Do Androids Dream of Human Bodies? – Becky Chamber’s Portrayal of Artificial Intelligences

Abstract

The aim of this article is to show how Becky Chambers portrays two of the three sentient artificial intelligences that are some of the major characters in her novels. The main issues discussed in this article are how a sentient AI might function with and without a humanlike body, what benefits and limitations these two states might impose on it, and how they influence the AIs’ relationships with humans and other sentient creatures. The article also presents how Chambers’ artificial intelligences compare to those in other science-fiction novels as well as how contemporary science and ethics approach the creation of sentient AIs.