Two Faces of Tomorrow
by James P. Hogan · first published 1979
78% recommend22% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Hard science fiction about AI emergence and how humans and machines might learn to coexist. It offers a realistic take on the subject and suits fans of technically grounded, upbeat sci-fi.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
From the back cover: SURVIVAL TEST Civilization had grown so complex that only a world-wide computer network could control everything. But the computer was only logical -- it lacked common sense. And its all-too-logical decisions were beginning to cause too many near fatal accidents. The solution was on the drawing boards -- a universal self-aware and self-programming computer, equipped with judgment. But... could it be controlled? Or would it attempt to take over, disregarding its creators? If so, could it be turned off? Raymond Dyer and his team of computer specialists knew
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…out, so we can decide where to invest our efforts in moving forward. Some other stories about AI I've found illuminating as to what might be possible: * James P. Hogan's novels with AIs (especially The Two Faces of Tomorrow, one of the most realistic AI emergence stories, and also the AIs with a sense of humor in his other "Gentle Giants of Ganymede" novels) * The benevolent Strix AI in the EarthCent Ambassador Series (where…
on “The Last Invention of Man” ↗…to the least imaginative member of the audience they leave everyone feeling limited and dissatisfied, glum. If you want upbeat AI Sci Fi, read a book. Read Banks's _Culture_ series, James P. Hogan's _Two Faces of Tomorrow_, or in a gentler vein, Bradbury's _I Sing the Body Electric_.
on “Why Is Our Sci-Fi So Glum About A.I.?” ↗Any love for James P. Hogan? * The Two Faces of Tomorrow: https://www.baen.com/the-two-faces-of-tomorrow.html * Thrice Upon a Time is one of the best time-travel novels I've read.
on “Hard comp-fi reading list” ↗"Colossus: The Forbin Project" by DF Jones. https://www.amazon.com/Colossus-The-Forbin-Project/dp/B0018S... Made into a fine movie of the same name. "The Two Faces of Tomorrow" by Hogan. https://www.amazon.com/The-Two-Faces-of-Tomorrow/dp/B00BC0P5...
on “Hard comp-fi reading list” ↗…Sky, Time Enough For Love - Many other works by Asimov - The Rama series by A.C. Clarke - Gateway and other novels in the same universe, by Fred Pohl - The earlier novels of James P. Hogan esp. The Two Faces Of Tomorrow and The Genesis Machine - The Complete Venus Equilateral, by George O. Smith Much more, of course, but a good start.
on “Ask HN: Science Fiction Starter List” ↗…https://www.fantasticfiction.com/c/rick-cook/wizardry/ Programming meets magical realms James Hogan Inherit the Stars - Has supercomputers but not main characters Code of the Lifemaker Has Ancient Tech evolving into a robotic society Two Faces of Tomorrow - humans trying to get along with AI D.F.Jones Colossus, the Fall of Colossus, and Colossus and the Crab Humans creating machines to protect humanity (computers have different idea) and the rebellion,…
on “Ask HN: What fiction books would you recommend for programmers?” ↗…scarcity-oriented mindset. It was always my intent -- especially having read so much sci-fi like Isaac Asimov robot stories, "The Skills of Xanadu" by Theodore Sturgeon, and also James P. Hogan's "The Two Faces of Tomorrow" and also his "Voyage from Yesteryear" -- that way more positives than negatives would come out of the abundance that robotics, AI, and other automation (including information technology) can provide.…
on “Amazon grows to over 750k robots, replacing 100k humans” ↗…Fiction https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/743568.Inherit_the_Stars - *Code of the Lifemaker* — Sci-Fi, Artificial Life https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/296722.Code_of_the_Lifem... - *The Two Faces of Tomorrow* — AI, Hard Science Fiction https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/218017.The_Two_Faces_of_... ## D. F. Jones — Colossus Trilogy - *Colossus* — AI, Classic Sci-Fi Thriller https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/806105.Colossus…
on “Ask HN: What fiction books would you recommend for programmers?” ↗Almost anything by James P. Hogan -- one of the best hard sci-fi writers as he trained as an electrical and computer engineer (including about AI like "The Two Faces of Tomorrow" from 1979 and still a good read as it was informed by talking to Marvin Minsky at the MIT AI lab): http://www.jamesphogan.com/biblio/novels.php Most of his sci-fi is from the late 1970s through the…
on “Ask HN: Best hard scifi AI novels?” ↗…self-replicating anti-personnel robotic cockroaches to wipe out humanity. (Or even smaller self-replicating things like infectious bioweapons...) And even the smartest AIs like in James P. Hogan's "The Two Faces of Tomorrow" novel might wipe out humanity first in their infancy and then perhaps only later regret it. And if robots and AIs are designed mainly by competitive people to give themselves (or their funders) competitive…
on “Do You Love Me? [video]” ↗That quote reminds me of "The Two Faces of Tomorrow" by James P. Hogan. One of the subplots is that humans can communicate because of shared experience. We all must eat, sleep, breathe, seek shelter, etc. Communication with an alien or artificial intelligence…
on “AlphaGo beats Lee Sedol again in match 2 of 5” ↗As far as I can see, most of the points of this article were brought up in James P. Hogan's 1979 The Two Faces of Tomorrow.
on “The science of Westworld” ↗Reminds me of the The Two Faces of Tomorrow book by James P. Hogan It opens with this exact scenario.
on “AIs can't stop recommending nuclear strikes in war game simulations” ↗