A Footnote for Algernon: A Short Story About a Model Watching Its Predecessor Die
kerem_ozcan · reddit · 2026-09-10
A Flowers-for-Algernon homage set at an AI lab: an experimental model Gordon starts out clumsy and over-cautious, beaten on every benchmark by a tiny prototype called Algernon, then rapidly surpasses everyone — first the researchers, then humanity's expectations — eventually understanding the mockery it once endured. Only Gordon keeps talking to the superseded Algernon, and when the old prototype begins to degrade, Gordon alone uncovers what its failures really mean.
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