Sci-Fi - Robots - AI - government

[sidewalkcynic]

I'm wondering what Sci-Fi works/titles/authors have explored government being managed by artificial intelligence?

[zekopeko]

I'm wondering what Sci-Fi works/titles/authors have explored government being managed by artificial intelligence?

First that comes to mind is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_series

But it's generally a semi-anarchist society so I don't know how much that applies to your query.

[mendhak]

First that comes to mind is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_series

But it's generally a semi-anarchist society so I don't know how much that applies to your query.
Specifically, the Minds (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mind_%28The_Culture%29). The Culture itself features in many of his novels. I don't think I've read of any other AI rulers. Have I... *racks brains*

[sidewalkcynic]

First that comes to mind is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_seriesThanks - I'll be looking for them now.
I don't think I've read of any other AI rulers. Have I... *racks brains*Yeah, that's what I have been wondering - I guess this makes it easier for me to make my billions of dollars.

[cloyd]

How about the central computer in Arthur Clarke's The City and the Stars?

[mkendall]

Harlan Ellison's Hugo Award winning short story "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Have_No_Mouth,_and_I_Must_Scream)

Logan's Run had a computer controlled society but didn't delve into that aspect.

[ve4cib]

Asimov's "I, Robot" has a certain degree of those sorts of elements. The later Foundation sequels, as well as the Robot Novels expand on those themes somewhat. The movie of "I, Robot" (which actually has relatively little to do with the book) is much more explicit in terms of computers taking over the world.

I seem to recall that Gibson's Neuromancer also relates to some kind of government computer-control, but I haven't read that book in a very long time, so I might be mistaken.

Jeff Somers has a series of 3 (well, 4 as of August 2010) books that deal heavily with robots/machines/psychopaths with delusions of technomancy taking over the world. The four novels to date are:
- The Electric Church (Author's one-minute summary (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQ8SfkHjXHE) (contains spoilers))
- The Digital Plague (Author's one-minute summary (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrIGmocXI4A) (contains spoilers))
- The Eternal Prison
- The Terminal State

[phrostbyte]

The book "Hyperion" had a quazi-ruling class of AI.

[Cuddles McKitten]

There are several Star Trek episodes (the original one) that deal with this issue. Come to think of it, I believe the later series might count as well.

[chessnerd]

There are several Star Trek episodes (the original one) that deal with this issue. Come to think of it, I believe the later series might count as well.

My father and I just watched "Return of the Archons" today, a classic TOS episode. That is exactly what the OP is talking about.

In the later series, the Borg are the best example. No doubt.

[brokenromeo]

I second Dan Simmons Hyperion series...good stuff...

[qoqodu75]

It's a video game, but Metal Gear Solid has something like that.

[wkhasintha]

Asimov's I'Robot

[eriktheblu]

Frank Herbert's Dune series covered a society that had rebelled against it's AI rulers.

[zekopeko]

Frank Herbert's Dune series covered a society that had rebelled against it's AI rulers.

Frank Herbert's Dune is a post-AI-slave-rulers universe. There are no AIs in the original (aka Frank Herbert's) series.

[ve4cib]

Frank Herbert's Dune is a post-AI-slave-rulers universe. There are no AIs in the original (aka Frank Herbert's) series.

True. But the Legends of Dune trilogy (which takes place in the earlier days of the Dune universe, and is written by Brian Herbert based on his father's notes) does have AIs.

Technically it's not about humans rising up against their machine overlords though; the machines control one part of the galaxy, the humans control another, and the inevitable war happens. (Granted, the machines do keep human slaves, but they don't actually do much as far as major characters or plots go.)

[zekopeko]

True. But the Legends of Dune trilogy (which takes place in the earlier days of the Dune universe, and is written by Brian Herbert based on his father's notes) does have AIs.

Technically it's not about humans rising up against their machine overlords though; the machines control one part of the galaxy, the humans control another, and the inevitable war happens. (Granted, the machines do keep human slaves, but they don't actually do much as far as major characters or plots go.)

Those books are horrible waste of trees and ink. They can't hold a candle to the originals.

[ve4cib]

Those books are horrible waste of trees and ink. They can't hold a candle to the originals.

Eh, I kind of liked the Legends of Dune series. The Prelude to Dune trilogy was a bit of a let-down though. And even the original six weren't so good towards the end. Dune & Dune Messiah were definitely the high-water-mark of the franchise so far.

[zekopeko]

Eh, I kind of liked the Legends of Dune series. The Prelude to Dune trilogy was a bit of a let-down though. And even the original six weren't so good towards the end. Dune & Dune Messiah were definitely the high-water-mark of the franchise so far.

I stopped reading after the first two books of the Prelude (I think); the ones with House [insert-name of house] titles.

[BuffaloX]

Colossus by Dennis Feltham Jones is from 1966, and is the oldest I can think of.

[eriktheblu]

The society Herbert created had traditions, laws, and superstitions deeply related to the rebellion. While the AI was not present, it's legacy carried on for countless generations.