Review: Fun Tipping into Scary
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 01 26, 2013
This is the third Auto story I've read - and I should preface my review with the fact that although I program computers for a living I am NOT a smart-phone addict and if I were to wear Vades(tm) while driving the California accident statistics would double. I'm an outsider looking at where the insiders are going.Given that, I certainly admire David Walling's extrapolation of smart-tech 9 years into the future.  The first Auto stories I read were pretty much JUST tech extrapolation.  Well thought out tech and the social changes it would bring, which made them interesting, but also clear developments of present technologyThis one, however is hinting (or maybe shouting) about artifical intelligence and whether this technology can literally take on a life of its own.  Sure, Janine's Dad was always a practical joker, but that was HIS mind developing the jokes - certainly before Autos when Janine was a little girl.  His Auto seems to be doing a LOT more than downloading useful apps and making new friends without any human input.I know these are short stories, but if David Walling is planning a longer book I'd really like more about how all society is handling these changes, including the people that replace the Smart Screens on headstones and build the cars.  Given the amount of time spent now on iPhones, Twitter etc., and given the amount of information provided by Autos, will ANYONE be working?