Emergent Properties

Starred review from April 24, 2023
From Nebula finalist Ogden (Sun-Daughters, Sea-Daughters) comes a fresh speculative novella of sentient, autonomous AI. Through protagonist Scorn, “an independently operating robot unregistered to any other sentient entity,” Ogden raises questions familiar to nonrobot readers: what does it mean to be human? How can one emerge from the pressure and expectations of one’s parents as an independent individual? Scorn, whose pronouns are ze/zem/zir, has two parents, Mum and Maman, a human couple who built zem and have since divorced. The women, both high powered tech CEOs, programmed Scorn with “a model of intelligence... centered on a novelty-driven approach, cycles of explore-and-exploit learning,” but never expected zem to evolve so far beyond their control. Indeed, Scorn bucks their wishes that ze contribute to their companies and instead becomes an investigative reporter, a gig that sends zem on a mission to the moon by way of Italy on the trail of a scandal. There, however, someone wipes Scorn’s memory of the past 10 days, leaving zem to reconstruct zir mission from virtually nothing. The result is a twisty mystery that doubles as a potent, surprising, and necessary exploration of the many issues that arise from AI’s ever-increasing presence in the world.

Starred review from May 1, 2023

Ogden's (Sun-Daughters, Sea Daughters) new novella presents a future where artificial intelligences fight for equal rights and off-planet colonies agitate for independence, as seen through the eyes of the sarcastic, independent AI Scorn. Scorn is an investigative reporter, so waking up with no memory of the previous 10 days means ze was on the trail of a really juicy story even if ze can't access what that story was. Scorn is an advanced, autonomous AI that should have data backups, but all are gone. Still, ze is compelled to chase the story and the memories down, no matter where that chase leads, and against the strenuous advice of both of Scorn's human mothers, because ze knows this story will make zir reputation. Scorn will pursue the puzzle to the very bitter end--no matter where it leads or who ze has to take on. Scorn is fascinating as ze experiences the advantages and disadvantages of zir nature while also still dealing with being an adult child of domineering parents who can't let go. VERDICT Highly recommended for fans of "The Murderbot Diary" series by Martha Wells and SF mysteries in general, particularly John Scalzi's Lock In.--Marlene Harris

Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2023
A mystery set in a world where corporations have replaced governments and AIs can be emancipated. Scorn wakes up with 10 days missing from zir memory banks. Ze soon figures out that ze got run over by a tram on the Moon--and zir last backup is missing. Ze concludes that ze must have been chasing a big story, possibly related to autonomy for the Moon settlements. Meanwhile, zir two "mothers"--the high-profile women who built zir novelty-seeking artificial intelligence--are fighting again, and they're both trying to convince Scorn not to go back to the Moon. Like any rebellious artificial child, zir parents' objections only make Scorn more determined to return to the Moon and get to the bottom of the story ze's been chasing. Scorn's world is largely governed by corporations and populated both by humans and by artificial intelligences, many of which are essentially knockoffs of the innovative process that created Scorn. As an AI, Scorn can back zirself up and download zirself into a different "chassis," including human-shaped bodies as well as a small spiderbot. The story here is fast-paced and ultimately quite suspenseful. The world is complex, well conceived, and interesting, but there is a steep learning curve that may prevent some readers from getting right onboard with Scorn's mission. Those who can handle being dumped into the middle of a strange new world will be rewarded with a taut and compelling mystery with a surprising yet satisfying conclusion. SF fans will appreciate this intriguing, tightly plotted novella.

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