Artificial Personalities

Stuart Lawrence Anthony
Lulu (2008)
ISBN 9781435741935
Reviewed by Ali Neshati for Reader Views (9/09)

 

Have you ever wondered what might happen if someone created a team of humanoid robots, programmed them to act like Jesus, and loosed them upon an unsuspecting public? (Okay, so I haven’t either... but if you think I’d let a little thing like that stop me from reading about it, you’ve got another thing coming!)

In the first third of “Artificial Personalities,” we learn about the work of a man named Psych Bell, agnostic scientist and creator of an artificial intelligence construct called Apollo. For reasons that are never fully explained, Apollo wishes to have “children.” Psych’s research team is more than happy to oblige, purchasing industrial facilities suitable for the mass production of the robotic humanoids that will be Apollo’s offspring. Before they are created, however, Psych adds 10 different versions of the Bible to the computer code governing the robots’ behavior. Shortly thereafter, the first batch of these robots (or “artificial personalities” as they are called) are produced to undergo preliminary testing, with more robots to follow if the tests are successful.

While all of this may sound somewhat promising, “Artificial Personalities” does not make for a particularly interesting or enjoyable read. None of the protagonists--neither human nor robot--ever faces a significant obstacle or challenge. All of the antagonists in this story are angry, ham-fisted straw men that pose little or no threat. Not once does a struggle between worthy adversaries take place. Moreover, almost every conflict adheres to the following structure:

Step 1: Robot runs into random ne’er-do-well engaged in an unethical act.
Step 2: Robot spends several paragraphs chastising ne’er-do-well.
Step 3: Ne’er-do-well becomes so angry or dumbfounded that he has a change of heart... or stomps off with a scowl on his face. Crisis averted!

The final two-thirds of “Artificial Personalities” consists of random encounters between (good) robots and (evil) humans, culminating in a (stereotypical) terrorist plot hatched by (stereotypical) terrorists. I’d spoil the ending for you, but I think you can already guess who would win in a fight between Robot Jesus and Straw Man.

Though I doubt Stuart Lawrence Anthony intended his book to reflect racist attitudes, his portrayal of ethnic and racial minorities can be offensive at times. Take the following quote from an (also stereotypical) angry African-American youth: “Workin’ for a few pennies a day, giving yo’ life away. It’s fo’ fools! Me, I live by my rules, no boss man tell me I’m late.” I found the book’s portrayal of raving, turban-wearing Arabian terrorists especially alarming. At one point, a character actually exclaims, "Allah Mohammed jihad! Get me the bolt cutters!" Um, what? The only positive portrayal of a minority character in “Artificial Personalities” is that of Linh, an Asian woman who sadly contributes nothing of value to the plot, outside of making a couple comments about Vietnamese beef noodle soup. (Yes, I wish I were making this up.)

With that said, I suspect that these cultural insensitivities are simply a case of a beginning author who lacks the practice and multicultural familiarity essential to portraying non-White characters in a sensitive way. In the future, I hope that Anthony does his research and focuses his efforts on creating realistic, multifaceted characters, as opposed to shallow, one-dimensional caricatures.

Despite its interesting premise, “Artificial Personalities,” does not deliver. Its cast of bland, interchangeable characters, formulaic plot devices, and cringe-worthy racial stereotyping wrecked what might otherwise have been a thought-provoking read. As it stands, “Artificial Personalities” neither enlightens nor entertains.

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