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"There's a tendency to think that maybe if we can just throw enough hardware at the AI problem, then evolution can take care of the rest. Certainly that's how God went about making us."
- Rudy Rucker
 |
| Mechanical Bride | ||
| A perfect robotic replica of a woman. |
In the story, a wealthy man decides to purchase a beautiful robot to have around the house. His former girlfriend, now a sales assistant to a robot company, decides on a path to revenge. She begins by describing the company's products.
| "Mr. Shalk supplies the finest mannequins in the world. Streamlined, smooth-working, absolutely noiseless, breath-takingly realistic. Each one is powered by thirty-seven midget electric motors, all completely noiseless, and is controlled by instructions, recorded on magnetic tape, which are triggered off by the sound of your voice and no one else's. There is a built-in microphone that hears everything you say, and an electric brain that selects a suitable answer. The de luxe model is built to your specifications, has fifty different facial expressions, sings two hundred love songs, and can carry on a thousand fascinating conversations... But she has one serious defect. They all do.
"What's that?" "They have no heart." |
| Technovelgy from The Mechanical Bride,
by Fritz Leiber. Published by Vanguard in 1954 Additional resources -
|
Rita states her point of view early in the story, talking with old Chernik, the roboticist:
As it turns out, real women with hearts turn out to be more dangerous than heartless robots.
Compare to the manufactured wife from A Wife Manufactured to Order (1895) by Alice W. Fuller, the
robotess from R.U.R. (1920) by Karel Capek, the
psychophonic nurse from The Psychophonic Nurse (1928) by David H. Keller, the
teleoperated robot surrogate from The Robot and the Lady (1938) by Manly Wade Wellman, the
maid-robot from The Midas Plague (1954) by Frederik Pohl and the
Nanny from Nanny (1955) by Philip K. Dick.
"...Men don't want real women anymore. You and I are behind the times, Chernik. We stil believe in love. But most men just want beautiful, brainless robots. That's all my man really wanted. He didn't want me to have a will of my own. He didn't want me to be alive...
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Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from The Mechanical Bride
More Ideas
and Technology by Fritz Leiber
Tech news articles related to The Mechanical Bride
Tech news articles related to works by Fritz Leiber
Mechanical Bride-related
news articles:
- Sophia, The Personable Robot From Hanson Robotics.
- EveR-1 Korean Android And The Mechanical Bride
- Actroid DER2 Late Model Fembot
- Zoltan's Fembot Wife
- E.M.A. Robot Eternal Maiden Actualization Video
- Robot Fashion Models
- Actroid DER2 Gets TV Commercial Gig Video
- Palette Super Model Robot
- Aiko Fembot No Stepford Wife
- HRP-4C Robot Woman Is A Cybernetic Humanoid
- HRP-4C Robot In Wedding Dress A Mechanical Bride
- Do You Need The Entire Fembot? Maybe Just The Hand
- Sophia Robots By The Thousands
| Robots Need A Better Sense Of Touch |
| Disney Helping Robots Dance |
| WaPOCHI Micro-Mobility Robot Follows Like A Pet With Your Bags |
| Ultra-Realistic Robotic Arowana Robo-Fish |
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'The operation that had transformed half his body... had located the control switchboard in his teeth.'
'Bill blinked at his own face under the plumed helmet...'
'...a robot detector circuit closed, activating a bell."
'Alex did not find it surprising that people... were electronically minting their own cash.'
'I had determined that my first attempt should be a visit to Mars.'
