up, it got uncomfortable (and gross) when reading about people's treatment on them: torture chambers and sex toys. Ick. I do not doubt it could happen though, people are crazy enough. Do you remember that Japanese guy who married an a video game character? But come to think of it, in the future, will sex involving virtual characters be accepted as a valid expression of sexuality?
And then we also have the issue of legalization of these constantly-evolving sentient digients. If they are 'incorporated' they basically have the same legal rights, can file lawsuits and be sued. We see animals been given these rights (not necessarily sentient, even). I remember in the Temeraire novels, dragons were fighting for their rights as citizens. And we have countless of stories of Androids and AIs yearning for equal treatment. If I could live with those, why can't I live with virtual beings having their rights? Does a legal entity need to be corporeal or sentience is sufficient?
Digients socializing with human in online communities. Digients who are also taxpayers and have their own property. Imagine that.
I am beginning to really enjoy Chiang's speculative fiction ideas so I will definitely read more of his stories.
Anyway, to each his or her own. Maybe people in the near future prefer to have everything in cyberspace. The human characters even had business meetings in a virtual room using their avatars. I guess Skype and Bluejeans (or landline) went bankrupt in this world.
Ok, back to the book. It is enjoyable to read about the progress of this digient-rearing. However when they grew up, it got uncomfortable (and gross) when reading about people's treatment on them: torture chambers and sex toys. Ick. I do not doubt it could happen though, people are crazy enough. Do you remember that Japanese guy who married an a video game character? But come to think of it, in the future, will sex involving virtual characters be accepted as a valid expression of sexuality?
And then we also have the issue of legalization of these constantly-evolving sentient digients. If they are 'incorporated' they basically have the same legal rights, can file lawsuits and be sued. We see animals been given these rights (not necessarily sentient, even). I remember in the Temeraire novels, dragons were fighting for their rights as citizens. And we have countless of stories of Androids and AIs yearning for equal treatment. If I could live with those, why can't I live with virtual beings having their rights? Does a legal entity need to be corporeal or sentience is sufficient?
Digients socializing with human in online communities. Digients who are also taxpayers and have their own property. Imagine that.
I am beginning to really enjoy Chiang's speculative fiction ideas so I will definitely read more of his stories.
I like the ideas, but not the execution. I would love to see it fleshed out, seems more of a sketch or outline than an entire story. It's only 150 pages and part of those are illustrations. The worst part is the ending, in my opinion there just isn't one. It just stops.
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No