Malak

by Peter Watts

A short story about an attack drone gaining a conscience.

Part of the Engineering Infinity collection

https://rifters.com/real/shorts/Peter...

Genres: Science Fiction, Short Stories, Artificial Intelligence, Fiction

2011 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 1, 2010

Reviews

[Alian]

I enjoyed most of the story but found the emphasis on the "sounds" made by the "biothermals" to be off-putting - that could be something an AI's learning algorithm could grow to focus on, but it felt primarily aimed as an emotional appeal to the reader.

[Ninja]

This works really well as a story describing our very near future. Basically, weaponised AI and how that plays out. Minimal storyline and characterisation, sure, but I found the descriptions and scenarios engaging (pun intended) through to the conclusion.

[Jeroen De Dauw]

Fantastic short story. Very memorable

[Clora]

barely a 3/5 tbh. plot progression was unclear, in no way did the ai drone gain a conscience

[Adam Meek]

The genius behind Blindsight takes the reader into the 'mind' of an autonomous attack drone in the middle of a warzone. Chillingly realistic.

[Anton Hammarstedt]

Setting presentation, design and originality (how cool is the setting?): 5
Setting verisimillitude and detail (how much sense does the setting make?): 5
Plot design, presentation and originality (How well-crafted was the plot, in the dramaturgic sense?): 4
Plot and character verisimillitude (How much sense did the plot and motivations make? Did events follow from motivations?): 5
Characterization and character development: 4
Character sympatheticness: 3
Prose: 4
Page turner factor: 4
Mind blown factor: 4
Final (weighted) score: 4.2

Available at: https://rifters.com/real/shorts/Peter...

[Virith]

A short about a military AI drone. Nothing that special. I found all the combat specifics rather tedious, to be honest.

[Sarinys]

Molto buono anche questo racconto, anche se Le cose e L'isola sono ancora più belli. Ottimo Peter Watts.