''Machines That Think'' is a compilation of 29

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

stories probing the scientific, spiritual, and moral facets of computers and robots and speculating on their future. It was edited by

Isaac Asimov Isaac Asimov ( ; – April 6, 1992) was an Russian-born American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University. During his lifetime, Asimov was considered one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers, along with Robert A. H ...

Martin H. Greenberg Martin Harry Greenberg (March 1, 1941 – June 25, 2011) was an American academic and anthologist in many genres, including mysteries and horror, but especially in speculative fiction. In all, he compiled 1,298 anthologies and commissioned ...

, and Patricia S. Warrick. Published in 1984 by

Holt, Rinehart, and Winston Holt McDougal is an American publishing company, a division of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, that specializes in textbooks for use in high schools. The Holt name is derived from that of U.S. publisher Henry Holt (1840–1926), co-founder of the ...

, it features a foreword by Asimov, the celebrated creator of the

Three Laws of Robotics The Three Laws of Robotics (often shortened to The Three Laws or Asimov's Laws) are a set of rules devised by science fiction author Isaac Asimov, which were to be followed by robots in several of his stories. The rules were introduced in his 194 ...

. (At five stories, Asimov's contributions dominate the book's contents.) ''Machines That Think'' was reprinted in 1992 by Wings Books as ''War with the Robots''. However, one story — "

I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream" is a post-apocalyptic short story by American writer Harlan Ellison. It was first published in the March 1967 issue of ''IF: Worlds of Science Fiction''. The story is set against the backdrop of World War ...

" by

Harlan Ellison Harlan Jay Ellison (May 27, 1934 – June 28, 2018) was an American writer, known for his prolific and influential work in New Wave science fiction, New Wave speculative fiction and for his outspoken, combative personality. His published wo ...

— was removed. Each story has introductory notes by Warrick, author of ''The Cybernetic Imagination in Science Fiction'' (1981), explaining the significance of the story in the context of science fiction's evolution of ideas concerning artificial intelligence. This anthology is a companion piece to that non-fiction book, providing the source material upon which Warrick's analysis is based.

External links

* 1984 books Science fiction anthologies Holt, Rinehart and Winston books {{sf-book-stub

Contents

See also

External links