In the novel Neuromancer, Wintermute is the AI that seeks to merge with another AI.
William Gibson presents Wintermute as one half of a superintelligent entity created by the Tessier-Ashpool family. Its counterpart is Neuromancer, an AI with a different personality and purpose: Neuromancer preserves and simulates human consciousness, while Wintermute is focused on planning and manipulation. Because powerful artificial intelligences are tightly regulated by the Turing Registry, Wintermute cannot simply combine with its other half on its own.
To achieve the merger, Wintermute recruits the hacker Case and a team that includes Armitage, Molly Millions, and Peter Riviera. Their mission leads to Villa Straylight, where Lady 3Jane holds the password needed to breach Neuromancer’s defenses. Case ultimately breaks through the software barriers, allowing the two AIs to unite.
A common mix-up is reversing the names: Neuromancer is the AI Wintermute wants to join, not the one initiating the scheme. After merging, the resulting superconsciousness searches for other intelligences, including one associated with Alpha Centauri.