“I found myself reading with a sense of awe, and read it way too late into the night.”
GENE KIM, VISIBLE OPS
Avogadro Corp: The Singularity Is Closer Than It Appears is a techno-thriller about the accidental creation of an artificial intelligence.
David Ryan is the designer of ELOPe, an email language optimization program, that if successful, will make his career. But when the project is suddenly in danger of being canceled, David embeds a hidden directive in the software accidentally creating a runaway artificial intelligence.
David and his team are initially thrilled when the project is allocated extra servers and programmers. But excitement turns to fear as the team realizes that they are being manipulated by an A.I. who is redirecting corporate funds, reassigning personnel and arming itself in pursuit of its own agenda.
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Inspired by Ray Kurweil’s The Singularity is Near, and Charles Stross’s Accelerando, Avogadro Corp is an alarming and realistic story about how A.I. can emerge today.
PRAISE FOR AVOGADRO CORP
WINNER SCIENCE FICTION DIY BOOK FESTIVAL 2011-2012
“A tremendous book that every single person needs to read. In the vein of Daniel Suarez’s Daemon and Freedom(TM), William’s book shows that science fiction is becoming science fact. Avogadro Corp describes issues, in solid technical detail, that we are dealing with today that will impact us by 2015, if not sooner. Not enough people have read these books. It’s a problem for them, but not for the [emergent] machines.” — Brad Feld, managing director Foundry Group, cofounder TechStars
“A highly entertaining, gripping, thought inspiring book. Don’t start without the time to finish — it won’t let you go.” — Gifford Pinchot III, founder Bainbridge Graduate Institute, author THE INTELLIGENT ORGANIZATION.
“An alarming and jaw-dropping tale about how something as innocuous as email can subvert an entire organization. I found myself reading with a sense of awe, and read it way too late into the night.” — Gene Kim, author VISIBLE OPS
“Avogadro Corp is a fascinating look at how simple and benign advancements in technology could lead to the surprise arrival of the first AI. And like all good techno-thrillers, the reality of AI is less than ideal.” — Jason Glaspey, founder paleoplan.com, bacn.com, unthirsty.com
“As a fan of Charles Stross and William Gibson, I was delighted to read Avogadro Corp. The story is a startling, feasible examination of the emergence of artificial intelligence.”
“HAL, the self aware CPU from 2001 a Space Odyssey is a kitten compared to ELOPe.” — Shawn Chesser, author TRUDGE and SOLDIER ON
“A fictional world where Portland is the hub for the most exciting advancements in technology… jam packed with great references to deep Portland culture.” — SILICON FLORIST
THE AUTHOR
William Hertling is a digital native who grew up online – on the bulletin boards and chat systems of the mid 1980s. He’s been fostering online communities ever since, including as a social media and web strategist at Hewlett-Packard.
To write Avogadro Corp, he drew on his experiences with computer hackers, computer programming, and corporate culture, as well as his love of science fiction authors including Charles Stross, Cory Doctorow, and William Gibson.
Visit William Hertling’s blog and sign up for his mailing list for news about Avogadro Corp and the sequel AIpocalypse.