WWW: Wonder by Robert J. Sawyer
(WWW trilogy, book three), Ace, $25.95, 352pp, hc, 9780441019762. Science fiction.
It’s our world, but with Webmind in it, it just might be a better place. That is, unless those who fear Webmind can save the world from his meddling.
That artificially intelligent child of the internet—born when China cleaved the web in twain—which Robert J. Sawyer introduced in the first two volumes of his WWW trilogy finally comes into his own in Wonder. And his teacher and “mother”, 16-year-old Caitlin Decter, is also discovering the world, as a newly sighted genius teenager. But now they have bigger obstacles to overcome. In earlier books, it was bullies and spam, but now, the US government is out to protect us all from this newly emergent AI. It’s up to Colonel Peyton Hume to exercise the secret authority granted him by the government to destroy the AI before it grows strong enough to destroy us all.
But how does a peaceful, intelligent being fight back without stooping to the level of his enemies? With the help of a speaking ape, a planet-wide community of true-believers, and a liberal dose of classic science fictional tropes. Sawyer shows that, in addition to being a very talented and creative writer, he’s also as big a fan of sf as any of us.
As with Watch, this book is more a continuation of the story, rather than a sequel. All three volumes could, indeed, be read as one large book in three pieces. Once again (or still), Sawyer is exploring questions of intelligence, humanity, and technology’s impact on our lives. What happens when we encounter a being with far greater intelligence than we have, but none of our physical limitations? We saw a little of that on the recent Jeopardy! special that pitted two human champions against a new IBM supercomputer named Watson. In the game show, the assumption (at least among human competitors) had been that greater intelligence should equate to greater success. But when a computer was thrown into the mix, greater or lesser intelligence immediately faded to the speed of button pushing. Intelligence was still a factor, but a seemingly minor ability made the contest a rout. So, too, in the novel: Webmind, through his superior abilities to find and recall information, is far more intelligent than people, but his much greater impact on the world is actually due other complications, such as the ability to ferret out information absolutely everywhere, and collate, cross-reference, and sift through it to find the nuggets hidden therein.
One of Colonel Hume’s roles in WATCH (Web Activity Threat Containment Headquarters) is to watch for emergent artificial intelligences, to stomp them out before they can grow too strong to control. And in theory, this is a noble activity. After all, a brain as large and fast as the internet should theoretically grow to completely overwhelm humanity in almost no time (see, for example Skynet in the Terminator films).
Another feature of Webmind’s abilities, almost overlooked in his growth, is his ability to spy on pretty much everyone, all the time (see, for example, Isaac Asimov’s “The Dead Past”). Hume tries to avoid Webmind’s tracking as he seeks out those with the ability to kill Webmind. But that ability—as with everything—can be both a blessing and a curse. How much corruption would disappear if everyone knew Webmind was watching? But how comfortable would you be exploring your emerging sexuality if you knew Webmind was watching?
As I said reviewing Watch: “having been blind since birth, Caitlin hasn’t been indoctrinated to society’s views of beauty and ugliness, and thus winds up making choices that seem strange to her friends. Nevertheless, those choices are correct for her…” And neatly paralleling that independent development in Wonder is Webmind. Not being human, without humanity’s limitations, with no mother, no soul, and no equal, Webmind has consciously developed his morality and goals in “life”. Developing those as an intellectual exercise, rather than being unconsciously inculcated in them from birth, leads to methods that differ a great deal from the normal human.
So, while Hume assumes his enemy will be as dark as Hume can make him, Webmind has no reason to be his enemy at all. While Hume is trying to save the world from an evil Webmind, Webmind is trying to save the world from a stupid humanity. Hume needs to kill Webmind. Webmind needs to make himself so valuable to humanity that people will stop Hume. It’s an interesting clash.
Along the way, nations will fall, people will grow, and even bad guys will learn it’s more fun to be good. WWW: Wonder is a very satisfying conclusion to Sawyer’s trilogy of tomorrow, or possibly just 20 minutes into the future. Read it now, before you’re living through it.
Related articles previously published on SFScope:
How do you know it isn’t happening right now? Robert J. Sawyer’s WWW: Watch (8 April 2010)
A review of Wake by Robert J. Sawyer (12 May 2009)