One/Zero

by Kathleen Ann Goonan

A near future novelette about the surge in AI that might bring hope to humanity if used well.

In war-torn Kurdistan, a group of traumatized orphans is given a gift that could change their lives and the lives of everyone in the world, while in Washington, DC, an elderly woman undergoes medical procedures that radically change her life.

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Genres: Science Fiction, Short Stories, Fiction, War, Futuristic

41 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 3, 2019

About the author

From Locusmag.com

Author Kathleen Ann Goonan, 68, died January 28, 2021. She was born May 14, 1952 in Cincinnati OH and at age eight moved to Hawaii for two years while her father worked for the Navy, after which the family moved to Washington DC. She got a degree in English from Virginia Tech in 1975, and earned her Association Montessori International Certification in 1976. She taught school for 13 years, ten of those at Montessori schools, including eight years at a school she founded in Knoxville TN. She spent a year back in Hawaii and took up writing full time before returning to the DC area in 1988, the same year she attended Clarion West. She began teaching at Georgia Tech in 2010, where she was a Professor of the Practice.

Goonan’s first story ‘‘Wanting to Talk to You’’ appeared in Asimov’s in 1991. Notable stories include ‘‘Kamehameha’s Bones’’ (1993), Nebula Award nominee ‘‘The String’’ (1995), British SF Award finalist ‘‘Sunflowers’’ (1995), and Sturgeon Memorial Award finalist ‘‘Memory Dog’’ (2008).

Debut novel Queen City Jazz (1994), a New York Times Notable Book, was shortlisted for a British Science Fiction Association Award, and launched her Nanotech Quartet: sequel Mississippi Blues (1997), Nebula Award-nominated prequel Crescent City Rhapsody (2000), and final volume Light Music (2002), also a Nebula Award finalist. Standalone The Bones of Time (1996) was a Clarke Award finalist. Alternate history In War Times (2007) won the Campbell Memorial Award and was the American Library Association’s Best SF Novel of 2007, and was followed by sequel This Shared Dream (2011), a Campbell Memorial Award finalist. Angels and You Dogs, a short story collection, was published by PS Publishing in 2012.

Goonan and her work were featured in venues such as Scientific American (‘‘Shamans of the Small’’) and Popular Science (‘‘Science Fiction’s Best Minds Envision the Future’’). As a member of SIGMA, she gave talks for the Joint Services Small Arms Project and the Global Competitiveness Forum in Ryhad. She published more than 40 short stories, including ‘‘A Love Supreme’’ (Discover Magazine 10/12), ‘‘Bootstrap’’ (Twelve Tomorrows 9/13), ‘‘Sport’’ (ARC 2/14), ‘‘What Are We? Where Do We Come From? Where Are We Going?’’ (Tor.com), ‘‘Girl In Wave; Wave In Girl’’ (Hieroglyph), ‘‘Wilder Still, the Stars’’ (Reach for Infinity), and ‘‘Tomorrowland’’ (Tor.com).

Goonan lived in Tennessee and Florida with husband Joseph Mansy, married 1977.

Reviews

[karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

WELCOME TO DECEMBER PROJECT!

this explanation/intro will be posted before each day’s short story. scroll down to get to the story-review.

this is the SIXTH year of me doing a short story advent calendar as my december project. for those of you new to me or this endeavor, here’s the skinny: every day in december, i will be reading a short story that is 1) available free somewhere on internet, and 2) listed on goodreads as its own discrete entity. there will be links provided for those of you who like to read (or listen to) short stories for free, and also for those of you who have wildly overestimated how many books you can read in a year and are freaking out about not meeting your 2020 reading-challenge goals. i have been gathering links all year when tasty little tales have popped into my feed, but i will also accept additional suggestions, as long as they meet my aforementioned 1), 2) standards.

GR has deleted the pages for several of the stories i've read in previous years without warning, leaving me with a bunch of missing reviews and broken links, which makes me feel shitty. i have tried to restore the ones i could, but my to-do list is already a ball of nightmares, so that's still a work-in-progress. however, because i don't have a lot of time to waste, i'm not going to bother writing much in the way of reviews for these, in case GR decides to scrap 'em again.

i am doing my best.
merry merry.

DECEMBER 26: ONE/ZERO - KATHLEEN ANN GOONAN

I gather that soon, perhaps before we could possibly know it given the speed of the deep-learning superintelligences—SIs—in development, yet another self-made apocalypse could be upon us, and so long, folks! Any second now, we might be devoured by a ravening SI with intentions we cannot begin to fathom.

I say yet another because, you know: nuclear weapons, nanotech gray goo, biological warfare—all of which could be SI tools if the initial algorithm on which their self-learning depends decides these methods would further their goals. The standard model is that SIs, presently isolated from the Internet, learn like children, through self-directed assimilation. Developers are gambling they’ll grow up much wiser than us. Given their source material, I find that hope misbegotten. They might choose to love us, but why?

And could their imagined trajectories be any worse than our increasing totalitarianism? Or any worse than one of the main hallmarks of what it means to be human, which is to kill our fellows, or even send our own kin to torture or death if a certain “belief”—whatever a belief might be, neurochemically speaking—has taken up residence in our unfathomable brains?

Bring it on, I say. The change might be for the better.

as much as i try to avoid novelettes during these one-a-day reading projects, this one was well worth the extra time and as it raises enough questions around tech and humanity and ethics and privacy and greater good and alla that, it verymuch needs the extra space to float everything out there. 2021 ends in a couple of days and then it will be THE FUTURE! get ready.

read it for free here

THE STORIES:

DECEMBER 1: NIGHT STAND - DANIEL WOODRELL
DECEMBER 2: MR. DEATH - ALIX HARROW
DECEMBER 3: THE FRUIT OF MY WOMAN - HAN KANG
DECEMBER 4: THE TINDER BOX - KATE ELLIOTT
DECEMBER 5: BABYCAKES - NEIL GAIMAN
DECEMBER 6: HIS MIDDLE NAME WAS NOT JESUS - NOVIOLET BULAWYO
DECEMBER 7: SING A SONG OF SIXPENCE - LILLI CARRÉ
DECEMBER 8: DARK TIDE - MARK LAWRENCE
DECEMBER 9: DARKER TIDE - MARK LAWRENCE
DECEMBER 10: BREAK - MISHELL BAKER
DECEMBER 11: A RUMOR OF ANGELS - DALE BAILEY
DECEMBER 12: THE ENGLISHMAN - DOUGLAS STUART
DECEMBER 13: IT CAME FROM CRUDEN FARM - MAX BARRY
DECEMBER 14: NO MOON AND FLAT CALM - ELIZABETH BEAR
DECEMBER 15: A STUDY IN SHADOWS - BENJAMIN PERCY
DECEMBER 16: ART APPRECIATION - FIONA MCFARLANE
DECEMBER 17: THE SOUND OF FOOTSTEPS - SILVIA MORENO-GARCIA
DECEMBER 18: WE HAVEN'T GOT THERE YET - HARRY TURTLEDOVE
DECEMBER 19: THE DUNE - STEPHEN KING
DECEMBER 20: THE WORTHINGTON - EMILY CARROLL
DECEMBER 21: SUNBLEACHED - NATHAN BALLINGRUD
DECEMBER 22: BLOOD DAUGHTER - MATTHEW LYONS
DECEMBER 23: THE LINE - AMOR TOWLES
DECEMBER 24: PIGEONS - NIBEDITA SEN
DECEMBER 25: WHAT WE HAVE LEARNED, WHAT WE WILL FORGET, WHAT WE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO FORGET - EUGENE LIM
DECEMBER 27: MATINEE - ROBERT COOVER
DECEMBER 28: ACCESS - ANDY WEIR
DECEMBER 29: UNNECESSARY THINGS - TATYANA TOLSTAYA
DECEMBER 30: HOOK - DANIELLE MCLAUGHLIN
DECEMBER 31: HE'S VERY WELL READ - CATHERINE LACEY

previous years' advent calendars (what's left of 'em):

2016
2017
2018
2019
2020

come to my blog!

[Prabhjot Kaur · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absurd. Infinite. Irrational. Confounding.

In a war torn world, an AI saves the life of a young child and in a rich first-world country, an AI interferes in day-to-day lives and is thought of as nuisance and something taking over the world not in a good way. I was not able to get into Mai's POV at first but once I got into it, it made me reflect things that I also sometimes do or neglect to do in this case like tick on all the terms and conditions without reading them first and who knows what am I really agreeing to.?

It is a very interesting and thought provoking read. It is a story of two different worlds and how the technology or more specifically AI transforms lives of two different people from two different worlds. It brings us back to the question whether technology and bots are a boon or a curse. Writing was very gripping and intense. I recommend it to all the science fiction lovers out there.

4.5 stars

[Alina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'll also put the name of the story here, in case Goodreads decides to merge it into some other work...
One/Zero by Kathleen Ann Goonan - 2.5/5★

A story about how developments in AI and super intelligent computers can take over and help humanity. The subject was ok, but I didn’t like the way it was writtend and the whole thing was kind of flat.

The short story is found in Some of the Best from Tor.com, 2019 edition and can also be read on Tor.com.

[Lukasz · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

A near-future free novelette about the surge in AI that might bring hope to humanity if used well.

I liked how ell it balanced the perspectives of two narrators. Their lives are different, but share similarities. The technological stuff was fascinating but more explanation of how things worked would be welcomed.

All told, another solid piece of Tor short original fiction.

[Suzy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Big concepts and short stories don't seem like natural bedfellows to me, but this book nailed it.

I was instantly transported to war-torn Kurdistan in what has to be one of the most immersive openings to any of the books I've read so far this year. I could feel the torrent of grief that raged over Vida (the MC) and her little brother, Azul, as their entire world was blown apart in a matter of minutes.

In another part of the world and in another life entirely, we understand how a slower grief has changed everything about Mai's day-to-day. Having lost her husband and left her life's work behind for a slower pace, she is confronted by the rapid changes in the technology around her (including the development of AI and 'superintelligence', or 'SI'). It becomes an unwanted presence in her life, but its more than just a nuisance - it also poses a serious concern in terms of taking over her autonomy.

Meanwhile, we see how the same developments in AI/SI are aiding Vida and her fellow refugees in seeking shelter from the storm, and in reaching out to the wider world.

I thought it was hugely interesting to see how these two disparate narratives came together, and how each was able to project a different viewpoint - particularly regarding the intervention of AI in our lives. The inherent questions of whether AI can be trusted, can work in cooperation us, and whether it can/will become a tyrant overlord of some kind despite good intentions - its all there. But though it raises these questions, the narrative doesn't waver from the human story at it's core - that of Vida, her baby brother and their need for other humans because, in spite of all that technology can offer them, it can't give them everything they need and want. Sometimes, only a human will do.

It was cleverly constructed and perfectly formed, in my view. I have a complicated relationship with short stories, but this was an example of how it should be done.

Although this is a sci-fi novelette, I think it has a broader appeal than to fans of just this genre. If it sounds even vaguely interesting to you, I'd highly recommend giving it a go.

[G · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boringly long paragraph and descriptions. It failed in all fronts: showing the implications of the wide use of AI on a deeper level, making a point and being enjoyable.

[JM · Rating 4 out of 5]

It reminded me a bit of Neal Stephenson's "Snow Crash" and "The Diamond Age" in tone. I kept expecting the SI to unmask its evil plans at some point, but the author played with my preconceptions being a guy who grew up watching 2001: Space Odyssey and Terminator, and it turns out there's no evil AI out to destroy humanity, and instead, it's merely helping. Duncan Jones did something similar in his film "Moon" with the robot Gertie, and I think it was well done in both cases. I wonder if this ties into some of the author's novels?

[Alex Sarll]

In a broken third world country, a young boy is saved by AI, while in the rich first world, an old woman is irked by its intrusions. Inevitably, their paths converge. There's some wonderful writing scattered about this, but also some fairly clunky exposition, and overall it felt a bit pat for my tastes, beginning as it does with so blatant an image of wounded innocence as a child's birthday party destroyed by war, and ending on a note of "I believe the children are our future".

[nawal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant!!!!

[Andria Potter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Grim, sad, and well written. I shall continue searching for more by this author. Another Tor free short fiction piece!

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure about this one. An interesting premise about super AIs and how they might change the world in the future. However, I found the story did not read too well and jarred a little.

[Lizabeth Tucker · Rating 4 out of 5]

The war made its way to Vida Zilan's home in Kurdistan, ending with her parents, aunt, and grandmother dead. Now Vida is on the run with her three year old brother, traveling with other terrified and displaced children. Mai Davidson has retired in Washington D.C. after years of helping with various issues through the agency she had given her life to, until her husband died and she began to look for something different. Her life is becoming increasingly regulated as the AIs begin taking control of medicine and senior care and transportation, among other things. Or are the SIs, the rumored super intelligent computers now moving out into the world?

Be careful what you wish for has always been what is said in regards to those who can grant wishes. Perhaps with the right teachers, the right guides, the SIs can help fix the world for the children, with the assistance of the children. If only, if only. Magnificent look at how Hal might not be the villain of the piece. After all, he just wanted to save both himself and his astronaut charges. 4.5 out of 5.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Its shore is everywhere and nowhere. It laps our feet; it lures us to swim, catch its bizarre fishes, and equip voyages of exploration. Its waves of pure mathematics rise and fall in colors we will grow new senses to apprehend and use, much as we grew the tool of language with which we pin to specimen pages memories and thoughts in answer to imperious, mysterious command. Just as we explore with words that twirl in mad calypsos of antic, sparring rhetorics, and with devices that measure our interiors and those of distant suns, so we will explore and measure SI, scale its cliff faces, and perhaps drown in its alien seas before we grow new fins and gills. The sounds of a thousand travelers fill the vast space in which I sit. Patterns I have never truly listened to arise in waves that rise and fall like breath, setting me on a self-chosen journey of hard traveling, of rocks, crags, storms, crevasses, strange waypoints, and, I hope, growing strength.

[Nerine Dorman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the vivid imagery, and especially the dilemmas one faces in a world where one rapidly loses control as responsibility is abdicated to AIs. I did, however, feel as if the story needed a little more of a push or a twist at the end and that there was a bit too much philosophising. However, that may just be me who's at fault.

[Miriam Cihodariu · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's rare to find a speculative book about AI that maintains its optimistic tone (when the truth is that so much could go wrong with this one). For this but also for the talent poured in the writing itself, I found One/Zero to be a memorable read. I especially loved the intertwining of the two narrative voices and POVs, it felt very natural and well put-together.

[Sam Atkis · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Oh shit this story touched my heaet and made me feel hope for humanity. Does the author have any works?"

Wikipedia : "Died in 2021"

Bruh what.

RIP author. I wish you lived longer to see your hope for the future.

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, if a bit hard to follow. I liked the proliferation of helpful self-driving vehicles helping the refugees.

[Yaru · Rating 1 out of 5]

La tecnología es mala y Edison era una bruja.

[Katherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was good, although a little bit confusing to follow at first with the two seemingly unrelated points of view. An example of how perhaps AI could be used for good instead of evil.

[Ninja · Rating 4 out of 5]

Near future story split between older woman in the US, teenage girl and younger brother in the middle east against a backdrop of rising AI and ongoing war in Kurdistan.

[Katrina Fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good look at how trauma impacts us and the possible impact of AI.

[Tamás Fábián · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was hard to follow and unclear at times. Not my cup of tea.

[Sharmeen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The best part is how the story shows both sides of the coin. AND offers a conclusion. Subtle and yet.

[Emy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 - the lost half is for stopping too soon :)

[Scott Shjefte · Rating 3 out of 5]

AI explored effects on the average person and the world changes.