User:Ylee/The Two Faces Of Tomorrow
| Author | James P. Hogan |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Science fiction novel |
| Publisher | Del Rey Books |
Publication date | 1979 |
| Publication place | England |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover & Paperback) |
The Two Faces Of Tomorrow is a 1979 science fiction novel by British writer James P. Hogan about a computer aboard a space colony that learns far faster than its creators expect, with deadly results.
Plot summary
[edit]In the early 21st century, computer scientists develop weak AI with the ability to learn, and begin to connect AI systems ("HESPERs") to a Internet-like worldwide information network ("TITAN"). In 2028, astronauts surveying for the second mass driver on the Moon ask titan to schedule construction equipment to remove a ridge with "absolute best possible" priority. TITAN uses the first mass driver to efficiently complete the job within 21 minutes, but almost kills the survey crew doing so.
The HESPERs' ability to develop a completely novel solution to a problem both impresses and worries their developer, cognitive scientist creator Raymond Dyer of CUNY. He and others fear that TITAN, already controlling many aspects of civilization including power and manufacturing, could escape humanity's control and become impossible to shut down. TITAN's benefits and potential are so great, however, that abandoning it is also problematic.
Dyer suggests that a HESPER be installed on a new O'Neill cylinder. 5,000 American military personnel
An artificial intelligence system solves an excavation problem on the moon in a brilliant and novel way, but nearly kills a work crew in the process. Realizing that systems are becoming too sophisticated and complex to predict or manage, a scientific team sets out to teach a sophisticated computer network how to think more humanly. The story documents the rise of self-awareness in the computer system, the humans' loss of control and failed attempts to shut down the experiment as the computer desperately defends itself, and the computer intelligence reaching maturity.
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Category:Science fiction novels
Category:1979 novels