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The Rest of the Robots
The Rest of the Robots | Isaac Asimov
3 posts | 7 read | 3 to read
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Bookwomble
The Rest of the Robots | Isaac Asimov
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Pickpick

Although this illustration isn't for an Asimov tale, it does capture something of the essence of his story "Satisfaction Guaranteed," which I think successfully skewers 1950's corporate culture and misogynistic sexual politics.
All of the stories are worthy additions to the Robot Mythos, the artificial beings unfailingly revealing the flaws of their creators.
Susan Calvin is a more nuanced character than I think she is often given credit for, ⬇️

Bookwomble ... and it's hard not to read her these days as being coded neurodivergent. Her apparent, and frequently actual, coldness often masks a deeper, if calculated, emotional sensibility, and “Risk“ and “Lenny“ exemplify aspects of this.
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(edited) 1mo
Bookwomble The final story in the collection was a fantastic courtroom drama, which Asimov says it's his favourite Calvin story, and given it combines robotics, a mystery, academia and authorship, all essentials to Asimov's life and work, it's not hard to see why. 1mo
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Bookwomble
The Rest of the Robots | Isaac Asimov
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In his Introduction, Asimov makes the following inaccurate prediction about AI:

"If robots are so advanced that they can mimic the thought processes of human beings, then surely the nature of those thought processes will be designed by human engineers and built-in safeguard will be added."

Bookwomble That word "surely" reads poignantly. I guess Isaac didn't account for megalomaniacal billionaire tech-bros who would happily burn the world if there's a financial profit in it for them. 1mo
37 likes1 comment
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Bookwomble
The Rest of the Robots | Isaac Asimov
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I tend to read a lot of sci-fi, but 2024 seems to be a bumper year for it!

I read "I, Robot" earlier this year, so here I go with the follow up collection. ? v.2.0

The_Book_Ninja I need a re-read of that too. It‘s been so long 1mo
Bookwomble If you fancy doing a buddy read, I can pause until you're good to go, but no pressure if you're not ready to fit it into your reading schedule 😊 1mo
35 likes2 comments