Artificial intelligence
Books
If you’re going to only read on Stephenson book, make it this one. Especially relevant now in the age of LLMs.
Enjoyed this take on future tech and its implications on economic systems.
Good overview across the AI stack
A moderately accessible introduction about the very real risks of superintelligent AI. more »
Quite ahead of it’s time for 1997, tells the story of the emergence of an AI through email exchanges.
This was a long series of posts on kuro5hin, eventually made into a book
Haven’t gotten around to book 3 yet
Bob’s consciousness is uploaded into a spaceship’s, which heads out to explore the universe. Breezy reading, with style reminiscent of The Martian at times.
Final book jumps quite a bit ahead in time, can be skipped
Like a lot of highly-influential books, ends up feeling dated and overhyped because it’s innovative ideas have been copied and improved upon by others.
Classic Stephenson: Interesting ideas, but drags at times.
Easy reading, but gets repetitive after a while
There were a few interesting parts here, but ultimately this book less about AI and more about philosophy/the meaning of life. Not my cup of tea, I preferred Superintelligence.
Had to force myself to finish this, I don’t know why this was nominated for a Hugo. There are some interesting ideas, but in the end this is a detective story where the main character is an unlikable Space Karen that uses her money to bully everyone around her.