:: Automaton for the people ::

Sunday, February 15, 2004

If you live in one of the cities listed on their website, be sure to check out Robot Stories. It receives the coveted "pas mal" stamp of morland approval (given only by those referring to themselves in the third person).

Having read a fair amount of science fiction (and having little to show for it save technolust and nearsightedness), I've learned to distinguish between authors that use it as a means versus an end. I've also noticed that most of the better work comes from the former group. Philip K. Dick, for instance, used his arsenal of sci-fi plot devices which, in the hands of a lesser writer, would have stolen focus to explore fundamentally human traits like paranoia and identity. Similarly, Robot Stories leverages potentially distracting fodder to produce engaging melodrama.

I held hands with a robot once. It was immobile, but had a beating heart. It was cold to the touch. It did not force me to question the nature of sentience. It was truly a disturbing experience.



UPDATE (2/18/04): Wired covers it.

Posted by morland @ 01:47 PM

:: Comments ::

Was that before or after we rode the rhino at the Kalahari?

Posted by: Grenergy on February 16, 2004 12:45 PM

I know it was the same day... I think this was a few hours before.

Posted by: morland on February 16, 2004 06:08 PM

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