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"In WWII, they had a saying that there are no atheists in foxholes. I think the modern equivalent of that is that there are no jaded, bored people in the high-tech industry, in the land of really good hardcore geeks."
- Neal Stephenson
 |
| Autonomic Interviewer | ||
| A robotic reporter. |
What is the best way to feed the ravenous maw of pop culture? Robotic reporters, that's how.
| "Mr. Lars, sir."
"I'm afraid I only have a moment to talk to your viewers. Sorry." He started on, but the autonomic TV interviewer, camera in its hand, blocked his path. The metal smile of the creature glittered confidently... "Look," he said, this time gently, as if the autonomic interviewer were really alive and not merely an arbitrarily endowed sentient concoction of the ingenuity of Wes-block technology of A.D. 2004 |
| Technovelgy from The Zap Gun,
by Philip K. Dick. Published by Galaxy Publishing in 1965 Additional resources -
|
The use of the word "autonomic" is very clever. Although dictionaries list it as synonymous with "autonomous", most of us associate the word with the "autonomic nervous system", thus blurring the line between mechanical constructs and organic materials. It's as if stepping up to someone and posing irritating questions becomes an involuntary action, unmediated by conscious thought - an autonomic reflex.
The humble autonomic interviewer is exactly the sort of "receptor" that gathered news for the vast cybernetic homeostatic newspapers (also called homeopapes) of PKD's bleak future.
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More Ideas
and Technology from The Zap Gun
More Ideas
and Technology by Philip K. Dick
Tech news articles related to The Zap Gun
Tech news articles related to works by Philip K. Dick
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- Roving Robotic Reporter
- Robot Journalist Provides Autonomic News Coverage
- World's First Android Newscaster (Video)
| 'Birds Aren't Real' An NPR Gen-Z Conspiracy |
| Mika The Robot-Boss |
| Sensitive, Soft Robot Skin |
| Finger Sensors For Robot Hands |
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'BY PUSHING AGAINST THE LITTLE MARTIAN MOON WITH OUR ROCKET SHIP, WE HAD LESSENED THE CENTRIFUGAL SPEED THAT HELD IT BALANCED IN THE SKY.'
'... he had tightened the chest to gain maximum pumping action from the motion of breathing.'
'...a prayer wheel swung into view and began spinning at a furious pace.'
'And are all the people willing to be governed by a machine?'
