Robot sci fi, and more recently, AI-based narratives, are increasingly common. And since writers began including robots in science fiction, one of the more established tropes involves robots taking over the world.
But what if I want to do something a little different?
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To be clear, when I say robot, I mean a physical entity that’s designed to do tasks that their organic counterparts can’t do, don’t want to do, or have been phased out of doing.
When looking at including organics alongside robots in science fiction, I start with the basics like: Is a culture advanced enough to have robots, and is it driven towards computer technology? If the culture or people that I’m creating are digitally inclined, I make sure I include other markers of this inclination like holographic technology, wearable computers, or implanted computer devices.
When worldbuilding robot sci fi, I also think about whether any, or all, of the robots in the society are artificially intelligent. Here, I’m trying to determine how thoroughly the robots interplay with their organic counterparts. Determining assistive vs. interactive capabilities helps me narrow in on narrative themes and conflict
Additionally, I work through how pervasive robots are in the world I want to create. If robots are expensive to produce, I’m creating a much different story than if I establish that there are robots in every interaction an everyday person has.
But that’s just the beginning.
Robot Sci Fi Choices: Protagonists, Antagonists, or Extras
There are a lot of avenues to travel when including robots in science fiction, especially if they are artificially intelligent. In a scenario where robots have intelligence equal to their organic counterparts, I think about how expansive their role is in the story.
Are they the main character of the story? The protagonist who is, for instance, rising up against their oppressors? Maybe they’re the hero of robotkind? Or maybe they save the fully integrated society of robots and organics.
Or, perhaps, they are the villain out to destroy the world… or maybe just take it over.
Because these are all still well-known tropes, I like to play in the grey areas and look at ways to write a robot sci fi that isn’t about the robots at all. How can they be integral to the plot without being the center of focus?
That’s where a few more worldbuilding decisions are vital.
Writing Autonomous and Subordinate Robots in Science Fiction
How much power a robot can have in a scene will depend somewhat on how much autonomy they have in their world. If they are not allowed to act on their own, their ability to affect the action of the story may be dependent on the will of the organic beings around them.
For subordinate robots in science fiction, I work through the degree to which they are subordinate. Are there protocols programmed into the robots to prevent them from disobeying? Can those protocols be hacked or maybe the robot can evolve in such a way that the protocols don’t work?
If the robots have been programmed to adhere to Isaac Asimov’s three laws of robots, can they choose not to follow those laws? For this scenario, think of it like humans who are raised to adhere to laws but can disobey them if they choose to.
These distinctions can significantly impact the plot of a robot sci fi.
For autonomous robots, I think about the neurological level. Where does the robot land on a simple scale of ‘basic neural net” to “fully sentient”? And for the fully sentient, how strong are their social networks?
Social Connections and Networks for Robots in Science Fiction
This is actually one of my favorite ideas when conceptualizing a world with sentient robots in science fiction. Since a society is likely to design robots in their own image, logic holds that an autonomous, artificially intelligent, sentient robot would eventually act in similar ways as its creators.
This includes social connections and networks.
Accordingly, robots in science fiction could organize, as well as form societies–separate from their organic counterparts. They could have social media or social clubs. They could even form relationships and create life of their own.
The ways in which I can incorporate robots in science fiction feels endless. Time to get writing!
Until next time, keep creating.
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