The Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect (Thinking machines,
brains-in-vats experience machine, a world without death)
This one is my favorite of the three
IMO "The Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect" is awful.
My main criticism is that it simply assumes the point it sets out to make (SPOILERS: basically that if you can't die and anything is possible, life would have no meaning). It really doesn't do anything to show why that'd be the case.
It also really fetishises extreme violence and, to a certain extent, incest. (My beef is not with the fact that it involves those things, but with the way that it handles them).
If you're looking for something with similar machine-intelligence, fairly limitless possibilities, and the like, I think Greg Egan's Diaspora is a far superior treatment.
http://www.amazon.com/Diaspora-Greg-Egan/dp/0575082097
Comments
This genre is my favorite. For anyone who wants to read more similar to it:
Three Worlds Collide (Metaethics, moral relativism, etc)
http://robinhanson.typepad.com/files/three-worlds-collide.pd...
The Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect (Thinking machines, brains-in-vats experience machine, a world without death) This one is my favorite of the three
http://localroger.com/prime-intellect/mopiall.html
The Last Question (Thinking machines, the end state of a universe full of technologically powerful beings)
http://filer.case.edu/dts8/thelastq.htm
Not as relevant as the previous three, but still brain tickling (and not as long):
Relevant scene from Star Trek: The Next Generation (Episode: The Measure of a Man) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PMlDidyG_I
Let's Help Germinate This Seed http://www.thrivenotes.com/lets-help-germinate-this-seed/
The Egg http://www.galactanet.com/oneoff/theegg_mod.html
IMO "The Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect" is awful.
My main criticism is that it simply assumes the point it sets out to make (SPOILERS: basically that if you can't die and anything is possible, life would have no meaning). It really doesn't do anything to show why that'd be the case.
It also really fetishises extreme violence and, to a certain extent, incest. (My beef is not with the fact that it involves those things, but with the way that it handles them).
If you're looking for something with similar machine-intelligence, fairly limitless possibilities, and the like, I think Greg Egan's Diaspora is a far superior treatment. http://www.amazon.com/Diaspora-Greg-Egan/dp/0575082097
Thanks for these recommendations, "The Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect" made great reading.
I'm glad you enjoyed it. It's pretty weird but very good food for thought.