[ExI] self-accelerating AI sf?

[David Lubkin]

Damien wrote:

>I'm doing a philosophical piece on the Singularity, and I'm deeply 
>embarrassed not to be able to think instantly of any good sf stories 
>that explicitly portray exponential AIs: 
>self-augmenting/self-rewriting/selfbootstrapping-to-the-Singularity... 
>Vinge's MAROONED assumes it, but we see only tangential glimpses, 
>Stiegler's "Gentle Seduction" spreads it out over years, centuries, 
>billions of years, as does Asimov's "Last Question." Stross's 
>ACCELERANDO also implies it, but it's not what I'd call the Spike, 
>with each self-transcending state occurring in roughly half the time 
>of the previous jump. Greg Bear's BLOOD MUSIC is sort of there, but 
>it isn't AI, and it uses magic QT.
>
>What is my aging brain missing? (I know I'm going to kick myself.)

Not all the way to the Singularity, but Stross's current WWW series,
The Adolescence of P-1, Jane in the Ender's books, John Barnes'
Century Next Door series all bootstrap to superhuman competence.
I'm a little brain-fogged myself at the  moment, so I'll stop there; how
thorough an answer are you looking for?

Ask Barbara to record you kicking yourself, so we can all see it.


-- David.