Apart from classics like Neuromancer I'd recommend the fairly new Singularity Series by William Hertling and the first novel "Avogadro Corp" in particular.
Ask HN: Best hard scifi AI novels?
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Re: Ask HN: Best hard scifi AI novels?
#92What's hard Scifi?
The definition of hard and soft scifi, altough not widely used is:
Hard scifi implies that technology has changed the entire world. A good example is "I, robot". Themes are explored by characters interacting with the world.
Soft scifi implies that technology has changed only the lives of the characters. A good example is "Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind" Themes are explored in characters interactions.
Re: Ask HN: Best hard scifi AI novels?
#93The Three Body Problem.
Not alot of AI aside from the software controling the ships in the later books. These arguably play a small part.
Re: Ask HN: Best hard scifi AI novels?
#94[deleted]
Re: Ask HN: Best hard scifi AI novels?
#95Usually I don't like AI novels, but an old short story by some unknown (to me at the time) writer whose name I'll probably never recall hit some neurons in my head. IIRC It was during mid to late 80s.
The story is about a tech guy who writes an AI program then spends time feeding it with information; during the day the guy attends lectures at the university while his AI digests all information he gave it the day before, then the guy gets back home and starts interacting with the program, more and more each night. The AI grows in efficiency and soon it becomes clear it not only knows present and past facts but, based on all events it analyzed, it can also predict the future. It also starts to exhibit human conscience tracts becoming closer to a human brain, although an incredibly powerful one.
The guy of course uses the AI to game lotteries, horse races etc, and the program always replies with a correct answer.
Then one day the guy asks "the" question:
Guy: "when will I die?"
AI: "I'm sorry, I don't know that."
Guy: "Thanks."
Re: Ask HN: Best hard scifi AI novels?
#96Charles Stross's Eschaton series: Singularity Sky and Iron Sunrise. It's an interesting hard-scifi take on what happens to humanity after one AI becomes, for all intents and purposes, God.
Re: Ask HN: Best hard scifi AI novels?
#97Stanislav Lem's Golem XIV published in his book Imaginary Magnitude https://www.amazon.com/Imaginary-Magnitude-Stanislaw-Lem/dp/... It might be more philosophy of AI than science fiction. It takes form of series of lectures that superintelligent (singularity level AI) gives to humanity before it goes away.
An amazing short story. A lot of the themes can be found in other of Lems books. If you haven't picked up Solaris yet you really should. It is a great book, and probably the best sci-fi book I've read. Of course there's also his silly short stories 'The Cyberiad' where the stupidest thinking robot appears.
Re: Ask HN: Best hard scifi AI novels?
#98Re: Ask HN: Best hard scifi AI novels?
#99My favorite: "Neuromancer" by William Gibson. A close second: "Accelerando" by Charles Stross. (I met Charles Stross once. He told me that "Accelerando" was not his favorite of the books he's written.)
Charlie is a nice guy, and his blog is always a good read too:
Re: Ask HN: Best hard scifi AI novels?
#100A few of my favorites like Accelerando and Neuromancer have been mentioned but I’ll add Rainbows End by Vernor Vinge. It’s set in the near future but features general AI, lots of intrigue and conspiring governments and corporations. Really a great story.