Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
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
"[Science fiction is ] That branch of literature which is concerned with the impact of scientific advance upon human beings."
- Isaac Asimov
 |
| Machine Surveillance | ||
| The use of artificially intelligent computer systems to learn by monitoring all human interaction within a city. |
The City Fathers were able to answer most natural language questions directed at them because they were allowed to monitor all conversations within the city.
| "...The fact that they're in this part of space at all... shows something went wrong with their first job, too."
Anderson snapped a switch on his chair. "Probability?" he said to the surrounding air. "SEVENTY-TWO PER CENT," the air said back, making Chris start. He still had not gotten used to the idea that the City Fathers overheard everything one said, everywhere and all the time; among many other things, the city was their laboratory in human psychology, which in turn enabled them to answer such questions as Anderson had just asked. |
| Technovelgy from Cities in Flight,
by James Blish. Published by Avon in 1957 Additional resources -
|
The City Fathers could also censor conversations, depending on the situation:
"OVERRIDE," the City Fathers said suddenly, without being asked anything at all.
"Woof! Sorry. Either I've already said one word too many, or I was going to. Can't say anything else, Chris."
"But I thought they never volunteered information."
"They don't," Anderson said. "That wasn't volunteered. They are under orders from Amalfi to monitor talk about this situation and shut it up when it begins to get too loose..."
I think that if you participate in services like Google Mail, you might be participating in a similar machine surveillance system.
Memory was cheap:
"...That'll give us a day to get out of this system before the cops come running... Incidentally, it also gives us a day to collect our pay-"
Chris could have told the City Fathers what he knew, easily enough—but everything that was told the City Fathers went into the memory cells, which was the equivalent of putting it in dead storage. The City Fathers never took action on what they knew, or even volunteered information, unless directed; otherwise they only held it until it was asked for, which might take centuries.
Comment/Join this discussion ( 1 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |
Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from Cities in Flight
More Ideas
and Technology by James Blish
Tech news articles related to Cities in Flight
Tech news articles related to works by James Blish
Machine Surveillance-related
news articles:
- Meet Samsung's SmartTV Telescreen
- Police Drones In China Would Like To Have A Word With You
| Anthropic's Claude AI Creates Legal Citation From Whole Cloth |
| Have AI Researchers Given Up On 'Bio-Babies'? |
| Nuclear Plant Restarted To Power AI To Feed Us Dreams |
| Dino From Magical Toys An AI Companion To Children |
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 Science Fiction Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
|
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
'He found a barber shop which, he thought, would be good for an idle hour.'
'Thirty rounds of fighting is tough work. Even for machines.'
'...the excavations were already in progress, for he saw gray slopes of rubble.'
'...the walking mills of Puffy Products began to tread delicately on their centipede legs across the wheat fields of Kansas.'
'Here is a Clerk that would work incessantly, and neither eat, sleep, want payment, or grumble.'
'ZARNAK, YOU'RE TO COMMAND A SCOUTING EXPEDITION --- FIND OUT WHAT THIS IS ALL ABOUT!'
'These are your rudimentary seed packages... Some will combine in place to form more complicated structures.'
