Science fiction

Ian McEwan especula com seria un món (però sobretot la societat i la política anglesa) situat cronològicament als anys 80 del segle XX, on el Regne Unit ha perdut la guerra de les Malvines i la societat és prou avançada tecnològicament, però continuen sense resoldre's problemes com l'atur, la inflació, la desigualtat, la corrupció política, etc.
La tecnologia ha avançat tant que es posen a la venda els primers models d'humans amb una intel·ligència artificial molt desenvolupada. Els anomenen Adams i Eves. En Charlie Friend compra un Adam, i junt amb la seua xicota Miranda viuran, tots tres, situacions noves, experimentaran sentiments i afrontaran conflictes ètics, morals i amorosos, que tractaran de resoldre cadascú al seu estil.
Aquest argument serveix l'autor per a indagar sobre el comportament i la manera de pensar dels éssers humans. Sobre com ens enfrontem a la veritat i al sentit de la justícia o l'equitat en la societat moderna. ( )

If Turing had not taken the bite of the apple. Eve either
I am a McEwan fan from way back, and for me, he can do no wrong. Robots Like Me is no exception.

This dystopian novel set in the last half of the 20th century touches on the themes of love, loyalty, betrayal, and morality. And all against an alt-reality where Turning did not take estrogen, the the JFK assassination failed, and Tony Blair was assassinated.

Every now and again a real reality pops in. The Thatcher Poll Tax, the Brexit-like attitude to the EU. The rise of neural networks in computer science.

But the alt-reality is a mere background to the fault]y manage a trio of two humans and a robot., that are the essence of the novel, in the questions they pose about the meaning of truth, integrity, and human bonding.

The only criticism I have is about what I see as a flaw in the logic of the storyline, I can’t give this away as it would be a spoiler - but for those who have already read it, I found Adam’s first actions that broke Asimov’s first law of robotics, not only implausible, but not addressed (as they should have been) as the plot unfolded. Looking back at the novel these actions were not explained, or even used in any way other than to allow the plot to unfold without stretching credibility just a little too far.

Other than that, it is brilliant.

I read it on audible. I recommend the text version. The reader has a whiny tone to his voice, and when there is a three way conversation involving a human male, a human female and a male robot, it is almost incomprehensible - the three major characters sound almost all the same - a bunch of petulant wingers. ( )

Lots to think about here. Very weird twisting of history. ( )

Sometimes, it feels like Ian McEwan is just using his characters as vessels to trumpet his knowledge. How else could you explain a protagonist who thinks about the evolution of medicine and algorithms in his free time? Adam also talked a lot about quantum mechanics, which was hard to understand. The story was saved by its weighty themes of justice, revenge, and morals. Charlie owns Adam but is the money earned by the latter also Charlie's? Charlie and Miranda wanted to hide the latter's crime but Adam didn't let them. Can a machine be more ethical than humans? ( )