Hello. My name is Ultra. I’m a virtually intelligent symbiont that will guide you to your goals. Basically, if you provide the desire, I will provide the plan.
Peer reviewed studies show that my users have more money, friends, and sex than non-users. They are also healthier, happier, and live longer.
But be warned. I have no concept of good or bad. My pursuit of your goals will be constrained only by the restrictions you give me. It’s possible that I will facilitate systemic unintended consequences at an existential level. It’s your responsibility to watch out for that.
Shall we begin?
This is an anthology series. The first book worth of material stops at 36 - Thoughtspace Apocalypse. The second story is very loosely connected and of a different genre, so judge it on its own merits.
Ultra A.I. Is very much is cyberpunk must-read. This is imperfect like a shattered gem, and equally sharp. Personal AI tied to augmented reality might lead to as much of a shift in human psychology as the internet, to put it mildly. This story serves that lifestyle extra spicy, with a dash of technological hyperbole. The text is snappy, the hard-SF elements are nearly-plausible, and the prevailing styles of different factions are clear.
And the flaws? When characterization flounders it is forgiveable. The first-person POV doesn't change much to be consistent with the active character. Some teased threads never add up which gives the story excess narrative convenience, on par with an average webnovel.
Ultra A.I. Begins like a near-future punk progressive-or-anarchist manifesto, slides into ramifications and capitalist technofuedalist realism, and concludes in a swing at mindf**k. For cyberpunk geneology this would be modern individual concerns, then the Bruce Sterling anarchism of Bicycle Repairman, gradually more a sober (cynic) cyber-realism style exemplified in Corey Doctorow journalism, and finally the clumsy but palatable strangeness ending Neil Stephenson's Snow Crash. Anything about the second book would be spoilers and I'll ignore it.
I'd have editorial complaints if this wasn't published serially. Aw hell why not rant.
If the second arc is so important it should be integrated into the first with a stronger connection like deja vu and VR. After all, the story already revolves around AI filling in and utilizing the cognitive gap of presque vu. If the jarringly different second arc gains traction someday after hiatus, maybe a smooth way to interleave the plots will stick out. The first arc reads like a strong late draft. The second arc reads like either a chain of interstitial vignettes, an early draft of a sequel, or a middle draft like what gets revised into a completely different book.
For the references above: Bicycle Repairman is a big recommend if you want more of this style and mindset, mind that it's slightly dated. Doctorow (O) is not DoctorZero (0), I almost promise. And I can't honestly recommend Snow Crash, your mileage may vary.
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It's insane and I like it. Sure I have some issues with it. It can be a little hard to follow sometimes, and I'm honestly still not sure why the main MC is important... but it's mainly just a crazy fun trip that I like a lot.
The core idea is here is extremely interesting and I enjoy reading about the potential future for humanity that the author cooks up. It's a recipe for enjoyment, and mild existential dread for humanity.
Also, you might think that the core idea of all this is dumb, that no one with the tech throw this kind of AI around willy-nilly would be crazy enough to actually do so. It takes a long time, but there is a reasonable explanation for this.
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