The Turing option
a novel
by Harry Harrison · first published 1992
50% recommend38% neutral13% critical
Classic SF Harry Harrison enthralls with the discovery, loss and re-discovery of AI. Quaint but fairly accurate predictions of modern computing power. 24 style presentation.
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…an entertaining novel which explains not a few ideas from the 'Society of Mind', Minsky (coauthor Harry Harrison) introduces the idea of "microrobots that could chase mealybugs away". It's called 'The Turing Option' - lots of fun.
on “Farewell, Marvin Minsky” ↗There's a lot of science fiction which touches on this --- notable things: - Heinlein's _The Moon is a Harsh Mistress_ which has already been mentioned - Harry Harrison's _The Turing Option_ (with forward by Marvin Minsky): https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/1807642 - Victor Milán's _The Cybernetic Samurai_ which is notable for a major character in it has the afore-mentioned Heinlein…
on “Decades-long bet on consciousness ends – it’s philosopher 1, neuroscientist 0” ↗…material is probably not going to work. I'd also suggest: When HARLIE Was One (Release 2.0) by David Gerrold The Freeze-Frame Revolution by Peter Watts Accelerando by Charles Stross The Turing Option by Harry Harrison and Marvin Minsky
on “Containment and monitoring failures are to blame for AI hacking reports: experts” ↗…ner entrq ner sevtugravatyl fvzvyne gb gubfr qrfpevorq va Tynffubhfr - naq zber. -- Two other AGI books that aren't part of the "this has ideas that progress from one to the other." The first is The Turing Option by Harry Harrison and Marvin Minsky. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1807642.The_Turing_Optio... The second is When H.A.R.L.I.E. Was One: Release 2.0 https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/939176.When_H_A_R_L_I_E_...…
on “Top science fiction short stories published in August” ↗I remember reading The Society of Mind in high school and being amazed by the ideas after reading his novel The Turing Option. I haven't thought about either in years. Looking back, maybe it's no surprise that I work in machine learning now.
on “Marvin Minsky dies at 88” ↗…sad. Minsky and McCarthy were quite happy to respond to emails in the 80s and 90s. I asked Minsky about writing with Harry Harrison and he said he was frustrated at the ending of the book they did ("the Turing Option") and McCarthy talked about his ideas of long term information ontologies in a notation or language he called "Elephant" McCarthy was a notable USENET curmudgeon and would be oppositional to any anti-nuclear,…
on “The Meeting of the Minds That Launched AI” ↗Reminds me more of The Turing Option by Harry Harrison and Marvin Minsky, though Interface isn't a bad match either. http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1807642.The_Turing_Option
on “Chip, Implanted in Brain, Helps Paralyzed Man Regain Control of Hand” ↗I wrote to Minsky about the Turing option. He hated the ending and had an alternate Harrison or the publishers rejected.
on “The Dual LLM pattern for building AI assistants that can resist prompt injection” ↗…(although I feel differently) then Queen of Angels (Greg Bear). It's the most fascinating take on AI I've ever read - the entanglement with the themes of justice and punishment is thought-provoking. The Turing Option (Harry Harrison, Marvin Minsky). I can't stress strongly enough, do not read this book. It's terrible. But it does exist.
on “Fastest rate of natural carbon dioxide rise over the last 50k years” ↗Minsky disliked how Harry Harrison changed the end of "the turing option" and wrote a different ending. (not directly related to the post but anyway)
on “Revisiting Minsky's Society of Mind in 2025” ↗"The Turing Option" by Harry Harrison and Marvin Minsky. Sure, but it has to be at least noticeably less expensive per acre per year than chemicals. That gets you more organic food, but you need to replenish the soil and…
on “Anthropic has hired an economist with interesting views on human survival” ↗The Turing Option (I read it back when it came out) https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1807642.The_Turing_Optio... I need to consider giving it a re-read... I suspect I'll agree with the review for "books that were way…
on “The Dual LLM pattern for building AI assistants that can resist prompt injection” ↗