Read The Lifecycle of Software Objects, Ted Chiang's Free Novella About Artificial Intelligence In Virtual World Pets

The Lifecycle of Software Objects is a novella by award winning science fiction writer Ted Chiang; you can buy the print edition here, or now, read it for free online. (I e-mailed a copy to myself and read it on my iPhone on the plane trip back from the holidays.) It is, as iO9 editor Charlie Jane Anders puts it, "a breathtakingly fresh approach to the development of artificial intelligence", and it will be of special interest to New World Notes readers: "It's a story of how online intelligence 'evolves' in online worlds," explains Atif Mushtaq, who alerted me to the free online version. "It's like a mash-up of Second Life with the prequel to Planet of the Apes. Except it's more of a tale of morality and ethics than world domination." It largely takes place in a 3D virtual world called Data Earth, where a software company is creating adorable virtual pets that are programmed to learn and evolve, and it really seems like Chiang took a deep research dive into recent happenings in Second Life before he started writing it. Possible spoilers and prejudging critical appraisal ahead:

It's almost as if next generation Ozimals were scripted to learn and evolve from a genomic system, rather than scripted behaviors. (Imagine if Ozimals hired Philip Rosedale to develop his sentient AI project in the guise of their cute bunnies.) Of course, the extreme arm of the virtual sex industry begins taking an interest in it too.  Readers knowledgable with Second Life, OpenSim, Blue Mars, and other metaverse projects will see many other parallels throughout.

This isn't to say Lifecycle is perfect. Unlike Chiang's "Tower of Babylon", his first, astounding novella, the writing here is often rushed and inelegant, the characters more expressions of ideas, than actual people. But what ideas. For anyone immersed (in both senses of the word) with virtual worlds, AI, artificial life, this is an inspiring ride. I can't think of a better way to end 2010. Read a Boing Boing interview with Chiang where he discusses the novella in-depth, and if you do read it or already have, please share your reactions below.

Comments

[Miso Susanowa]

Very nice; reminds me of several stories along this line written by Ray Bradbury and Rudy Rucker.

[Ignatius Onomatopoeia]

"It's like a mash-up of Second Life with the prequel to Planet of the Apes."

And why is the creator of Sion Chickens called Sion Zaius? Think about that, humans...

Now I have to read this. Those fake pets may look all fuzzy and cute today, but in 2000 years they'll be dragging Charlton Heston around on a leash and putting us in cages.

[rikomatic]

I really enjoyed that. Thanks for sharing the link!

[Arcadia Codesmith]

"Get your stinking wings off me, you damn dirty CHICKENS!"