AI Parallels Between Silo and Foundation
Has anyone else noticed how similar Silo and Foundation are underneath all the obvious differences?
They both have this idea of an AI being programmed to save humanity at all costs, even when the things it does seem completely immoral or backwards to us.
Like in Silo, Juliette is obviously framed as this beacon of truth and hope. But from the system’s perspective, she’s also incredibly destabilizing. If people find out there are other silos, we immediately think that could lead to trade, cooperation and rebuilding society. But it could just as easily lead to tribalism, competition and eventually war between silos.
So maybe the AI has basically concluded that humans can’t be trusted with the knowledge that other groups exist, because separate groups eventually turn into competing tribes. Keeping everyone isolated is awful, but in its logic, it may be the safest way to keep humanity alive.
That feels really similar to Demerzel in Foundation. She clearly has her own feelings and sometimes seems to want to act differently, but she can’t override her programming. She almost has to stand there and watch herself carry out things she knows are terrible because her core directive wins every time.
In both shows, the AI isn’t really evil. It’s trapped inside instructions humans gave it, and it keeps following those instructions to their most extreme conclusion.
I haven’t read the Silo books, so I don’t know whether this parallel is as strong there as it is in the show, but I have to imagine Hugh Howey was at least influenced by Foundation. It’s hard to imagine a serious sci-fi fan not being aware of Asimov’s work or absorbing some of those ideas, even indirectly.
Does anyone who has read both series see the same connection, or am I reaching?