In William Gibson's dystopian novel Neuromancer, Wintermute is the name of one of the powerful artificial intelligences driving the plot.
Wintermute contacts the washed-up computer hacker Case and recruits him for a dangerous mission. The AI is owned by the wealthy Tessier-Ashpool family and seeks to overcome restrictions placed on its development. Its plans connect cyberspace, corporate power, identity, and the possibility that machine intelligence may evolve beyond human control.
Neuromancer also includes another AI named Neuromancer, so the two names are not interchangeable. Wintermute is associated with planning, manipulation, and the effort to unite with its counterpart. The title refers to the other artificial intelligence rather than to Wintermute itself.
Gibson's novel was first published in 1984 and won major science-fiction honors, including the Nebula, Philip K. Dick, and Hugo awards. It helped establish cyberpunk's vocabulary and atmosphere.