Infinite Wisdom

It is five years since a global vote elected an AI leader, Solomon, to give humanity one last chance of survival in the face of crippling climate change. The world might be in recovery, but humankind is suffering-and rebelling-under Solomon's governance. The choice was far from unanimous, and resentment is running high. As acts of sabotage and civil disobedience increase, a disgusted Solomon offers the people of the world a final choice: Upgrade or Unplug. Upgrade means irrevocably merging with artificial intelligence as a way of deleting the destructive nature of the species. Unplug will brick every chip, including Solomon himself, and humanity will begin again in a pre-digital age. Humanity has eighteen days to decide before civilization tips over into complete anarchy. One vote. No appeal. A simple majority wins. How will humanity vote this time? And how much choice do they really have?

Thomas R. Weaver writes stories about tomorrow to help make sense of today. A tech entrepreneur turned author, he holds a degree in Computer Science but never expected to actually use it in his career. After spending years exploring how technology could transform experiences in the places outside of the home and the office, he founded a tech startup in the restaurant hospitality space, which was later acquired by Just Eat Takeaway. Exiting in 2018-2019 left him with no more excuses not to pursue a long-held dream: writing fiction. Despite vowing he had enough grey hair already and he'd never to run another startup, he continues to build a portfolio of interesting new ideas with his former cofounder, backed by a major Silicon Valley tech accelerator. Outside of spending time with his family, he loves to cook, draw, paint and lose at online bullet chess. He loves a great movie or TV series, and collects more books than time allows to read.