Inevitably, any science fiction writer who tackles the subject of
robots is going to be influenced by Isaac Asimov. I have both
respected that fact and attempted to distance myself from his
creations in my Jack Mack novels.
No robot of Jack’s
worlds has the sort of mental capacity displayed by Asimov’s more
advanced versions. This is not to say there are not exceedingly
powerful artificial intelligences but they can not be housed in a
human-sized machine. Rather, the most capable are often spread out
over a network, be it in a space ship or a building. They are also
likely to be interconnected with a number of other intelligences of
varying capabilities.
It is necessary for
sophisticated AI’s to have an identity. Without a sense of who they
are, they tend to break down ‘mentally.’ Thus, most reasonably
advanced robots are gendered. Top-tier intelligences also tend to
bond with a particular human and take on some of their personality
traits. Once those are embedded in their psyche (so to speak), they
will remain with them after the human has gone. Steward, aka Stewie,
who runs things at Summit Up, carries over the personality imprint of
Jack’s great-grandfather, with all his fussiness and a bit of a
snobbish attitude.
Whether an AI can
actually be snobbish is another question. Perhaps Stewie simply
imitates the deceased Barry McFee. No one can say, including the AI
himself.
Robots are fairly
ubiquitous on Jack McFee’s home planet of Scotia. They do not quite
constitute a ‘peasantry’ as on some worlds, such as Resnovae, but
they do a good bit of the menial work. On other planets, there is
less reliance on robots and AI, but they are found pretty much
everywhere man has gone. This is one reason people emigrate to the
‘new worlds’ from those like Scotia that have been long settled;
there is a dearth of meaningful work for them as machines take over
more chores.
Hands-on work, that
is, which humans do need. Sitting to manage a fleet of robots is
unlikely to be fulfilling. It is to be noted that security still has
a strong human component to it. AIs are notoriously bad at replacing
police and military, prone to blunders and misunderstandings.
I have chosen not to
make robots and artificial intelligence central to any of my stories
of Jack McFee, but they are very much a part of the world-building.
They also raise questions on the whole concept of consciousness; that
is also something I have touched upon from time to time. But, of
course, I can’t actually answer those questions. I can only pose
them and provide some thoughts.
