REVIEWED BY: John R. Bohlin
November 1996
"Killer Robot addresses some of the ethical and organizational issues of computing more forcefully than anything else published to date, yet it's really fun to read. It is a milestone in the history of computing." (cover, Ronald Anderson, Chair of Association of Computing Machinery - ACM Committee of Computer Ethics)
It becomes more and more apparent proceeding through this book that The Case of the Killer Robot is a detailed essay on ethics and philosophy for the Information Age. By stating, iterating, and reiterating points based on the primary scenario of a good industrial robot gone bad; and several peripheral scenarios, the author succeeds in provoking thoughts which need to be thought regarding the powerful world changing implications technological advancements have made in a few short years, and those which confront us on the immediate horizon.
The title initially imparts a connotation of a sort of science fiction surrealism; however, with the exception of a trip to the future and a verbal cameo appearance from the Lord God Almighty, one quickly realizes that this fictional book is based on situations of a real and pertinent nature. While it gets a bit over involved in the "what-ifs" approach to resolving issues, it is a genuinely entertaining book which keeps the reader engaged throughout.
The depth of Epstein's references to technical aspects is enough to impress most programmers. He offers basic insights into the differences in programming languages (C, C++,object-oriented languages etc.) and works those differences into the plot of the story. Terminology and user unfriendly "hacker" jargon that leaves most people with more questions than answers are explained as the story unfolds.
Epstein's sense of humor has a quality which programmers and network aficionados (computer geeks) truly appreciate and he uses it throughout. He has a clever sense for irony and a way of telling a story in a way that is indicative of far too many virtual conversations carried on in text format.
He intertwines the real world and real people like Bill Gates, John Loche, National Public Radio (NPR), Silicon Valley, Dan Rather and Whoopi Goldberg with the fictitious and virtual like Silicon Valley University, Cyberwidgets Inc., Silicon Techtronics (Silitech), the object-oriented programming system (OOPS) called SHEOL (Shell Object Language) from Lucrative Object and Object Technologies (LOOT), Inc., Professor Cleareye (the Native American cleric), author Pam Pulitzer, journalist Frank Kafka, Philosophy Professor Yoder (wise like Yoda) and ARCHIE (134 - the Automatic Recognition of Criminals and Hostile Individuals in the Environment software - artificial stupidity).
The intermingling of real with fictitious is done in such a way as to not be overly confusing and it is also done in a way which lends greatly to getting the reader to contemplate the relevant issues.
Central to the theme of the book is the idea that new media have had a dramatic impact and the full impact, good and bad has not been fully realized. Many issues in the book fall artfully short of a conclusion and force the reader to ask questions such as:
These questions may seem insulting to those of us who identify strongly with automation but they do need to be asked and the answers need to be thoroughly contemplative. To be sure, the question is not, can all the technologies in all of history steal our humanity; it is how do they? There comes a point when one needs to realize the significance of being human and the ultimate value of using the on/off switch. The control humans exercise is and always has been... will be?...an issue of self-control/ethical behavior. Artificial Intelligence and computing in general should stay in their places as tools for humans. The Case of the Killer Robot should be read and studied. Indeed at the end of the book there are enough discussion questions to keep a class of graduate researchers in Artificial Intelligence/Expert Systems involved in discussion for an entire semester.
This site [1] is apparently one in which a class in Arizona used The Case of the Killer Robot as a text. Or try this one [2]. In both, the discussion and use of materials from the book is extensive. They are excellent sites to gain insights on the book; or better yet the COOP has it for sale.