![]() ![]() But as she goes about her day, fretting about work that needs to be done, fearing for her safety and the shop's, her 'joy' at finding a friend and companionship, pondering the meaning of 'life' and worrying about ultimately dying.she's just like us. Physically, there is no mistaking that it's a robot. The AI robot was never made to be human and that's as it should be. I find it refreshing that the book doesn't try too hard to twist the readers arms into accepting its message. These are the deep questions the book presents, but without ever going preachy or philosophical or beating them over our heads. Or is "free will" the essence of humanity? Are robots capable of that? Even the AI ones? Surely they'd be restricted by their programming. Is it the ability to 'feel' emotions? (AI has sensors to feel anything and everything - from 'pain' to 'grief'. Is it the ability to learn new things? (AI is an expert on that) But through the innocent musings and introspection of the AI robot, it asks and answers the question "What makes us human?" Even this jaded human can't help but fall in love with her, and even shed a tear or two for her lonely existence and her 'painful' past. ![]() It does so with an unusual but amazingly well-done robot 'voice' that's endearingly honest yet utterly believable. On a more profound level, it's a story of an artificial being's journey to humanity. This novella about an AI robot and a human programmer can be read as a sweet romance between two asexual individuals, as it was no doubt intended. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |