Colossus

by D. F Jones

Charles Forbin has dedicated the last ten years of his life to the construction of his own supercomputer, Colossus, rejecting romantic and social endeavors in order to create the United States' very first Artificially Intelligent defense system. Colossus is a supercomputer capable of in-taking and analyzing data rapidly, allowing it to make real time decisions about the nation's defense. But Colossus soon exceeds even Forbin's calculated expectations, learning to think independently of the Colossus Programming Office, processing data over one hundred times faster than Forbin and his team had originally anticipated. The President hands off full control of the nation's missiles and other defense protocols to Colossus and makes the announcement to the world that he has ensured peace. However, the USSR quickly announces that it too has a supercomputer, Guardian, with capabilities similar to that of Colossus. Forbin is concerned when Colossus asks-asks-to communicate with Guardian. The computer he built shouldn't be able to ask at all . . .

225 pages, Mass Market Paperback

Published January 1, 1967

Reviews

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has some sexual content, heavy smoking and alcohol use. It also treats intelligent, well-educated women as foolish sex objects for the comfort of men in the workplace, which would classify it as pretty standard for Sci Fi from the 60s.
I read this book because of the current rise of AI in real life, which happens to a greater extent in this story. It doesn't have a happy ending like modern readers would wish, which I think was expected as well.
Our main character helps launch Colossus, a machine for the defense of North America, and shortly thereafter, the USSR launches its own machine, Guardian. When the two get together and decide they are superior to human intellect, the real trouble starts. The one thing machines lack is understanding of human emotions, but we'll that be enough to outsmart the machines?
At times, this reminded me a bit of the backstory of the Terminator franchise-- gritty and a bit hopeless, too. I'm not able to give it a glowing review, but it is definitely a commentary on the times we now live in.