Lena (short story)
Script error: No such module "Draft topics".
Script error: No such module "AfC topic".
| "Lena" | |
|---|---|
| Author | qntm |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Science Fiction |
| Published in | qntm.org |
| Media type | Online |
| Publication date | January 4, 2021 |
"Lena" is an online short story by "qntm", the online pseudonym of writer Sam Hughes.[1] It was originally published on his personal website qntm.org on January 4, 2021,[2] with a first draft published on November 4, 2020.[3]
The story takes the form of a fictional Wikipedia article written sixty years in the future, which details the first digital snapshot of a human brain able to be executed on computer hardware and the neurology graduate whom it was taken from.[1][4] The title refers to the standard test image of the same name.
Summary[edit]
"Lena" is written as a fictional article in a Wikipedia format from around 2073, titled MMAcevedo.
On August 1, 2031, researchers at the University of New Mexico successfully created an executable snapshot of the brain of Miguel Álvarez Acevedo, a graduate in neurology, called MMAcevedo. The snapshot can be uploaded and run as a file via standard computer hardware—when first run, it expresses an "excited, friendly demeanor" and is generally cooperative, asking why he is being emulated. Although the original incarnation was preserved with its memories intact, later versions have had them omitted.
The achievement was hailed as a breakthrough in neuroscience, with Acevedo and the other researchers receiving numerous accolades. Conversely, many human rights advocacy groups met MMAcevedo with severe opposition.
After being duplicated without his consent, a U.S. court decision ruled that Acevedo did not have the right to control how MMAcevedo was used; consequently, it has become the most widely distributed and copied human brain image and millions of instances are now used worldwide. Several MMAcevedo forks have been developed. Instances are regularly and forcefully subjected to menial and painful workloads and expire around their sixties. Although MMAcevedo is now considered outdated, it is still widely used.
Before dying in 2073, Miguel Acevedo said that being uploaded was the greatest mistake of his life and expressed a wish to permanently delete all copies of the image. The "See also" section contains such links as "Free will", "Legality of workloading by country", "Right to deletion" and "Upload pruning".
Reception[edit]
Sally Adee of New Scientist recommended "Lena" to readers in a review article, saying that "[despite] the initial techno-optimism, [the story] fades into dystopian despair in ways that feel laceratingly plausible".[1] Jared Shurin of tor.com described the story as "the Gothic tragedy of the first uploaded brain" and observed that—"despite the deliberately dry Wikipedian language"—the story is "heart-breaking, down to the "See also" links at the end".[4]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Adee, Sally (9 February 2022). "Mickey7 review: If you want to live forever, read the small print". New Scientist. Retrieved 24 April 2022. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Hughes, Sam (4 January 2021). "Lena". qntm.org. Retrieved 24 April 2022. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Hughes, Sam (4 November 2020). "Lena". qntm.org. Retrieved 24 April 2022. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 4.0 4.1 Shurin, Jared (15 December 2021). "Our Cyberpunk Year". tor.com. Retrieved 24 April 2022. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help)
External links[edit]
- Lena (full text)
This article "Lena (short story)" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Lena (short story). Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
