I don’t know of any other women as obsessed with robots in their fiction as I am. I’m not sure I know of any other men either, except maybe those who are writing about robotic warfare. Me? I have stories about robots raising children and robotic dogs at war in my collection Cracking the Sky (Fairwood Press). I have super-robots in my most recent duology, Edge of Dark and Spear of Light (March 2015 and June 2016, from Pyr). The next books I’m working on for Pyr have a robotic sidekick character currently named Paula.
We’ve talked about robots for a long time in science fiction. I read Asimov’s I, Robot when I was a teenager. My son grew up playing with toy robots that transformed into vehicles. What fascinates me now is that the robots are coming. We have two in my house – both iRobot vacuums, and they have names (Zelda and Zeke). I have various bits of the Internet of Things strewn through my life. Our Foobot sits in the kitchen and measures air quality (Zoey). I haven’t named my Fitbit Blaze watch (Maybe I should call it Zhi – which means will, purpose, or ambition), but it’s always riding on my arm. It sends me messages from time to time, or cheers me on. The car I don’t drive soon will essentially be a robot.
We are going to have complex relationships with the robots in our lives. They will be our servants, but they are also tech that needs minding, where upgrades will be required and unexpected consequences will arise. They will be stronger than we are, and maybe also more agile (although that’s still a problem today). For many people they will be companions. I read a story a few years ago that still sticks with me about young men in China falling in love with avatars as a way to find emotional release in a society populated with far more young men than young women, and little tolerance for love between men.
If you talk with the transhumanists, we may become robots.
Robots are also our enemy. They are better than we are at factory-floor jobs, and have far lower total costs. They don’t have to be retired with pensions – they can be retired to the scrapheap, melted down, and remade. Autonomous cars will liberate us regular daily drivers (I can’t wait to use my commute to create fiction!) but taxi or Uber drivers may not like the way they get liberated by autonomous cars.
We’re already seeing the tip of robotic warfare. What are drones if not robots, especially as they get autonomous? The ethical issues are enormous. I’ve heard the argument that robotic warfare is more ethical, especially if it’s robots vs. robots. And if it is, how many rules could you have and enforce? How would you keep a civilian population safe?
So I guess I see robots in our lives as inevitable as climate change, and as worthy of discussion. Besides – what a rich vein to mine for seeing ourselves. I’ll leave you with a great image. My friend Cynthia Radthorne did a piece of art that depicts a woman looking into the mirror and seeing a robot (have a look here). And of course, the robot is seeing the woman.
I expect I’ll write more about robots.
Hi Brenda. I realise I am a little slow off the mark responding to your article, but I too feel drawn to writing about robots. There is something a little scary, a little macabre, about machines that look like humans. Perhaps we empathise with similar looking beings, but are conflicted with a distrust of intelligence beyond our own. They are often presented in film as far superior physically than humans. All scary stuff when AI becomes sentient…