Difference between revisions of "Jipi and the Paranoid Chip"

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(Created page with "'''''Jipi and the Paranoid Chip''''' is a short story written by Neal Stephenson initially published in ''Forbes'' magazine on 1997-07-07. Although it was the first story...")
 
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'''''Jipi and the Paranoid Chip''''' is a short story written by [[Neal Stephenson]] initially published in ''Forbes'' magazine on 1997-07-07. Although it was the first story written in [[The Baroque Cycle (universe)|The Baroque Cycle]], but, according to the in-universe chronology, it is the last story.
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'''''Jipi and the Paranoid Chip''''' is a [[techno-thriller]] short story written by [[Neal Stephenson]] initially published in ''Forbes'' magazine on 1997-07-07. Although it was the first story written in ''[[The Baroque Cycle (universe)|The Baroque Cycle]]'', according to the in-universe chronology, it is the last story to take place. The story is about a microchip that has been purposely designed to exhibit characteristics of a paranoid schizophrenic and a lack of foresight which puts it in control of something dangerous.
  
 
==Personal==
 
==Personal==
After having read all of the books in The Baroque Cycle, I was a bit annoyed that I didn't have access to this work. Luckily, I was able to find it online.
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After having read all of the books in ''The Baroque Cycle'', I was a bit annoyed that I didn't have access to this work. Luckily, I was able to find it online. However, after reading it, I discovered that it had practically nothing to do with the ''The Baroque Cycle'' other than a location and the mention of a character that would later be included in ''[[Cryptonomicon]]''. I finished the story on 2021-09-21 and enjoyed it.
  
 
==Status==
 
==Status==
I don't own this story, but I'm reading it.
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I don't own this story, but I've read it.
  
 
==Review==
 
==Review==
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{{Spoilers}}
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===Good===
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* Stephenson creates a lot of tension near the end of the story. The fact that a huge bomb might go off in a residential area if Jipi can't figure out a way to trick the chip into divulging it's location is really clever.
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* The idea of [[machine learning|evolving an AI]] to accurately [[CAPTCHA|identify humans]], while, at the same time avoid identification, was way ahead of its time in 1997.
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* The idea of using a paranoid AI to serve as a car alarm rather than a top-down designed system is a sure sign of things to come.
 +
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===Bad===
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* The first half of the story, where Jipi is being taught how to trick hotel patrons into not noticing unpleasant aspects of their stay, is a little interesting, but ultimately has nothing to do with the story's later half. It's so disparate, it makes me think Stephenson merged two story ideas together.
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===Ugly===
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* Nothing.
  
 
==Media==
 
==Media==
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{{Link|Wikipedia|https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jipi_and_the_Paranoid_Chip}}
 
{{Link|Wikipedia|https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jipi_and_the_Paranoid_Chip}}
 
{{Link|GoodReads|https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18299396-jipi-and-the-paranoid-chip}}
 
{{Link|GoodReads|https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18299396-jipi-and-the-paranoid-chip}}
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[[Category: Books]]
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[[Category: Short Stories]]
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[[Category: Fiction]]
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[[Category: Media Theme - Science Fiction]]
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[[Category: Media Theme - Techno-Thriller]]
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[[Category: Trope - Strong Female Character]]
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[[Category: Books That Fail the Bechdel Test]]
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[[Category: Books I've Read]]

Revision as of 13:31, 21 September 2021

Jipi and the Paranoid Chip is a techno-thriller short story written by Neal Stephenson initially published in Forbes magazine on 1997-07-07. Although it was the first story written in The Baroque Cycle, according to the in-universe chronology, it is the last story to take place. The story is about a microchip that has been purposely designed to exhibit characteristics of a paranoid schizophrenic and a lack of foresight which puts it in control of something dangerous.

Personal

After having read all of the books in The Baroque Cycle, I was a bit annoyed that I didn't have access to this work. Luckily, I was able to find it online. However, after reading it, I discovered that it had practically nothing to do with the The Baroque Cycle other than a location and the mention of a character that would later be included in Cryptonomicon. I finished the story on 2021-09-21 and enjoyed it.

Status

I don't own this story, but I've read it.

Review

— This section contains spoilers! —

Good

  • Stephenson creates a lot of tension near the end of the story. The fact that a huge bomb might go off in a residential area if Jipi can't figure out a way to trick the chip into divulging it's location is really clever.
  • The idea of evolving an AI to accurately identify humans, while, at the same time avoid identification, was way ahead of its time in 1997.
  • The idea of using a paranoid AI to serve as a car alarm rather than a top-down designed system is a sure sign of things to come.

Bad

  • The first half of the story, where Jipi is being taught how to trick hotel patrons into not noticing unpleasant aspects of their stay, is a little interesting, but ultimately has nothing to do with the story's later half. It's so disparate, it makes me think Stephenson merged two story ideas together.

Ugly

  • Nothing.

Media

Links

Link-Wikipedia.png  Link-GoodReads.png