Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
by Philip K. Dick
Philip K. Dick's dystopian masterpiece about bounty hunter Rick Deckard hunting sophisticated androids in post-apocalyptic Earth
"You will be required to do wrong no matter where you go. It is the basic condition of life.".
Editorial Summary
Philip K. Dick's 1968 science fiction novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? is set in a post-apocalyptic 2021 where World War Terminus has devastated Earth, driving most species to extinction and forcing humanity to emigrate to Mars. The story follows Rick Deckard, a bounty hunter tasked with "retiring" escaped Nexus-6 androids—sophisticated artificial humans nearly indistinguishable from real people. The novel explores profound themes of identity, empathy, and what it means to be human, blurring the lines between real and artificial life. This groundbreaking work was adapted into Ridley Scott's iconic 1982 film Blade Runner, which has overshadowed critical reception of the original novel. Considered Philip K. Dick's most well-known and arguably most important work about artificial humans, the book examines robot consciousness and questions whether androids should have rights if they become truly human-like.
Perspective
"Essential reading for anyone grappling with today's AI consciousness debates, especially as large language models like GPT-4 and Claude exhibit increasingly sophisticated behavior that challenges our understanding of machine intelligence. Dick's prescient exploration of empathy as the defining human trait resonates powerfully in an era where we're developing AI systems that can simulate emotional responses and creative expression."
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