Daniel H. Wilson
Daniel H. Wilson
Daniel H. Wilsonis a New York Times best selling author, television host and robotics engineer. Wilson is a contributing editor to Popular Mechanics magazine, called the "Resident Roboticist". He currently resides in Portland, Oregon. His books include the award-winning humor titles How to Survive a Robot Uprising, Where's My Jetpack? and How to Build a Robot Army and the bestseller Robopocalypse. His most recent novel, Robogenesis was published in June 2014...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionAuthor
Date of Birth6 March 1978
CountryUnited States of America
You probably found 'How to Survive a Robot Uprising' in the humor section. Let's just hope that is where it belongs.
You want to know what a robot's designed for. And if it's doing something outside the scope of what it's made to do, you should be very suspicious.
You don't want to stand too close to a robot arm; it can turn your head to mush.
Personally, I'm not afraid of a robot uprising. The benefits far outweigh the threats.
In movies and in television the robots are always evil. I guess I am not into the whole brooding cyberpunk dystopia thing.
There are no movie references that I can think of in 'Robopocalypse.' However, there are tons of personal references. For example, the IP address that Lurker tracks actually goes back to the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, where I studied robotics.
Right now, I think robots are where it's at. And yes, I'm biased. Robots and space, because with home rocket kits and Lego Mindstorm sets, people can get involved. I was raised on Transformers and GoBots, so I can't imagine what kids who are building real robots are dreaming about.
I wrote six nonfiction books before getting into narrative fiction with 'Robopocalypse,' including 'How to Survive a Robot Uprising.' My goal all along was to start writing fiction, and I guess one day I'd just had enough.
In the future, when Microsoft leaves a security-flaw in their code it won't mean that somebody hacks your computer. It will mean that somebody takes control of your servant robot and it stands in your bedroom doorway sharpening a knife and watching you sleep.
'Robopocalypse' explores the intertwined fates of regular people who face a future filled with murderous machines. It follows them as humanity foments the robot uprising, fails to recognize the coming storm, and then is rocked to the core by methodical, crippling attacks.
A robot-arm in a factory doesn't decide minute by minute whether to rivet or revolt - it just does the job is has literally been trained to do. It's if and when we build a conscious robot that we may have to worry.
There are an endless number of things to discover about robotics. A lot of it is just too fantastic for people to believe.
As a kid I wanted to write science fiction, and I was never without a book. Later I really got into being a scientist and never thought I'd be writing novels.
Johannes Cabal would kill me for saying this, but he's my favorite Zeppelin-hopping detective. The fellow has got all the charm of Bond and the smarts of Holmes--without the pesky morality.