Menace of the Machine: The Rise of AI in Classic Sci-Fi
Edited by Mike Ashley
(British Library)
They’re coming for us,
the mechanical men with murder in their metal hearts! As this hugely enjoyable
anthology demonstrates, they’ve been on their way for over a century at least.
Drawing on the
unparalleled collection held by the British Library Mike Ashley has put
together a collection of astounding stories that make their readers think as
well as providing entertainment.
The titans of the
genre, Clarke, Aldiss, Asimov et al are, naturally, represented alongside lesser-known
names. Stand out stories include ‘But Who Can Replace A Man?’ by Brian W
Aldiss, ‘Two Handed Engine’ by CL Moore and Henry Kuttner, and ‘The Machine
Stops’ by EM Forster.
The latter was, for
this reader, the most pleasing of surprises. Who would have thought the author
of Howard’s End and A Room With A View could have made such a
good fist of writing a sci-fi novella. It’s a real shame he never repeated the
experiment.
As should be the case
with a science fiction anthology, most of the stories fizz with ideas. Some of
which, such as the dangers of humanity becoming dependent on technology and the
ability, in ‘A Logic Named Joe’ by Will F Jenkins, of a device resembling Alexa
to provide us with too much information for our own good are highly pertinent.
One question that has
been nagging this reviewer is that given CHATGPT is out there hoovering up data
and there and these stories are all in the public domain. Is this the sort of book
you want your smartphone or chatbot to read?
Good Reads,
Wednesday 30th August 2023
