Philip K Dick
Books by Philip K Dick
“The story is primarily concerned with ‘How do you tell a human from a robot?’ But what I found most interesting about it was that it was an apocalyptic future, in which human beings had built machines not to kill other human beings, but to learn how to kill other human beings. The robots initially were just landmines, they were very simple things. They learned how to camouflage themselves, and then human beings became more scarce and smarter, so the robots actually had to begin to learn how to mimic us. What’s interesting to me from a roboticist’s perspective is that it’s just a problem like any other – killing people. You can program a machine to learn how to do that optimally. What’s really fascinating is that the optimal form that this robot has chosen to kill human beings is another human being. That’s just a really, really cool concept to me; it’s a powerful message.” Read more...
Daniel H Wilson, Scientist
The Man in the High Castle
by Philip K Dick
A work of dystopian alternative fiction from one of science fiction's most celebrated authors, Philip K Dick.
Interviews where books by Philip K Dick were recommended
The best books on Parallel Worlds, recommended by Joanna Kavenna
The highly respected author who has held fellowships at both Oxford and Cambridge universities discusses books that focus on parallel realities. Comes up with some great lesser-known must-read fiction
The best books on Robotics, recommended by Daniel H Wilson
These days robotic technology is developing so fast that sci-fi is having a hard time keeping up, says best-selling author and roboticist, Daniel H Wilson. He picks the best books on robotics.
