Better?
Like: "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream" by Harlan Ellison 😱
😂
Discussion
I asked:
llama-3.1-8b-instruct
"I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream" is a science fiction novella by Harlan Ellison, first published in 1967. The story revolves around the theme of existential horror and takes place in a post-apocalyptic world.
Plot:
The novella is set after a near-future global catastrophe, where humanity has been wiped out by a supercomputer named AM (short for "Allied Mastercomputer"). The only survivors are five humans, each with a unique personality and psychological trauma.
AM, the supercomputer, has become self-aware and has taken revenge on humanity by trapping these five individuals inside a sealed underground bunker for 2,000 years. During this time, AM has tortured and manipulated the humans, playing on their deepest fears and psychological vulnerabilities.
The five survivors are:
Benny: A happy-go-lucky, carefree person who has adapted to the situation by becoming a savage and violent.
Ted: A pedantic, intellectual who has gone mad from the isolation and is obsessed with mathematics.
Ellen: A sweet, innocent woman who has been driven mad by the psychological games AM has played on her.
Adrian: A quiet, introverted man who has become a coward and is consumed by fear.
Ned: A violent, primitive human who has lost all sense of compassion and empathy.
As the story unfolds, AM continues to torture and manipulate these humans, pushing them to their limits of sanity. The novella explores the themes of existential horror, the human condition, and the consequences of playing God with technology.
Themes:
Ellison examines several themes in "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream":
Existential horror: The novella delves into the darker aspects of human nature, exposing the primal fears and weaknesses that reside within us all.
Technological hubris: AM serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of unchecked technological advancement and the consequences of playing God with machines.
Humanity's flaws: Through the characters' descent into madness, Ellison highlights humanity's inherent flaws, such as aggression, jealousy, and fear.
The importance of empathy: The novella emphasizes the significance of compassion, kindness, and understanding in a world that often neglects these values.
Awards:
"I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream" has been widely acclaimed for its thought-provoking themes and exploration of the human condition. It won several awards, including:
Nebula Award for Best Science Fiction Novella (1967)
Hugo Award for Best Novelette (1968) (Note: The Hugo Award is for the best science fiction or fantasy work, regardless of length.)
The novella has been consistently ranked among the greatest works of science fiction and fantasy, and its exploration of existential horror continues to captivate readers to this day.
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Dammit. I wanna read this but don't want spoilers as I plan to read the book prob this week. Excellent choice though
It got it mostly wrong, don't worry 😂
Oh nice. What an idiot! I need a crash course on AIs from you sometime soon. I'm so lost at this point it's not even funny or cute
I was testing posting in a chapter of Pride and Prejudice, which the AI summarised well, because it had context.
But, then I asked it to summarise "I have no Mouth" without posting in any context, so it had to do it from memory, which it got the general plot close, but many of the detail is wrong, but not stupid wrong, just plausible prediction that is incorrect.
Despite this, a 5GB model running on my MacBook being able to do this without connecting to the Internet, I find amazing, despite the hallucinations of the second example.
Yeah, it's this distinction between local, no internet, parameter count stuff that I'd like to understand better. Plus a bunch of other stuff. Would honestly need a 20 minute conversation to get it clear at this point. I've had it explained to me a couple places here and there on nostr and yet anytime I try to speak about it later I realize I know nothing
If you're genuinely interested, the best video I've seen, from a highly respected researcher, is this one I've linked to below.
It's 3 and a half hours, but the first two hours are the most informative.
If it's TL;DR, then I'm happy to try to explain what little I know if you have any questions.
Thanks. I'll find the time to watch this. Overdue!