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Fiction

What Is It Like To Be A Bot?

Keith Frankish asks if it’s possible to know whether humans, or robots, have minds.

Vicky opened her eyes. She was in a lecture hall, like her own at the Institute. However, the benches were crammed not with listless youths, but with large animated spheres like disco balls, pulsing with colour over their faceted surfaces, bouncing up and down, and making screeching noises like dial-up modems. Some shot out thin, snowman-like arms, which they used to operate devices on their desks. A few latecomers entered, skittering in on spidery legs, which they retracted once they had found a seat.

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