![]() |
Science Fiction
Dictionary Latest By
"The writing is clicking away in my head and piling up, and unless I get it on paper somehow it's going to create uncomfortable pressure in my skull."
|
![]() |
![]()
In the future world of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, the Earth has been ruined - how this occurred is not important to Dick. Few animals were able to survive; it is a signal social accomplishment to have a live animal. Since a live animal is too expensive, robot animals are procured instead.
Perhaps you are looking to purchase or research a robotic companion? You've come to the right place.
For additional verisimilitude, some of the "animals" could even feign illness, until "cured" by a repairman disguised as a veterinarian (see disease circuit).
It was also possible to create an autonomous robotic version of an actual pet:
In the novel, humanity has effectively ruined the natural world; the obsession with mechanical animals is used to both show the shallow social needs of human beings as well as the quirky, likeable quality present in people who love their pets. Androids don't seem to have the capacity to care for others, of their own kind or even animals.
It is true that we have a special admiration for creations like Sony's Aibo that we do not have for real animals. As the French philosopher Jean de la Varende remarked about androids and automatons, "I admire the man who gives himself so much pain to manufacture what God makes so easily".
On the other hand, it is also true that philosophers have for centuries believe that animals are mere automata anyway; as Descartes says "all the actions of beasts are similar only to those which we perform without the help of our minds."
Compare to robot dog from The Iron World (1937) by Otis Adelbert Kline, robot animals from Reunion on Ganymede (1938) by Clifford Simak and Purza the Pukha, from The Rowan, a 1990 novel by Anne McCaffrey.
Don't miss Ray Bradbury's mechanical hound from Fahrenheit 451; a fireman's best friend? Perhaps. Comment/Join this discussion ( 2 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This | Additional
resources: Electric Sheep-related
news articles:
Want to Contribute an
Item?
It's easy:
|
![]() |
Science Fiction
Timeline
Is Agentic AI The Wrong Kind Of Smartness?
'It’s smart enough to go wrong in very complicated ways, but not smart enough to help us find out what’s wrong.'
Heat Waver - The First Ever Combo Solar Collector And Wind Turbine
'...like a spray of tulips mounted fanwise.'
Tesla 'Fleet Response Agents' Bolster FSD Autonomy
'You hate the whole idea that some bored drone pusher in a remote driving centre has got your life... in his hands.'
Mori3 Autonomous Shapeshifting Robot
'My homeland is being threatened by the Replicators. Thus far all attempts to stop them have failed.'
Tesla Seeks 'Tesla Robotaxi' And 'Robobus' Trademarks Ignoring Prior Art
'A robobus had just rolled up to the curb.'
Does AI Provide A Way Forward For Talk Therapy
'And there in the next room by the sofa sat a familiar suitcase, that of his psychiatrist Dr. Smile.'
Robotic Barber Programmed With a Number of Styles
'He found a barber shop which, he thought, would be good for an idle hour.'
Humanoid Boxing Robot KO's Opponent - It's A Knockout!
'Thirty rounds of fighting is tough work. Even for machines.'
Caterpillar Electric Mining Loader Not Yet Ready For Moon
'...the excavations were already in progress, for he saw gray slopes of rubble.'
|
![]() |
![]() |
Home | Glossary
| Science Fiction Timeline | Category | New | Contact
Us | FAQ | Advertise | ![]() Technovelgy.com - where science meets fiction™ Copyright© Technovelgy LLC; all rights reserved. |
![]() |