The Two Faces Of Tomorrow

Author: James P. Hogan

The Two Faces of Tomorrow is described as a world where civilization has grown so complicated that only a world-wide computer network can control its complexity. Now, I must admit I read such descriptions with incredulity given every day I'm struck by American news that makes me feel like only stupid people are breeding and society is getting dumber as a whole, but let's remember that this is science fiction, and put our suspension of disbelief caps on. Making this story believable, the super-computer is a beacon of logic, lacking common sense, and its logically focused decisions begin to cause too many accidents that are almost fatal. The solution seems obvious - give the computer some self-awareness and a concept of judgment so that these accidents are prevented from occurring. But Raymond Dyer and his team of specialist are concerned whether they will be able to control this super-computer, and whether it will turn on its creators. It seems too dangerous to test on Earth, so they decide to send in a team of men to test it in space on the pretext that the computer can always be destroyed if something goes wrong. Unsurprisingly, the now sentient computer doesn't quite like the sound of tests like this... This book is one of the most realistic artificial intelligence scenarios you can read and should be mandatory reading for anyone who is concerned about super-computer networks taking over Earth!