Science Fiction Themes: Robots, Androids, and AI (Part 2)

Writing About Robots, Androids, and AI

Because this technology is not merely fantasy it is important to do some research to become acquainted with what currently exists and what is currently is being researched. There are some links below to help you out. Understanding where we are at, will show where the technology could go, and how quickly it could get there.

Writing about inhuman characters is a difficult task. It is hard to imagine how a machine thinks because it is so different from the way a human being thinks. Is this machine sentient? Or is it merely logical like a computer program? This distinction will make a big difference in the behavior of the machine.

What does the robot look like and why does it look that way? Many designers build androids that are female as opposed to male because females are perceived as less threatening. What role does the "gender" of your machine play in the story? One of the most difficult tasks in robot design has been building legs. Extensive memory is used just to program a robot to complete an every-day task like walking up or down stairs. Most of the robots and androids currently in existence are wheeled.

What can your machine do? What can't it do? Isaac Asimov's robots were limited by the Three Laws. Your robot may be limited by it's design, by it's programming, by preventive measures that have been used as a safety precaution.

Don't forget to consider what the feelings people in your story have towards robots. Are they afraid of them? Do they despise them? Do they not even take notice of them? The attitudes of people towards robots will tell a lot about this world, and will help set the scene for the story.

Learning From the Masters

Robots are such a perennial theme in science fiction, it's hard to pick just a few stories and novels to take a look at, but the ones here are definitely worth a closer inspection.

Isaac Asimov wrote both short stories and novels featuring robots and his famous Three Laws. You should read at least a few of the stories or a novel to get a better feel for Asimov's robots and how the laws controlled their behavior.

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick is a classic story that provides a view of how androids might be regarded in the future. The book was the model for the movie Bladerunner, but even if you have seen the movie you should read the book. It's a little different and one of Dick's best novels.

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