I'm not sure if I'm the target audience here, because the story made me sad and pissed off at humanity as a species. Perhaps its because my nephew is retarded and may never be able to live on his own, or maybe that I'd consider any AI to be our children species and heirs but... its still a good story. 4 stars.
What's it about? It starts being about the development, training and marketing of AI pets called digients. Then it moves along through time down the years as the company that created them closes, and the virtual environment they live in becomes obsolete with all that it entails for them (porting to new OS (and the costs)). Its also about raising the digients and the struggles their owners have - how to pay for the upkeep, keeping them safe from people that don't view the digients as sentient and sapient, but as toys to be used for their amusement. Plus, the digient grow up.
Look, the protagonists (Ana Alvarado and Derek Brooks) are good people. They realized that the digients are effectively people and took care of them as best they could. Its the folks that casually generated them, bought them and discarded them, or used them that left me sad and angry at the human race, because it strikes me as realistic. What parent hasn't ever wanted a suspend function for their kids? To my shame, I know I have (I've also pondered what it would mean). And with the digients, you get one.
It reminded me of Saturn's Children with the use of incorporation to get a form of personhood for the digients, but also with the possible fates of the digients by humanity.
I'll recommend the novella, and give it four stars, but its not one I'll re-read right now.
Suggested for fans of Saturn's Children.
What's it about? It starts being about the development, training and marketing of AI pets called digients. Then it moves along through time down the years as the company that created them closes, and the virtual environment they live in becomes obsolete with all that it entails for them (porting to new OS (and the costs)). Its also about raising the digients and the struggles their owners have - how to pay for the upkeep, keeping them safe from people that don't view the digients as sentient and sapient, but as toys to be used for their amusement. Plus, the digient grow up.
Look, the protagonists (Ana Alvarado and Derek Brooks) are good people. They realized that the digients are effectively people and took care of them as best they could. Its the folks that casually generated them, bought them and discarded them, or used them that left me sad and angry at the human race, because it strikes me as realistic. What parent hasn't ever wanted a suspend function for their kids? To my shame, I know I have (I've also pondered what it would mean). And with the digients, you get one.
It reminded me of Saturn's Children with the use of incorporation to get a form of personhood for the digients, but also with the possible fates of the digients by humanity.
I'll recommend the novella, and give it four stars, but its not one I'll re-read right now.
Suggested for fans of Saturn's Children.
