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andystone's review against another edition
4.0
Light on story, but heavy on deep thinking into artificial intelligence. Highly rated.
tacanderson's review against another edition
4.0
I read this as part of my recent novella kick and really enjoyed it. It was fascinating to follow the entire lifecycle of a virtual reality AI. What happens when competition arises? What happens when their owner gets bored? What happens when the startup that made them goes out of business? What happens when the platform they were built for is no longer supported? It's not a long read, and it's well worth it.
lsiegull's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.25
sizrobe's review against another edition
5.0
This novella was about the very earliest stages of hard AI. The main conflict owes to the creators trying to find a niche for their AI to fill, after their "digients" turn out to be more like a fad than an actual revolution. I was expecting it to be like the first half of Flowers for Algernon, but it turned out more like what I imagine child rearing must be. The interpersonal relationships are pretty bare bones. There's a lot of telling, not showing, but the themes and ideas explored are interesting enough to carry the plot. One of the biggest recurring questions is that of the digients' own autonomy, especially as it relates to having sexual relationships and whether they should be allowed to edit their own motivations.
topherisswell's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
tombomp's review against another edition
3.0
There's depth to this that I want to think on but I think my main objection is going to sound extremely stupid: for a book where THE theme is the practicalities of "sapient
ai as software", it feels like I'm constantly thinking "this is ludicrously impractical"
ai as software", it feels like I'm constantly thinking "this is ludicrously impractical"
misterfix's review against another edition
4.0
A lovely, accessable, brief, and most impressive, plausible story about one potential evolutionary path for AI. Got me thinking a lot about DAO's and virtual and augmented reality.
caylajoftus's review against another edition
2.0
the questions it raises are interesting but the story itself was boring and disappointing
wumings's review against another edition
1.0
maybe i'd be more engaged with the thematic questions this novella explores - about the humanity of sentient robots, the ethics of artificial intelligence, the real differences between humans and sentient non-humans - if it weren't for this strange, shocking and honestly awful little paragraph the author decided to drop that seems to lean towards justifying bestiality:
"as she did at the time, ana again tries to pin down exactly why nonsexual relationships with animals can be healthy while sexual ones can't, why the limited consent that animals can give is sufficient to keep them as pets yet not to have sex with them. again she can't articulate an argument that isn't rooted in personal distaste, and she's not sure that's a good enough reason."
yeah. and this particular so-called "argument" is never brought up again afterwards, this is all we're left with: our protagonist wondering just why is bestiality so wrong after all.
i'm sorry but what is this absurd sickening garbage??? surely we can discuss the ethics and rights of sentient AI creatures without drawing parallels to actual real life animals and bestiality???? (and maybe that was the point, that sentient AI creatures deserve the same care and respect that animals and humans do but then WHY is ana pondering on bestiality as if it's a legitimate two-sided argument???). i'm honestly at a loss for words. apart from this nasty bit of work, the novella was kind of interesting but personally, i simply can't get past this.
"as she did at the time, ana again tries to pin down exactly why nonsexual relationships with animals can be healthy while sexual ones can't, why the limited consent that animals can give is sufficient to keep them as pets yet not to have sex with them. again she can't articulate an argument that isn't rooted in personal distaste, and she's not sure that's a good enough reason."
yeah. and this particular so-called "argument" is never brought up again afterwards, this is all we're left with: our protagonist wondering just why is bestiality so wrong after all.
i'm sorry but what is this absurd sickening garbage??? surely we can discuss the ethics and rights of sentient AI creatures without drawing parallels to actual real life animals and bestiality???? (and maybe that was the point, that sentient AI creatures deserve the same care and respect that animals and humans do but then WHY is ana pondering on bestiality as if it's a legitimate two-sided argument???). i'm honestly at a loss for words. apart from this nasty bit of work, the novella was kind of interesting but personally, i simply can't get past this.
mjfmjfmjf's review against another edition
4.0
Great ideas about raising/teaching artificial/virtual life. However no real conclusion. And I didn't particularly like the style of writing. But mostly this was a swing-for-the-fences that didn't quite hit its mark. This was the worst of the Subterranean Press novellas though - clearly this is a great series of books.