Welcome to Litsy!

It's been a while since I've done a #192025 update. These are the slots I've filled, in the past few months. I've completed 75 of the 106 prompts!
@Librarybelle

My husband & I finally finished I, Robot on our beach trip. He liked it better than I did, and we liked different things. I liked the stories with more action, like Liar, and he liked the ones with a lot of philosophy, like Evitable Conflict (which I thought was too long.) We started The Masquerades of Spring on our way back. I read How the White Trash Zombie Got Her Groove back (ebook) and listened to The Maidens on my #audiowalk.

Catching up on reviews.😬
4⭐️s
Thoroughly enjoyed this. Can‘t wait to read more of Asimov‘s Robot series. It‘s more of a collection of short stories or even thought experiments. My favorite of them all was “Liar”. It didn‘t end up how I thought it was going to at first. The progression through the stories was nice, it kept them all connected. It definitely makes you think about the future of humanity and how it‘s interlinked with AI.
#ClassicLSFBC

I enjoyed rereading this classic sci-fi collection of stories with #ClassicLSFBC. In terms of the ethical issues surrounding AI, I found that the questions/ideas have held up surprisingly well, as we're still working through those issues today.
@RamsFan1963 @Ruthiella

#192025 #1950 @Librarybelle
#gottacatchemall @PuddleJumper (prompt 71, Rookidee: Short story or novella)

This is a collection of short stories. Each story has a different theme and it is explored within that story. It is the definition of classic Sci-Fi. I enjoyed but by the end it felt a bit repetitive. 4⭐️

Read for #ClassicLSFBC @RamsFan1963

(1950) I don't know how many times I've read thi but the last time was about thirty years ago. I found the revisit delightful, with some surprises: I remember thinking "The Evitable Conflict" was a talky, weak way to end -- but this time it struck me as a spooky premonition of current conversations around AI and machine learning. At almost 75 years old, some creakiness is inevitable, so I'm pleased at how well it holds up for me.

#ClassicLSFBC

A couple of questions if any one wants to discuss this month‘s #ClassicLSFBC pick! 🤖 If anyone wants to be removed or added, please let me know.

Question 2: Asimov gives us a fairly positive view of robots here. In contrast to what another sci-fi writer might have done. Given our own technological advances and fears of AI, is this comforting or is it overly optimistic?

A couple of questions if any one wants to discuss this month‘s #ClassicLSFBC pick. 🤖 I any one wants to be removed or added, please let me know.

Question 1: This is a short story collection, not a novel. Are there any stories that stood out to you over the others?

Really liked this short story collection of the evolution of robots. Copyright date of 1950! Whoa! So interesting how robots start off as companions and end up running the world. There‘s a reason these books are classics..they still have a lot to say.
Fun read all the way around.

#ClassicLSFBC

#FirstLineFriday @ShyBookOwl

"I looked at my names and I didn't like them."

#ClassicLSFBC
I enjoyed these stories more than I recalled, so an upgrade to 5⭐ for me.
The last couple of stories deal with the political and economic consequences of robotic contributions to human culture and governance, with the rise of a fundamentalist Pro-Human faction being harnessed to electoral manipulation and (kind of) culture wars that sparked with contemporary relevance.
I may read "The Rest of the Robots" before the year's end.

#ClassicLSFBC
Little Lost Robot: The more advanced the positronic robots get, the more human their flaws seem. The basic idea of this one - a fugitive robot blending indistinguishably into a group of identical models - was used in the film adaptation, and as great a scene as it was, the story is more than a game of cat and mouse. There seems to be a developing Frankenstein theme, with Shelly's ambiguity about which character is the monster.

#ClassicLSFBC
Liar!: Asimov gives the solution to this problem fairly readily, but it's still a blackly humorous story of human vanity, pride & vindictiveness.
Susan Calvin tells an episode from her younger days, & certainly not to her own credit: Through some imponderable glitch on the production line, Herbie (RB-34) is telepathic & the department heads of US Robotics & Mechanical Men need to find out how that happened as a matter of urgency!⬇️

#ClassicLSFBC
Catch That Rabbit: DV-5 is a swarm-bot, it's primary designation unit, Dave, controlling six robotic "fingers". Dave performs impeccably under human supervision, but left unsupervised doesn't fulfil its function of asteroid ore extraction, low quotas imperiling company profitably, and P&D's employment prospects if they don't solve the problem!
⬇️

#ClassicLSFBC
Powell and Donovan are roboticist troubleshooters, ironing out kinks in new robot designs before they go to market.
Cutie (QT-I) has the most advanced positronic brain yet. Assembled by P&D on Solar Station No. 5 with no direct experience of earth, Cutie rejects the notion that humans, being inferior sapient forms, could possibly have created it and given it purpose. Can Powell's philosophical arguments about the limitations of ⬇️

Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics 🤖

The First Law: A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.

The Second Law: A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.

The Third Law: A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

#ClassicLSFBC

Robbie: Asimov's stories are set within a frame focusing on 75 year-old roboticist Susan Calvin, who charts the development of positronic robots from their simpler forms, starting with Robbie, a childminder for Grace.
Grace's focus on Robbie worries her mum in the same way that today's parents worry about excessive screen time and lack of socialisation. The first AI talking robot in the story is as clunky as those from a few years ago. Visionary!

I'm starting these SF short stories about robots (and realising I'm introducing the book as if it isn't one of the most popular books by one of the most popular authors with an extremely popular film adaptation! 🤖) for this month's #ClassicLSFBC read.
I've read it several times before and love it, so I'm expecting that “comfortable slippers“ feeling. 😌
I've always thought the cover image has a look of Asimov, but not sure if that's intended.

73/150 Of the Big Three SF writers, the other two being Arthur C. Clarke & Robert Heinlein, Asimov would be my least favorite. I find his writing very dry. This collection of short stories covers the evolution of robots from primitive non-speaking ones to advanced humanoid robots. Each story is a mystery with a malfunctioning robot, and the scientists and robo-psychologist that try to find the problem within Asimov's 3 Laws of Robotics.

repost for @RamsFan1963

It was close, but July's selection for #ClassicLSFBC is I, Robot by Isaac Asimov. This should be available at just about any library, but it's also free on Spotify if you have a premium account.

original post:
https://www.litsy.com/web/post/2749129

I can only imagine how futuristic and ahead of its time this sounded when first published. AI and robots becoming free-thinkers? We‘ve seen a burst of AI books hit the shelves over the past few years (or it seems that way to me), so I decided to read the one that‘s been sitting on mine for years. And I loved it.

An interview from a journalist with renowned Robopsychologist Susan Calvin who worked for U.S. Robots. Stories are individually told from the beginning of the use of robots as Nannies to the powerhouse Machines that run the world, Dr Calvin has been there every step of the way. An interesting take on societies‘ reliance and yet aversion to robots. Are robots built to protect humans from themselves? Who knows 🤷🏻‍♀️

There is more Asimov in my future.

What did I just read? To say I‘m puzzled would be an understatement. But I think I have to read Book 2 now? Or have an AI online explain it to me.

#manicmonday #letterI @CBee @The_Penniless_Author

? I, Robot (read as part of The Complete Robot) by Asimov
✒ John Irving / Kazuo Ishiguro
? In Bruges
? The IT Crowd
? Imogen Heap
? It's no good (Depeche Mode)

"Don't say you're happy. Out there without me. I know you can't be. Cause it's no good."

Best fictional book title: "I just died in your psalms tonight" (Murder on the Blackpool Express)

Bonus song: Infinity (Jaymes Young)

This one is made up of short stories featuring the same characters over a period of time, each story introduces a theme and explores it.

The stories are thought-provoking and interesting but they're also quite repetitive.

Having said that I still liked this book, it's very engaging and humorous at times.

I recommended, if you like Sci-Fi, this is essential reading! 🤖

Short story dilemmas/puzzles based on robot actions and Asimovs famous Laws of Robotics. I read this once every 10 years. It‘s like a pair of old slippers.Gets more and more weird reading something that was speculative once but is full of archaisms. Asimov doesn‘t write good female characters: More positronic brains than positive women. He almost seems to dislike Susan Calvin. She‘s constantly undermined. Classic but dated🤖🤖🤖🤖🤖🤖🤖7/10 Robots

I thought this was ok. It was neat to see the future projections from the mid-20th century.

#Movie2BookRecs @Klou
Prompt: Chappie

@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
@Eggs
#ConflictedWorlds

Day 20 - #Technology

In the year 2035, humanoid robots serve humanity, which is protected by the Three Laws of Robotics. Del Spooner, a homicide detective in the Chicago Police Department, has come to hate and distrust robots after a robot rescued him from a car crash while allowing a 12-year-old girl to drown, based purely on cold logic and odds of survival.

#MoviesInMay @Klou
Prompt: Will Smith

I don't remember if i read this fully

LOL, I‘ve had this on my ereader so long that the cover image has changed at least three times! I bought it for a challenge years ago but am just getting around to it now... It‘s a collection of 9 related short stories showing the evolution of advanced robots. Since this was pubbed in 1950, it‘s a combo of now-retro and futuristic but it still works!

#QuotsyOct20 Day 3: #Robot

📖 I, Robot by Isaac Asimov
✍️ John Irving
🍿 Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956, though the 1978 version ain't bad)
🎸 In This Moment
🎶 I Love Rock & Roll (Joan Jett)

#ManicMonday #LetterI @JoScho

It‘s incredible how this 70 year old book has become more and more relevant with every passing year since it‘s publication. Wonderful from start to finish.

“It is the obvious which is so difficult to see most of the time. People say 'It's as plain as the nose on your face.' But how much of the nose on your face can you see, unless someone holds a mirror up to you?”

#QuotsyJan20 | 10: #Sense

📷: Made with Typorama

#BookReport
I finished 2 books in progress last weekend along with an impulse pick this week, The Kitchen.

#CurrentlyReading
📖 I‘ve reached Part Three of Sauron Defeated for #FellowshipofTolkien
🎧 Thoroughly enjoying listening to In Cold Blood for #ReadColdBlood

#WeeklyForecast
🎧 I plan to listen to Cat‘s Eye and/or Quackery once I finish my current audio
📖 Still haven‘t started The Darkdeep from my class library

sadly parts of Asimov's writing are too tedious for my tastes but I was absolutely not expecting for him to have such a dry sense of humor throughout parts of this book and make what are effectively programming jokes 😅 still this was an interesting read if nothing else

#scifi

bracing myself for the upcoming cold front with some fresh video game soundtracks and a well-loved copy of I, Robot from the local kolache shop's book exchange ❄️

😂😂😂👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 🤖#LitsyHumor

🤖

“There is nothing so eternally adhesive as the memory of power”

Hiked up Enger Tower today and this view was worth it.

I‘m almost done with this book. I took it with me on my hike since it was a lovely day to read outside. #lakesuperior #liftbridge

This was a labor to get through for me. Probably because it was basically multiple short stories. There wasn't a main character or plot for me to get into.

My first thought was the #Evolution of the robots and their laws in Asimov's stories. Fascinating and creepy! #StarTrekSummerMay

Considering it was first published nearly 70 years ago, this book had a lot of really incredible foresight and raises some interesting ethical questions about the future of mankind and what it means to be human. I found the repetitive structure a little boring at times, and had to force myself to focus on several occasions but I can see why this is considered a sci-fi classic.

The robot in this part of the book reminded me a little of my husband. He's a very logical man and if he has reached a conclusion using his formidable reason, there is no convincing him otherwise!