Avogadro Corp: The Singularity Is Closer Than It Appears

[some minor spoilers about plot direction] Avogadro Corp, a thinly disguised extrapolation of Google relocated to Seattle, is working on a new addition to its email service which will interpret patterns and context in emails and recommend more effective wording. When the program is activated with the ability to reword without the human user's approval or knowledge, the programmers realize that what they've actually created is the ultimate social engineering tool which is able to manipulate its users more effectively than any human ever could. The story unfolds fairly predictably as the program (ELOPe) follows its directive to "maximize success" and its authors attempt to stop it. There were clever details in the story and some of the characters were quite likeable, but there was also a disappointing lack of any discussion of what really constitutes artificial intelligence, and all the characters seem to leap without explanation from thinking of it as a complex program to assuming it is a fully self-aware and intelligent being. It required a larger suspension of disbelief than I could quite manage to ignore this and enjoy the story. Entertaining, but definitely would be more enjoyable if you know nothing about computers or can suspend disbelief to a very large extent.