Machines Like Me

Ian McEwan’s novel is set in an alternative London, in 1982, in which England has lost the war against Argentina to control the Falkland Islands, the Beatles have reunited, Alan Turing is still alive and his discoveries have enabled an incredible technological development. Among the most important inventions of this futuristic past there are already self-driving cars and the first prototypes of “synthetic humans”. The protagonist, Charlie Friend, receives a large inheritance after the loss of his mother and decides to use it to buy a robot, called Adam, of which there are only twelve examples in the world and thirteen of the female model, Eva. These androids aren’t just machines, sold as “companion items”, but are also capable of experiencing emotions and feelings. It’s a story that leads the reader to question what allows us to define ourselves as “human beings” and differentiate ourselves from artificial intelligences, when these develop their own conscience. A ‘uchronia’ that acts as a mirror to our present, to be reread in light of the increasingly rapid developments in AI, which are blurring the lines between science fiction and reality.  

Macchine come me
Ian McEwan
Einaudi, 2019