Poul Anderson, The Stars Are Also Fire, 21.
AIs advise not only governments (see here) but also isolated towns and individuals. A sophotect has a four-armed, six-legged, robot body with a turret for its sensors and its electrophotonic brain, a powerpack and a retractable communications dish.
In Ian Kenmuir's home town, the caretaker sophotect, nicknamed "Auld Angus":
comforted young Kenmuir with a story and a song;
advised and arbitrated;
listened sympathetically to Kenmuir as he grew up;
told the town council to limit mussel gathering if it didn't want a government patrol on the bay;
dispensed careers advice.
The cybercosm is necessary on the global ecological level but is it also necessary on this local sociological level?
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
What I saw were sophotects gradually taking over more and more of the actual decision making in human affairs! Something I would dislike, distrust, and oppose.
Sean
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