Book review: How To Build An Android, by David F Duffy.

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How to Build an Android: The True Story of Philip K. Dick's Robotic Resurrection by David F. Dufty

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


First off, let me say the idea of creating an android in the image of Philip K. Dick, with independently functioning AI software, no less, and with the blessing of his family, is so beyond cool it almost defies understanding. Second, the fact that this miracle of concept and technology went missing in late 2005 and has never been found is tragic beyond words, and is exactly the sort of ironic scenario that PKD would have written into one of his books and incorporated into an elaborate conspiracy theory.

Quick summary: In 2004, a consortium of scientists affiliated with the University of Memphis (Tennessee) collaborated on the creation of a lifelike replica of a human head using some advanced artificial intelligence software. In a fit of ironic whimsy, they decided to model the head of their creation after renowned writer and noted paranoiac Philip K. Dick, author of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? and other science fiction classics. Author David Duffy, a minor player in this drama, steers us through the scientific and creative journey from technical drawings to working model with a minimum of technobabble and treats the reader to a quasi-biography of PKD himself: his work, his private life, his probable psychosis, and his acute paranoid-cum-religious fantasies.

The sheer hubris involved in this entire project is stunning in its scope, and it all makes for fascinating reading. Whether you're a science fiction fan or a technology geek, interested in voice recognition or robotics, or just a plain all around nerd, you're sure to find several hours of entertainment contained within the pages of Duffy's treatise.

Many thanks to LibraryThing's Early Reviewers Program for the opportunity to read this book.



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