(Drivebycuriosity) - Artificial Intelligence is the topic of the century. Ian McEwan wrote a fascinating novel about this subject: "Machines like Me" ( amazon ). The novel is set in England in the 1980s but some things happened different than we remember - it`s an alternate history (this is a spoiler free blog ). The story is told in first person - by Charlie who lives mostly from the money he inherited from his mother and spends his time mostly with day trading on his computer. Charlie also has an interest in the girl who lives in the flat above him. A company had brought 2 sets of highly intelligent androids on the market - males ore females called Adams & Eves. Both could easily be confused with humans (Turing Test ). Charlie spends a big part of his inheritance to buy one of the expensive Adams who then lives with him.
McEwan has many ideas about what an AI might do, how it would behave and might communicate with humans, spiced with a lot philosophical musings. Can one really own another intelligent being? Do AIs have feelings? Do they enjoy sex? How does a purely logic & rational individual deal with complex human relationships?
The basic plot - well researched & spiced with science - is mingled with some parallel running plots - more human & psychological - which are equally important. The mix kept me on the edge and I cared about Charlie & Adam. "Machines like Me" is one of the best books I read in this decade and more interesting than McEwan`s famous novel " Atonement". Highly recommended!
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