Marc Stiegler is a science fiction author and software developer. He co-authored Valentina: Soul in Sapphire with Joseph H. Delaney. This is the one of the earliest examples of sentient computer software in fiction — as opposed to mainframe AI’s such as HAL and Colossus. He also wrote the short story, “The Gentle Seduction” based on Vinge’s ideas about a technological “singularity,” the exponential growth of future technology—that will drastically affect the nature and experience of being a human being.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Stiegler
I’m quite fond of “The Gentle Seduction”, but I eventually noticed how he simplified his problem—he wrote about a relatively isolated person.