Juliet Ulman

Fourteen good stories, some of them great, all investigating the possible consequences (utopia or dystopia or in-between) of some technology already in play now in the 2010s and 2020s.

Like with most antholologies, one or two stories left me scratching my head, not sure what they were about, where they took place, whether they were lacking or were beyond my limited ability to understand them - even though, scene by scene, they all did keep my interest.

Analee Newitz's "When Robot and Crow Saved East St. Louis" was one of the best sci-fi stories I've read in a while.

Charlie Jane Anders "The Minnesota Diet" ends the book in a quirky but satisfyingly upbeat way.… (mer)

I read this short story in its French version, translated by [a:Sara Doke|2930261|Sara Doke|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/f_50x66-6a03a5c12233c941481992b82eea8d23.png], and published in the anthology [b:Utopiales 2016|32655423|Utopiales 2016|Gérard Klein|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1476695805s/32655423.jpg|53228504]. The original story can be read online on Slate.com. Click rel="nofollow" target="_top">here.

It's about a fembot, one of the many Mika Models as they are called, who has killed (decapitated) her owner, who apparently had certain "dirty" plans in mind. She heads to the police office and asks for punishment. Evidence is presented on the spot, which makes the detective (Rivera) question what happened. They drive back to the scene of the crime, where they find the man's body. All the while, Rivera can't suppress having feelings for the bot, which is normal, as she's designed in such a fashion.

The bot also has all the functions of a proper robot: scanning, sending/receiving information, manipulating manners, etc. And so, its proprietary (the company that manufactured Mika) quickly sends over a lawyer, even if the robot asks for a real one, an independent one.

It's not the best story about fembots/sexbots (which do exist in today's world), about AI's, but it does provide food for thought, also in the context of self-driving card, for example. Who is responsible for the acts of a robot? The robot itself? Can/does it have the same rights as a human being? Or is it the owner who's responsible? Or the company that manufactured the robot? Etc., etc. Let's also not forget the manipulative functions of such robots. In other words: Brave New World.

All in all, an entertaining and smooth read. For more robot stories, I'll gladly direct you to [a:Isaac Asimov|16667|Isaac Asimov|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1341965730p2/16667.jpg]'s [b:The Complete Robot|50091|The Complete Robot (Robot #0.3)|Isaac Asimov|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1405467461s/50091.jpg|2361910], for example, which I reviewed last year.
… (mer)