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" I sometimes suspect that we're seeing something in the Internet as significant as the birth of cities. It's really something new, it's a new kind of civilization."
- William Gibson
 |
| Mark IV Door Keeping Robot | ||
| A robotic device for responding (and scanning) people who come to your door. |
| He pressed the button set in one of posts of the wrought iron gate. There was a faint whirring sound that told him he was being scanned. From a hidden speaker came a metallic voice.
"Who are you? What do you want?" "I am John Clavering. I wish to speak with your master, with Mr. Konradis." "What is your business?" "I will tell that to Mr. Konradis." "I repeat: What is your business?" "Damn nosy robot...my business is private." |
| From The Man Who Could Not Stop,
by A. Bertram Chandler. Published by Fantasy and Science Fiction in 1959 Additional resources -
|
Chandler makes clear that this is a robot with very limited capabilities:
"Thing to 'member," Fredericks said, "is this. All our robots have brains. But not human brains. Not Anyting like. Take Mark IV. Same IQ as domestic fowel...Funny thing-bunch of us talking 'bout it, 'membered 'bout hypnotizin' chickens. Fantastic. Works on Mark IV too..."
Compare this idea to the automated sentry from Greg Bear's 2003 novel Darwin's Children.
Thanks to an anonymous reader for the quotes and full citation. (Note: if you'd leave me your email address on my contact page, I'd be glad to respond to your questions.)
...He remembered the night that he had got Fredericks, the Farrar-Blenkinsop roboticist, drunk.
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and Technology from The Man Who Could Not Stop
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and Technology by A. Bertram Chandler
Tech news articles related to The Man Who Could Not Stop
Tech news articles related to works by A. Bertram Chandler
| Prototype Robotic Masseur Has The Touch |
| Medical Assistant Robot May Roam The Halls Of Hospitals |
| Amplified Nerves Lead To Mind-Controlled Prosthetic Hands |
| FlyCroTug Micro Drones Do Heavy Lifting |
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