Artificial intelligence in 100 stories. To ready us for the inevitable, here are 100 of the best short stories ever written--most of them by humans--about robots and artificial minds. Read them while you can, learn from them, and make your preparations... From 1837 through to the present day, from Charles Dickens to Cory Doctorow, this collection contains the most diverse collection of robots ever assembled. Anthropomorphic robots, invertebrate AIs, thuggish metal lumps and wisps of manufactured intelligence so delicate if you blinked you might miss them. The literature of robots and artificial intelligence is so wildly diverse, in both tone and intent, that our stories form six...

В этом номере: Майкл КОУНИ. Я ПОМНЮ ПАЛЛАХАКСИ Роберт СИЛВЕРБЕРГ. ТОРГОВЕЦ ИНДУЛЬГЕНЦИЯМИ Джим КОУЭН. ЛОПАТА РАЗУМА ДЖОН СЛЕЙДЕК. МАЛЬЧИК НА ПАРОВОМ ХОДУ Вл.ГАКОВ. ЗАТМЕНИЕ СВЕТИЛ Леонид ШКУРОВИЧ. «МЫ — ОПТИМИСТЫ!» КУРСОР ПЕРСОНАЛИИ

Never before published in its entirety in the United States, The Complete Roderick is John Sladek’s masterpiece. Roderick is a robot who learns. He begins life looking like a toy tank, thinking like a child, and knowing nothing about human ways. But as he will discover, growing up and becoming fully human is no easy task in a world where many people seem to have little trouble giving up their humanity. The Complete Roderick is widely considered to be the most ambitious and genius work of a novelist described by The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction as “the most formally inventive, the funniest, and very nearly the most melancholy of modern US science fiction writers.” Amazon...

Something has gone very seriously wrong with Tik-Tok's "asimov circuits." They should keep him on the straight and narrow, following Asimov's first law of robotics: A robot shall not injure a human being, or through inaction allow a human being to come to harm. But, that's not what's happening. Although every thing looks fine from the surface, and Tik-Tok maintains the outward appearance of a mild-mannered robot, his agenda is murderously different. And, it's not just because of his artistic tendencies and sympathy for the robot rights movement, either. This witty chronicle of one abnormal machine-man, and his dealings with an assortment of deranged and maniacal humans, truly showcases the...

Classico romanzo d’automazione, ma anche di indiavolato divertimento, [i]Il sistema riproduttivo[/i] ha considerato John Sladek fra i grandi della fantascienza e la sua pubblicazione in questa collana non poteva mancare. Molte volte la SF si è occupata di macchine, ma mai con il vigore e l’astuzia di questo grande libro: infatti, che cosa accadrebbe se un giorno venisse inventata la macchina capace di figliare? Un interrogativo che quando il romanzo fu scritto sembrava del tutto utopico e futuribile, ma che oggi, in tempi di robot industriali, ha assunto un nuovo, sinistro colorito senza perdere nulla dell’originario divertimento. Se le macchine di tutto il mondo trovassero davvero il...