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Accelerando (2005)

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Re: Accelerando (2005)

#71

Post by FiatLuxDave »

FL33TW00D wrote: post #14

Anyone have recommendations on books that can rival the first part of Accelerando in number of prescient ideas about how the near future, pre singularity might look? My own list is: Starmaker by Olaf Stapledon Counting Heads by David Marusek Nexus by Ramez Naam Rainbows End by Vernor Vinge But I'm always on the look out for more! The more predictive the better!

A bit old but still very relevant is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Space_Merchants .

Rampant consumerism, a United States so dominated by corporations that there is a senator from Cocoa-Cola, and advertising so aggressive you might even prefer the world we live in... published in 1953.

Re: Accelerando (2005)

#72

Post by amanaplanacanal »

lbrito wrote: post #42

Tried it because of Goodreads recommendations, couldn't get past the first 30 pages or so. First book ever I rage quitted. The main character is so unlikeable and the weird sex stuff was too repulsive.

It's been so long since I've read it, I don't even remember weird sex stuff. Time for a re-read I guess

Re: Accelerando (2005)

#73

Post by collingreen »

_alternator_ wrote: post #32
utilityhotbar wrote: post #20

This was written in 2005(!) -> > Manfred drains his beer glass, sets it down, stands up, and begins to walk along the main road, phone glued to the side of his head. He wraps his throat mike around the cheap black plastic casing, pipes the input to a simple listener process. "Are you saying you taught yourself the language just so you could talk to me?" > "Da, was easy: Spawn billion-node neural network, and download…

This was a genetically modified space lobster talking to Mangred, right? I haven't verified but I've been assuming that the lobster mascot for OpenClaw was a reference to Accelerando.

Earth lobsters with their neurons fully mapped, given freedom by running them virtually and sending them into space, if I recall correctly.

Not a huge distinction but the origin as regular lobsters feels important to the transhumanism (transcrustaceanism?) theme

Re: Accelerando (2005)

#74

Post by jeingham »

I've read a number of the comments here about Accelerando and other books of the same ilk. I'm thinking a couple of things, a question and the feeling:

What SciFi books are describing what is now thought to be impossibilities all together in spite of the potentials of singularity?

I feel like everyday there are new, very real discoveries in science as a result of AI and otherwise that reading about that stuff is just as good as reading about any possibilities that may be described in any science fiction book.

We are living in or moving very quickly towards an era where everything around us seems quite fantastical compared to the life I lived some 50 years ago.

Re: Accelerando (2005)

#75

Post by tintor »

SonnyTark wrote: post #19

Accelerando has prophecies that are coming true and it's scary. Spoiler warning in case you want to read it. The first part's main character basically has the future version of openclaw running in his glasses that let him dispatch agents to do any tasks/research he wants or to autonomously do things for him. -> we are already kinda here He's got such total dependency on his agents that when he loses his glasses he's…

“ verdicts are delivered by AI courts, all within milliseconds”

In which way is this on-track to happen?

Re: Accelerando (2005)

#76

Post by moritzwarhier »

Oh, cool, I didn't finish it at the time I first read it, linked from HN.

But it did seem pretty well-written, the human relationships portrayed (divorced/separated main character iirc?) appeared a bit off to me, but much less than in many, many other SF stories.

Reminded me of a hybrid between Philip K. Dick and some other, more "conventional", SF authors such as Frank Herbert or Isaac Asimov.

Bookmarked!

Re: Accelerando (2005)

#77

Post by warumdarum »

not an easy to read book. recommend singularity sky by the same author which is way catchier vibrant and not "enriched" with "modern" chatarcters by some sociology student editor who never grasped what scifi was all about.

Re: Accelerando (2005)

#78

Post by [deleted] »

tintor wrote: post #75
SonnyTark wrote: post #19

Accelerando has prophecies that are coming true and it's scary. Spoiler warning in case you want to read it. The first part's main character basically has the future version of openclaw running in his glasses that let him dispatch agents to do any tasks/research he wants or to autonomously do things for him. -> we are already kinda here He's got such total dependency on his agents that when he loses his glasses he's…

“ verdicts are delivered by AI courts, all within milliseconds” In which way is this on-track to happen?

[deleted]

Re: Accelerando (2005)

#79

Post by btreecat »

tintor wrote: post #75
SonnyTark wrote: post #19

Accelerando has prophecies that are coming true and it's scary. Spoiler warning in case you want to read it. The first part's main character basically has the future version of openclaw running in his glasses that let him dispatch agents to do any tasks/research he wants or to autonomously do things for him. -> we are already kinda here He's got such total dependency on his agents that when he loses his glasses he's…

“ verdicts are delivered by AI courts, all within milliseconds” In which way is this on-track to happen?

https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/anthropic-expands-c...

FTA

>WASHINGTON, May 12 (Reuters) - Artificial intelligence company Anthropic on Tuesday released an expanded suite of features for lawyers using its Claude AI assistant, including tools for specialized legal topics and access within Claude to other legal research and AI products.

Re: Accelerando (2005)

#80

Post by mkl »

combobyte wrote: post #52
growt wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even more fitting is the part of the story where a collective of uploaded lobster minds are involved. I wonder if that was an inspiration for the "OpenClaw" name somehow or just pure coincidence.

It was originally called "OpenClaude" before Anthropic told them to knock that off. Pretty sure "OpenClaw" was eventually picked just to be petty.

No, it was Clawdbot, then Moltbot, then OpenClaw: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenClaw. It had the "claw" related lobster theme from early on.
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