Joe Vadalma Resident Scholar Profiles
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| Review Summary |
The Isaac Project takes place in the very near future. A marketing manager at TURC, a large robotics corporation, asks Geri Chranosk,i a strong-willed robotics expert and ambitious woman, whether a humanoid robot could be built as a PR gimmick. When she tells him that what he wants is feasible, wheels are set in motion to accomplish that end. She sets up a conference to explain the project and recruit Jack Westcott, an artificial intelligence expert whose drinking and lack of progress has caused his research project to be canceled; Laura Grant, his young assistant and mistress; Frederick Wolfgang, a petty tyrant and bigot, whose software expertise is essential to the project; Elizabeth Wolfgang, psychologist and the browbeaten wife of Frederick, whose empathetic personality, although marred by her low self-esteem, teaches the robot about humanity, and Jane Holland, knowledge engineer, whose career is stunted by discrimination in the workplace and troubles at home.
Isaac, their creation, is childlike and super intelligent, and begins to have a mind of its own. Other personnel who join the project are Robert White, an African-American natural language expert; Matsu Nakashima, miniaturization engineer; B. J. Bradley, an expert on visualization technology; Maria Rodriguez, a beautiful researcher in electronic speech; Boris Goldstein, an aging Nobel prize winning mathematician; Sol Fleischman, a software designer; Brad Smith, an egotistical systems expert; Jimmy Draconian, a hacker, computer nerd and expert troubleshooter and Susan Howard, a flirty, sexy, speech recognition expert.
Some of the issues the scientists face are the actual software and hardware engineering problems, interference by the government, especially the military, bigotry by one of its members, jealousy among the scientists, and other personality conflicts. One of the big issues the book tackles is whether to invest the robot with Asimov's laws of robotics and the impact of not doing so. Also, once the robot is built, should it have the rights and privileges of a human being.
Joe Vadalma, Resident Scholar
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| Detailed literary breakdown of The Isaac Project |
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Composition of Book
planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 20%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 60%
Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 20%
Tone of book
- suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION?
- science fiction story
Tech./$$$/Info hunt
Yes
Robots, Computers, VR
Yes
Robot, PC, VR Plotlets:
- good robot(s)
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Inventing-of-item story?
Yes
Main Character
Identity:
- Female
Profession/status:
- scientist
Age:
- 20's-30's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- scientist
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a moderate amount
How sensitive is this character?
- mean, arrogant
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Setting
Earth setting:
- current (early 21st century)
Takes place on Earth?
Yes
Style
Person?
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
scientific jargon? (SF only)
- some scientific explanation
Sex in book?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- vague references only
- descript of kissing
- descript of touching personal anatomy
How much dialogue?
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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