Machines and the Human

Films like Ex Machina prompt us to ask what makes us human. To compliment your RH viewing of that movie, I’m adding a story by one of the present era’s leading writers of thoughtful science fiction, Paolo Bacigalupi. “Mika Model” draws on tropes from hard-boiled detective fiction to ask what a robot might need to do to prove its humanity.

Writing: Respond to ONE of the following prompts. Keep your response short, posting as a reply under the appropriate heading in the comments section:

1. Point out a key contrast OR continuity between “Mika Model” and Ex Machina.
2. Point out a key contrast OR continuity between “Mika Model” and hard-boiled detective fiction (if you’re unfamiliar, here’s the opening scene from The Maltese Falcon).