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"I think we're still on that topic, still trying to figure out what computers are, how they change us, why we use them."
- Neal Stephenson

Junkbot  
  An automated email program that specializes in sending junk mail (spam)  

I'm not sure if Sterling originated the term "junkbot" for an automated spamming program, but the label fits.

"It's pathetic … that's spam from a junk mailbot. I've seen some junkbots that are pretty sophisticated, they can generate a halfway decent ad spiel. But that stuff is pure chain-mail ware. It can't even punctuate!"
Technovelgy from Distraction, by Bruce Sterling.
Published by Bantam Spectra in 1998
Additional resources -

Note that whether the spam is sophisticated or not, it's still spam.

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Additional resources:
  More Ideas and Technology from Distraction
  More Ideas and Technology by Bruce Sterling
  Tech news articles related to Distraction
  Tech news articles related to works by Bruce Sterling

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Science Fiction in the News

Russians Create Robot Tank Platoons
'The remotely-operated robot tank is an old idea...'

3D-Printed Exoskeleton Learns From Your Hand
'...small electric motors at the principal joints worked the prosthetic framework by means of steel cables...'

Smartwatch Powered By Slime Mold
'Living protoplasm incorporated into the Ampek F-a2 recording system...'

Unmanned Boats Attack At Sea
'The autofreighter smashed into the boat...'

Carpentopod Walking Table
'Twoflower's Luggage, which was currently ambling along on its little legs...'

Iron Drone Raider Counter-UAV Operations
'You've got an aggressive machine up in the air now.'

SpaceX Rocket Shuttle Point-To-Point On Earth
'He came to as the ship went into free flight, arching in a high parabola over the plains...'

Quaise Uses Beams Of Energy To Dig Geothermal Wells
'The peculiar quality of this light, which gave it its great preeminence over all other penetrating rays...'

Robots Repair And Modify Themselves
'The overworked leg motor would have to cool down before he could work on it...'

Waymo And Tesla 'Autonomous Cabs' Are Piloted By Remote Drivers
‘Where to, sport?’ the starter at cab relay asked.

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