Kootenai River in NW Montana, near Canadian Border

Kootenai River in NW Montana, near Canadian Border
photo by Gene Tunick of Eureka, Montana

Friday, December 2, 2011

Tip O'Day #231 - Robots in SciFi (Part II)

Guest blogger Gary Starta continues on sentient machines.

The idea of robots is really not that extreme or fantastical. For the most part, they are already here. Will it be all right to use them for servitude? Most every science fiction story of the last half century portrays them in that manner. Think of Bicentennial Man. But in that movie, the robot evolves so it actually becomes human. Still, the robot is portrayed as a servant, although its owner treats it with respect.

Will humanity treat robots with respect once they grow in number? People who perceive them as mere machines such as a computer will probably dismiss the idea of expending emotion on objects. But others may feel compelled to interact with androids as if they were human, even if they don’t possess self awareness or are unable to feel genuine emotion.

In my novel Gods of the Machines, two androids find love in a future where they have yet to attain the full rights of humans, yet are accepted by some as sexual partners of humans. As androids inch closer to a new status within society, it becomes absurd that these beings aren’t considered humans. They are just another kind of human; instead of biological, they are artificial. But both can love.
Find more about Gods of the Machines (and maybe win a book) at www.garystarta.net

2 comments:

  1. Writing should be about what you want to write. I have found it much more appealing to the reader as well as myself ,if I write in whatever genre I feel like writing in.

    If non-fiction, SCI-FI, or something totally different for all ages.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for having me over, Dixon...Gary Starta

    ReplyDelete