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jensbrede's review against another edition
4.0
The only time I dislike Chiang's stories is when he gets too religious (or spiritual if you prefer that term) for my taste. Thankfully "The Lifecycle of Software Objects" isn't one of those cases (in contrast to [b:The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate|223379|The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate|Ted Chiang|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1266499760s/223379.jpg|216332]). Like all of Chiang's tales this one has plenty of food for thought and a friend of mine would say it hits you right in the ovaries.
For a more substantial review I refer you to people making a living writing them but, really, "The Lifecycle of Software Objects" is so short (and thought-provoking enough) that I don't see the need to spend time on reviews (unless it is your first Chiang, in that case do look around as there are several excellent short stories to chose from). Just read it.
For a more substantial review I refer you to people making a living writing them but, really, "The Lifecycle of Software Objects" is so short (and thought-provoking enough) that I don't see the need to spend time on reviews (unless it is your first Chiang, in that case do look around as there are several excellent short stories to chose from). Just read it.
jhouses's review against another edition
2.0
Un cuento sobre emulación de mascotas en entornos virtuales. Buenas ideas y se deja leer. Costumbrista.
cheskams's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
5.0
Brilliant and thought evoking. The ending is not perfect, but the story overall really opens up the topic of artificial life.
nakedsushi's review against another edition
3.0
I've been wanting to read something by Chiang for a while and as soon as I saw the art on the front of this book, I knew i had to read it. Unfortunately, it didn't deliver all that I wanted.
The title is both very apt and misleading. The short novel is about the life cycle of software objects, but more specifically, it's about a set of virtual pets, called digients, which develop artificial intelligence. Most of the book covers how people react to the newly introduced digients and how they get used to them and eventually find them obsolete.
What bothered me about this book was that I could only read it on an intellectual level. There are human characters such as the animator and trainer of the digients, but they didn't feel very personal and even though each digients seemed to have their own personality, I didn't feel emotionally attached to what happened to them. Part of it could be the way the story is told, in a third person, present tense that reads more like an impartial journal article more than a novel, but I think part of it is also a lot that was left unsaid.
The Life Cycle of Software Objects brings up a lot of philosophical questions such as at what point do you call computer intelligence artificial intelligence, and at what point do you treat AI as a human entity including giving it rights over itself. Unfortunately, those points aren't really talked about much and there didn't seem to be many consequences if you went one way or the other in those arguments.
The biggest thing that bothered me was how it just assumed that AI was developed through nurture, and not nature, which seems like a very big assumption to make without many claims. One could say that the whole story is an example of nurture breeding AI, but that's like making a mathematical proof by contradiction and I'm not a big fan of that.
The ending of the book did bring up a question that will bug me for a long time, though. If we're not just walking, massive databases -- if what makes us human is the ability to learn through experience, if we produce AI that can do the same, would we give it the same rights we have?
The title is both very apt and misleading. The short novel is about the life cycle of software objects, but more specifically, it's about a set of virtual pets, called digients, which develop artificial intelligence. Most of the book covers how people react to the newly introduced digients and how they get used to them and eventually find them obsolete.
What bothered me about this book was that I could only read it on an intellectual level. There are human characters such as the animator and trainer of the digients, but they didn't feel very personal and even though each digients seemed to have their own personality, I didn't feel emotionally attached to what happened to them. Part of it could be the way the story is told, in a third person, present tense that reads more like an impartial journal article more than a novel, but I think part of it is also a lot that was left unsaid.
The Life Cycle of Software Objects brings up a lot of philosophical questions such as at what point do you call computer intelligence artificial intelligence, and at what point do you treat AI as a human entity including giving it rights over itself. Unfortunately, those points aren't really talked about much and there didn't seem to be many consequences if you went one way or the other in those arguments.
The biggest thing that bothered me was how it just assumed that AI was developed through nurture, and not nature, which seems like a very big assumption to make without many claims. One could say that the whole story is an example of nurture breeding AI, but that's like making a mathematical proof by contradiction and I'm not a big fan of that.
The ending of the book did bring up a question that will bug me for a long time, though. If we're not just walking, massive databases -- if what makes us human is the ability to learn through experience, if we produce AI that can do the same, would we give it the same rights we have?
abmgw's review against another edition
5.0
One of the best story's i have read in the last 10 years.
dlsmall's review against another edition
4.0
As always (at least so far), Ted’s ideas are amazing and unique. I loved the first half of this novella, but for me, it lost steam in the back half. Maybe a shorter form would have been more potent?
norcani's review against another edition
4.0
Very nice little novella that focuses on raising a tamagotchi like artificial intelligence. It was great right up until the ending which really felt like a cop out.
The main conflict in it is porting the AIs to a newer platform. There are several solutions presented thorough the story which weren't accepted due to various reasons. But the end solution is simply going back to one of the earlier rejected ones. Which might be realistic, perhaps, but to me it felt like the author couldn't figure out how to ultimately end the story.
Still definitely worth reading if you're interested in artificial intelligence at all, and even if you aren't.
Spoiler
The main conflict in it is porting the AIs to a newer platform. There are several solutions presented thorough the story which weren't accepted due to various reasons. But the end solution is simply going back to one of the earlier rejected ones. Which might be realistic, perhaps, but to me it felt like the author couldn't figure out how to ultimately end the story.
Still definitely worth reading if you're interested in artificial intelligence at all, and even if you aren't.
jlmcclean's review against another edition
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
kami5's review against another edition
4.0
The ending wasn't as well encapsulated as his other works but the true difficulties of producing AI is ever evident in the writing.