3 updates in one day – it is getting out of hand, I know…

I have stumbled across two encouraging posts about Jame5 that I would like to share. The first is by Constantin Gonzalez from his BarCamp Munich 2008 summary:

Another great way to think about the future is to read Stefan Pernar’s sci-fi thriller “Jame5 – A Tale of Good and Evil”. This book starts in the best Michael Crichton style and then becomes a deep and thoughtful discussion around the philosophy of the future, when mankind confronts the powers of strong AI. [...] Highly recommended.

Secondly Marc Garnaut was kind enough to write about Jame5 on his blog:

I’ve been immersed in a book recently. It’s a fictional story, but it’s based on a lot of scientific fact. A bit like The Matrix or anything in the cyberpunk genre by authors like Neal Stephenson or William Gibson.

Much obliged gentlemen, much obliged indeed. Did I mention that I am still looking for a publisher? Hint! Hint!

I took the liberty to send a couple of books to Future Salon Moderators around the world. As a result I got this 5 star Amazon review from Miguel F. Aznar, Director of Education for the Foresight Nanotech Institute:

“While bringing the pleasure of storytelling, Jame5 is abundantly informed by theories of the Singularity, natural selection, and psychology. It’s like desert without the guilt because I learned while relaxing into the fine, captivating narrative.”

Thanks, Miguel! Appreciate it.

Today I received a note from George Garrett with some comments on my work:

“I very much enjoyed reading your paper on Benevolence.  It introduced me to some new ideas and seems like an excellent starting point for a plausible way one can frame morality, goodness, suffering and pain.  It seems like framing things in terms of evolution is the only way that things make sense.”

Music in my ears! But there is more:

 ”This is the first satisfying definition of goodness I’ve come across that doesn’t seem arbitrary and up to the author’s whim.”

Strong and encouraging words indeed – many thanks to you George. Based on his comments I also updated my paper on friendly AI theory to version 1.1

Do you have any comments? I would love to hear from you!

Get it while it is hot! It is an A4 PDF (111 pages, 1.4 MB). The PDF itself is free as in speech but a meatspace version is in the making and shall be available in the next 2 weeks or so and will be announced here.

Some testimonials after the jump.

“Jame5 is an engaging story about our confrontation with the singularity. From virtual worlds to AI gods, it provides a poignant and sometimes chilling exploration of the future and what it means to be human. A fascinating read.” Dr. Stephen Omohundro – President of Self-Aware Systems and Advisor to the Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence

„Of the several hundred science fiction books I have read so far Jame5 is one of the good ones. Its new ideas gave inspiration for thought and I had fun reading it.” Michael Adling – micenterprise.de

“If you enjoy intelligent fiction with more than a mere pinch of philosophy, this book is for you. Applies the idea of ‘survival of the fittest’ to a singularity scenario and challenges your perception of what is real, what is right, what is possible – and what is not. An alluring glimpse into the future of mankind!” Monika Siegenthaler

“If you are what you remember then couldn’t your past have just been a dream? Read at your own risk – Jame5 may dislocate your mind!” Olive Huang Hai – youtube.com/Katzen2002

„Answering the essential question of what the meaning of life might be has occupied us since the existence of human consciousness. Jame5 explores this as well as other questions and opens new perspectives that keep the reader thinking long after having closed the book.” Sonja Costabel