Trying to find a short story about AI and parallel universes

August 30, 2016 3:51 AM

I'm trying to find a short story about AI and parallel universes that I'm sure I saw somewhere on Metafilter a couple of years ago but I can't seem to turn it up anywhere. IIRC it was set in Edinburgh and it might have been by Charles Stross? Does anyone remember this or has Mr Stross infected my brain with a virus?
posted by Chairboy to MetaFilter-Related at 3:51 AM (8 comments total)

That sounds like Antibodies.
posted by VeritableSaintOfBrevity at 6:51 AM on August 30, 2016 [7 favorites]

A fun story, but the same thing bothered me as the last time I read it: "I waved to the waiter. 'Single malt please. And one for my friend here.'" Ordering "a single malt" is like ordering "a scotch" except there's no such thing as a default (well) single malt; especially in Scotland it's just going to get you a stare from the waiter that lets you know you're an idiot.

Also, yes, Mr. Stross has infected your brain with a virus.
posted by languagehat at 8:56 AM on August 30, 2016 [5 favorites]

Singleton, by Greg Egan? Set in Sydney though.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 11:22 PM on August 30, 2016 [1 favorite]

Thanks all. It was indeed Antibodies, though I'm enjoying the Greg Egan story too.
posted by Chairboy at 1:28 AM on August 31, 2016

Singleton would also solve languagehat's issue.
posted by biffa at 10:58 AM on August 31, 2016 [2 favorites]

Also, yes, Mr. Stross has infected your brain with a virus.

Actually it's a little more complex: reading the books generates neural patterns with a specific geometry in your brain that resonate across dimensions and act as an attractor for stray information flows.
posted by Dr Dracator at 8:24 AM on September 1, 2016 [2 favorites]

This story was excellent thank you for the tip.
posted by Meatbomb at 9:23 AM on September 2, 2016 [1 favorite]

Crystal Nights by Greg Egan is evidently not the story you're thinking of but its the best AI story I've ever read.

“What created the only example of consciousness we know of?” Daniel asked.

“Evolution.”

“Exactly. But I don’t want to wait three billion years, so I need to make the selection process a great deal more refined, and the sources of variation more targeted.”

Julie digested this. “You want to try to evolve true AI? Conscious, human-level AI?”

“Yes.” Daniel saw her mouth tightening, saw her struggling to measure her words before speaking.

“With respect, I don’t think you’ve thought that through.”

posted by memebake at 12:43 PM on September 8, 2016 [1 favorite]