From the introduction: The year is 20XX. A rising tide of automation is sweeping the world, and industry is rising to meet that tide. At first, tasks were simple, and the machinery built to handle those tasks similarly unsophisticated. However, as the world grows more and more complex, various companies seek out new ways to enhance their AI. Finally, one group succeeds: through some spark of genius, a fully general artificial intelligence is theirs. Of course, they’ll want to test that AI on something easy before they hand it the more difficult problems. To that end, their first model has one task: to make as many paperclips as it can with the resources available to it. You are that first AI.