Latest By
Category:
Armor
Artificial
Intelligence
Biology
Clothing
Communication
Computers
Culture
Data Storage
Displays
Engineering
Entertainment
Food
Input Devices
Lifestyle
Living Space
Manufacturing
Material
Media
Medical
Miscellaneous
Robotics
Security
Space Tech
Spacecraft
Surveillance
Transportation
Travel
Vehicle
Virtual
Person
Warfare
Weapon
Work
"I'm strictly an ivory-tower person. I can explain things but I can't do things."
- Isaac Asimov
 |
| Maelstrom | ||
| A description of the next generation Internet |
The word "Internet" seems like a tame description of data sharing by patient academics in search of the right file. "Cyberspace" is a bit more evocative. But what do you call it when all of the world's data channels are churning with self-guided, almost self-aware autonomous agents?
| And so viruses begat filters; filters begat polymorphic counteragents; polymorphic counteragents begat an arms race. Not to mention the worms and the 'bots and the single-minded autonomous datahounds—so essential for legitimate commerce, so vital to the well-being of every institution, but so needy, so demanding of access to protected memory. And way over there in left field, the Artificial Life geeks were busy with their Core Wars and their Tierra models and their genetic algorithms. It was only a matter of time before everyone got tired of endlessly reprogramming their minions against each other. Why not just build in some genes, a random number generator or two for variation, and let natural selection do the work?
The problem with natural selection, of course, is that it changes things. The problem with natural selection in networks is that things change fast. By the time Achilles Desjardins became a 'lawbreaker, Onion was a name in decline. One look inside would tell you why. If you could watch the fornication and predation and speciation without going grand mal from the rate-of-change, you knew that there was only one word that really fit: Maelstrom. |
| From Maelstrom,
by Peter Watts. Published by Tor in 2002 Additional resources -
|
Thanks to Alex Mair for submitting this item along with references and a quote.
Comment/Join this discussion ( 1 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |
Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from Maelstrom
More Ideas
and Technology by Peter Watts
Tech news articles related to Maelstrom
Tech news articles related to works by Peter Watts
| Super-Resolution Microscopy Provides '4D' Views |
| Physicists Try To Turn Light Into Matter |
| Dune Fans! Power Your Devices With Sweaty Shirts |
| Zero Mass 'Vaporators' Pull Drinking Water From The Air |
Want to Contribute an
Item?
It's easy:
Get the name of the item, a
quote, the book's name and the author's name, and Add
it here.
| <Previous | Next> |
|
|
|
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
|
'Very tiny pseudo insects that... can unite to form a superordinate system.'
Great, an autonomous slamhound. It is cute, though.
'The smoky globe, hung in the vault, was shot with colored light...'
'The electric cook was stirring empty nothing in a pan, with a zeal worthy a dozen eggs.'
