Sometimes, my classwork is awesome

[ultranos]

Yes, I know I should be writing/debugging hardware code right now, but my brain is absolutely fried. (And this project is due by 8:30PM, so I'm trying really, really hard not to be utterly screwed and just pushing myself to the limit because I don't even remember the last time I had 8 continuous hours of sleep.)

Anyway, once I make it to midnight, my week suddenly looks a lot better and I can actually think about some of the other projects I have. One of which is for my sci-fi/fantasy class. The first half of the class is reading/watching classic examples of cyberpunk. The second half is student-driven, wherein we present topics of our choice to the class. So, I need to find a topic. The requirements are "a) in sci-fi and/or fantasy, and b) you can write 10 pages on it".

I just might have gotten convinced by a friend of mine to do a paper on artificial intelligences and extremely humanoid robots/androids in sci-fi.

Have I mentioned said friend has absolutely no idea of my fascination with a certain Stargate villain and, in fact, has possibly never even seen Stargate?

So anyway, dear flist, I need sources for this paper. Hit me up with some recommendations for books/movies/essays/tv shows/video games with interesting humanoid robots and/or artificial intelligences (specifically not including Blade Runner, The Matrix, and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, as those are covered in class already)?

(My current list includes:
TV: Stargate SG-1, Stargate: Atlantis, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, and newBSG (which I may or may not include, as I have not watched it and I do not know if I'll have the time to mainline it prior to the paper being due).
Movies: Terminator
Games: Wild Arms, Xenogears, Portal
)

Comments

[elliejane.livejournal.com]

Hi! I hopped here from the SG1 newsletter.

artificial intelligences and extremely humanoid robots/androids in sci-fi.

A series of books that immediately comes to mind starts with Caves of Steel and follows on with The Naked Sun, and The Robots of Dawn and is by Asimov. In the first book, a police detective (Elijah Baley) on Earth investigates a murder, and is partnered with a humanoid android. It deals a lot with Lije's reaction to and interaction with Daneel (the robot) and also about the effect on a civilisation that robots have. I loved the books, especially the growing bond between the human and robot.

Good luck!
Someone else has mention Heinlein's The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, and that is another one of my great loves. Apart from some wonderful world building, and a revolution, you get to follow the development of the AI who runs the moon. I think I'm right in saying he doesn't appear as a robot, but at his most human communicates via video screens and a human looking avatar that he creates therein. Excellent stuff.

[ultranos-fic.livejournal.com]

Ooh, Asimov. I haven't read nearly enough Asimov.

Thanks!