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How to Build an Android: The True Story of Philip K. Dick's Robotic Resurrection
The stranger-than-fiction story of the ingenious creation and loss of an artificially intelligent android of science-fiction writer Philip K. Dick In late January 2006, a young robotocist on the way to Google headquarters lost an overnight bag on a flight somewhere between Dallas and Las Vegas. In it was a fully functional head of the android replica of Philip K. Dick, cult science-fiction writer and counterculture guru. It has never been recovered. In a story that echoes some of the most paranoid fantasies of a Dick novel, readers get a fascinating inside look at the scientists and technology that made this amazing android possible. The author, who was a fellow researcher at the University of Memphis Institute of Intelligent Systems while the android was being built, introduces readers to the cutting-edge technology in robotics, artificial intelligence, and sculpture that came together in this remarkable machine and captured the imagination of scientists, artists, and science-fiction fans alike. And there are great stories about Dick himself―his inspired yet deeply pessimistic worldview, his bizarre lifestyle, and his enduring creative legacy. In the tradition of popular science classics like Packing for Mars and The Disappearing Spoon , How to Build an Android is entertaining and informative―popular science at its best.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2012
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347 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews
April 16, 2013
This review has been revised and can now be found at Expendable Mudge Muses Aloud.
March 25, 2017
Don't fall asleep when you have a million dollar head in the overhead compartment!
April 19, 2012
So I'll be honest when I saw this in Vine I debated about it for awhile because hey even when getting free stuff I want stuff I'd like. At first I thought I must read this. Why? Because it's about people not only building an android but losing its head. C'mon what's not to love? Even more awesome when you know this is true. I LOVE robots/androids. The trip to Disneyland when I finally saw ASIMO? That was the highlight of that trip. Then came the second thought -- while I do love robots, I'm oddly not that into sci-fi. There are only a handful of books, movies, tv shows, etc in that genre that interest me. So little that I did not know the name Philip K. Dick. Turns out I did know of some the movies that were made based off of his books, vaguely. So, could this possibly be a book for me just because I geek out over robots?
In the end I am glad I picked this one. Really the only thing keeping me from giving this 5 stars is that the first half kind of drags. While it is nice to know who the people are that put their hearts and souls into make Phil the Robot, some of the details of their projects, jobs -- well that got to be a little boring. I put this book down for a little longer than I should have because of that.
When it comes to Philip K. Dick there are just enough details for people like me, who don't really know of him, to catch us up on who this man was, but not so much that people who do know of him would be bored.
Once I reached the middle part of the book, where they really got into the bot building and the touring, well then I couldn't put the book down (except for a few minutes when I ran to the interest to search for videos of the very events I was reading about - I found them and it just added to the experience).
If you like robotics or Philip K. Dick or maybe you've been ditzy enough to leave a valuable on a plane and want to feel better about it by knowing someone goofed even worse than you did, well you'll probably like this book. If you find the first chapter boring stick with it! I doesn't really pick up until about 100 pages in.
In the end I am glad I picked this one. Really the only thing keeping me from giving this 5 stars is that the first half kind of drags. While it is nice to know who the people are that put their hearts and souls into make Phil the Robot, some of the details of their projects, jobs -- well that got to be a little boring. I put this book down for a little longer than I should have because of that.
When it comes to Philip K. Dick there are just enough details for people like me, who don't really know of him, to catch us up on who this man was, but not so much that people who do know of him would be bored.
Once I reached the middle part of the book, where they really got into the bot building and the touring, well then I couldn't put the book down (except for a few minutes when I ran to the interest to search for videos of the very events I was reading about - I found them and it just added to the experience).
If you like robotics or Philip K. Dick or maybe you've been ditzy enough to leave a valuable on a plane and want to feel better about it by knowing someone goofed even worse than you did, well you'll probably like this book. If you find the first chapter boring stick with it! I doesn't really pick up until about 100 pages in.
May 9, 2017
How to Build an Android: The True Story of Philip K. Dick's Robotic Resurrection by David F. Dufty covers the creation of a robotic incarnation of the famous sci-fi author which (according to its creators) has the ability to learn as it communicates with humans i.e. it is self-aware. The novelty of this machine was that it was created in the image of a man who was known for his paranoia about 'thinking' machines and that it was an artistic as much as technological acheivement. This book chronicled the creation of the android from its inception including the sculpting of the head and body by Dr. David Hanson through to its programming by Andrew Olney. (Not to mention the many volunteers from the FedEx Institute of Technology in Memphis who logged many hours helping to make this dream a reality without any compensation.) The PKD android was a sensation among scientific circles as well as among laypeople because of his realistic facial features, expressions, and his seemingly intelligent responses to questions. However, I am not convinced that he would have passed the Turing Test which proves that he was a self-aware artificially intelligent machine. Moreover, I found this book was lacking in many areas. Each of the chapters seemed to end without any real resolution and the ending fell flat. Also, one of my pet peeves is a nonfiction book without any endnotes or at the very least a bibliography and this one committed that sin. Overall, I'd say that this book would appeal to someone who hasn't done any significant research into this field and wants to dip their toe into that world but for me it didn't make the grade. 5/10
If you want to see the PKD android in action then you can check out the Hanson Robotics website. Be forewarned, if the idea of a seemingly artificially intelligent machine with human-like characteristics freaks you out then you shouldn't go to that website. To see what I mean, take a look at the pictures below. *shudder*
If you want to see the PKD android in action then you can check out the Hanson Robotics website. Be forewarned, if the idea of a seemingly artificially intelligent machine with human-like characteristics freaks you out then you shouldn't go to that website. To see what I mean, take a look at the pictures below. *shudder*
September 11, 2016
Really interesting and worthwhile book ... still feels relevant even if the main events of the book mostly took place a little over a decade ago. I.E. issues like starting to blur the line between artificial and regular intelligence, and whether to 'immortalise' people like Phillip K Dick in android form. (A central theme of the book was that the android Phillip K Dick was able to be quite nuanced in its conversation responses because of the vast archive of published interviews with Dick throughout his life).
Another reviewer here says the first half of the book 'drags' ... this maybe depends if you've ever worked in academia/research and tried to get big complex projects done there. I.E. for me I quite enjoyed the window into the strange world of US high-end research Dufty provided, as I worked there myself in a different area.
In fact that's my main criticism of the book, given Dick's concern with corporatisation and the military-industrial complex, and the sometimes challenging trade-off scientists interested in pure research have to deal with in relation to these areas. But maybe that just struck me after having re-watched 'Short Circuit' the night before finishing this book ;)
Another reviewer here says the first half of the book 'drags' ... this maybe depends if you've ever worked in academia/research and tried to get big complex projects done there. I.E. for me I quite enjoyed the window into the strange world of US high-end research Dufty provided, as I worked there myself in a different area.
In fact that's my main criticism of the book, given Dick's concern with corporatisation and the military-industrial complex, and the sometimes challenging trade-off scientists interested in pure research have to deal with in relation to these areas. But maybe that just struck me after having re-watched 'Short Circuit' the night before finishing this book ;)
September 29, 2022
I had a very mixed reaction to this book. I'm into Philip K. Dick, I am interested in artificial intelligence and robotics, and this book delivered lots of repeatable factoids in those arenas. BUT it also kept rubbing me the wrong way. I understand that this is a book of non-fiction and that the major players in this story were all cis white men. BUT even when women did show up, the way they were written about left a bad taste in my mouth. And they didn't show up very often. A series of Hanson's ex-girlfriends, mostly unnamed, who serve as models for Hanson's early robotic heads. Olney's wife, who is mentioned mostly in the context of being annoyed when he isn't home for dinner. Matthew's girlfriend, who does at least get a name (Sarah Petschonek), but is described ONLY as his girlfriend, DESPITE THE FACT that she also works in the same building, so undoubtably has SOME area of expertise or life of her own, even if it isn't robotics. AND THEN there is the conversational "AI" program the author mentions writing in class, who is gendered as female and whose entire "personality" is making computer-pun come-ons? I didn't set out looking for it, but all the same it became EXHAUSTING. I wanted to like this more, because the topic was deeply interesting, but it was just okay.
June 27, 2012
I don't really read non-fiction much, but it's pretty easy to forget this is non-fiction. The plot sounds like it should have come out of a sci-fi novel (probably one by PKD), the technology involved is amazingly futuristic, and it's written in an easy to follow narrative style. All the tech is decently explained; simple enough to understand without long-winded technobabble explanations. And for those not familiar with PKD or sci-fi in general, several summaries of his works and his life are sprinkled throughout the story to help put things in context.
I was really interested in the snippets of conversation between the android and people that were included in the book. Having heard of the vanishing android head of PKD before, I always assumed that the AI was a bit more... coherent, I guess. It's often touted as having been eerily lifelike, but lots of the conversation quoted here make it clear that it had plenty of issues. Despite it's issues though, I'm still pretty amazed at how well it worked.
I was really interested in the snippets of conversation between the android and people that were included in the book. Having heard of the vanishing android head of PKD before, I always assumed that the AI was a bit more... coherent, I guess. It's often touted as having been eerily lifelike, but lots of the conversation quoted here make it clear that it had plenty of issues. Despite it's issues though, I'm still pretty amazed at how well it worked.
December 10, 2012
Phillip K. Dick, androids, artificial intelligence what's not to like? Reading this book's discussion on artificial intelligence reminded me a bit of the drsbaitso game that came with the soundblaster hardware long ago. It seems that the android created in Philip K. Dick's likeness also talked in circles sometimes. What struck me the most after reading this book is how much mechanical labor was put into making a robot appear human. Special silicone skin, motors with wires hidden under the skin to pull the face into smiles and frowns had to be designed to create the illusion. Reading the process involved in making an android took a bit of the magic away for me. I still enjoyed the book though.
October 20, 2020
A competent retelling of the story behind the project of making a PKD talking head. When I read about it on the news back in the day I thought it was a research experiment but it looks like it was more of an art installation. None of the software running it was cutting edge. It amazes me how siloed academia seems to be and completely unaware of the state of the art in the real world.
June 17, 2021
First, a spoiler warning; the last sentence of this review is going to tell you the end of the story, BUT, the introduction of the book does the same, so I don't think I'm giving anything away. In fact, the choice to disclose the end of the story in the introduction probably reduced my enjoyment of the book, particularly in the last few chapters.
The choice to use the omniscient narrator's perspective for a work of non-fiction was off-putting at first, but, as promised in the introduction, it did make the work eminently readable and what I thought I would count as the books greatest weakness when I began reading, turned out to be a strength.
It's a fun story and worth a quick, entertainment read. It's unlikely to increase your knowledge of anything other than the PKD android's creation and loss. I might have liked it better if there were some greater exploration of the possibilities of what happened to the lost head and, in fact, that's a book I'd LOVE to read.
The choice to use the omniscient narrator's perspective for a work of non-fiction was off-putting at first, but, as promised in the introduction, it did make the work eminently readable and what I thought I would count as the books greatest weakness when I began reading, turned out to be a strength.
It's a fun story and worth a quick, entertainment read. It's unlikely to increase your knowledge of anything other than the PKD android's creation and loss. I might have liked it better if there were some greater exploration of the possibilities of what happened to the lost head and, in fact, that's a book I'd LOVE to read.
January 14, 2018
This was a very futuristic AI project using past words of Philip K Dick's sci-fi novels and interviews to recreate an android of him who could interact and answer questions. Unfortunately the head was lost on a plane due to being left in overhead luggage. How the team built it at University of Memphis was fascinating. Things were done too fast so eventually the wheels fell off. It was a good read. I learned about AI and robotics from it. Unfortunately there is no index. I had to flick between pages to find VALIS for example.
November 26, 2017
Not all that dated to a layman, even after ten years.
It's all about chapter six's discussion of the struggle to progress. The software engineer champions the methodical, incremental process the hard sciences usually favor, but the android sculptor goes for intuitive leaps in progress. Seems like the indicated best practice is to pair both methods, and hope you don't leave the android's head on a plane.
It's all about chapter six's discussion of the struggle to progress. The software engineer champions the methodical, incremental process the hard sciences usually favor, but the android sculptor goes for intuitive leaps in progress. Seems like the indicated best practice is to pair both methods, and hope you don't leave the android's head on a plane.
April 24, 2022
The story of the Philip K. Dick android head seems to be mostly known for its strange ending, but David Duffy tells the full story of its creation and the team that conceived and designed it. The issues surrounding the creation of an interactive AI representation of a famous author are laid out in an interesting and not overly technical narrative. A very readable account of this odd tribute to PKD’s life and work.
May 24, 2021
"Ain't it funny how it happens" is the only thing I can think to say about this book. Ghostbot fatally captured the hearts and minds of an ADHD news cycle, but its potential still dwells within a technological underground. Maybe the resurection was halted for good; maybe early onset 2000s nostalgia will manifest a sequel. Spoiler alert: the decision is up to an affinity for divinity.
October 10, 2018
DNF
It plods on and doesn't feel like it really has a central thread it's actually following which was a disappointment as the premise is cool.
Also for anyone else who might make the mistake: it's not the android in your phone.
It plods on and doesn't feel like it really has a central thread it's actually following which was a disappointment as the premise is cool.
Also for anyone else who might make the mistake: it's not the android in your phone.
September 25, 2023
quite the journey
February 25, 2025
The book was mildly interesting but can't or rather boring for me
March 6, 2025
It's a great combination of a short history on building androids and how the head of the Philip K Dick android got lost. Feels both educational and entertaining.
March 11, 2025
I didnt know anything on thi topic to be honest.
I didnt even know this is a non fiction book.
However this is captivating and interesting.
For someone who is an expert on this, she or he may not find anything news on this.
but its interesting nevertheless.
I didnt even know this is a non fiction book.
However this is captivating and interesting.
For someone who is an expert on this, she or he may not find anything news on this.
but its interesting nevertheless.
July 2, 2016
First off, let me say the idea of creating an android in the image of Philip K. Dick, with independently functioning AI software, no less, and with the blessing of his family, is so beyond cool it almost defies understanding. Second, the fact that this miracle of concept and technology went missing in late 2005 and has never been found is tragic beyond words, and is exactly the sort of ironic scenario that PKD would have written into one of his books and incorporated into an elaborate conspiracy theory.
Quick summary: In 2004, a consortium of scientists affiliated with the University of Memphis (Tennessee) collaborated on the creation of a lifelike replica of a human head using some advanced artificial intelligence software. In a fit of ironic whimsy, they decided to model the head of their creation after renowned writer and noted paranoiac Philip K. Dick, author of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? and other science fiction classics. Author David Duffy, a minor player in this drama, steers us through the scientific and creative journey from technical drawings to working model with a minimum of technobabble and treats the reader to a quasi-biography of PKD himself: his work, his private life, his probable psychosis, and his acute paranoid-cum-religious fantasies.
The sheer hubris involved in this entire project is stunning in its scope, and it all makes for fascinating reading. Whether you're a science fiction fan or a technology geek, interested in voice recognition or robotics, or just a plain all around nerd, you're sure to find several hours of entertainment contained within the pages of Duffy's treatise.
Many thanks to LibraryThing's Early Reviewers Program for the opportunity to read this book.
Quick summary: In 2004, a consortium of scientists affiliated with the University of Memphis (Tennessee) collaborated on the creation of a lifelike replica of a human head using some advanced artificial intelligence software. In a fit of ironic whimsy, they decided to model the head of their creation after renowned writer and noted paranoiac Philip K. Dick, author of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? and other science fiction classics. Author David Duffy, a minor player in this drama, steers us through the scientific and creative journey from technical drawings to working model with a minimum of technobabble and treats the reader to a quasi-biography of PKD himself: his work, his private life, his probable psychosis, and his acute paranoid-cum-religious fantasies.
The sheer hubris involved in this entire project is stunning in its scope, and it all makes for fascinating reading. Whether you're a science fiction fan or a technology geek, interested in voice recognition or robotics, or just a plain all around nerd, you're sure to find several hours of entertainment contained within the pages of Duffy's treatise.
Many thanks to LibraryThing's Early Reviewers Program for the opportunity to read this book.
May 12, 2012
Very interesting book. I enjoyed it far more than I thought I would. Coming into this book I had relatively little knowledge of the advances in robotics and the programming for these robots. I had missed all the hype on this particular robot back in '05. I had seen and heard of some of the robots mentioned towards the end of the story that come from Korea, but I had no idea that the US had anything of this caliber. I do have to agree with the author that Dick would find that one of the first androids ever created would look like him, then losing the head on top of that, amusing. This book has peaked my interest even more in modern technology and robotics, making me want to keep a closer eye on it. There were many points in which I agreed with the different people in the story especially Hanson and his belief in making robots more visually human. While there will always be people that do not trust androids and robots, society is drawing ever closer to the day where machines will become aware. I would recommend this book to anyone that has an interest in science fiction. Especially a younger audience, to show that science fiction is quickly becoming reality. The book was well written and even someone that has little knowledge of the subject is able to follow what is happening and kind of how things are working. I look forward to hearing the next huge breakthrough in robotics and technology.
August 27, 2015
After finishing How to Build an Android, I wondered why anyone would bother writing a book about the Philip K. Dick Android. Sure, it was interesting, but the topic seemed more suitable for publication in the form of a series of magazine articles. There just didn't seem to be enough relevant information/scientific and cultural relevance to justify a full length book. This book would have been much more interesting had it tried to intertwine the story of the android either with the biography of Dick or a wider exploration of robotics in general.
Don't get me wrong though - I did enjoy the book; it's an easy and pleasant read. I didn't even realize how much I learned from How to Build an Android until I unexpectedly came into contact with Octavia and Lucas, two robots that were being used to research human-robot interaction and person recognition skills, a few weeks later and started a conversation about the Uncanny Valley with one of the researchers. Apparently I learned more than I realized from this book. Note: I received this book through LibraryThing's Early Reviewers Program.
Don't get me wrong though - I did enjoy the book; it's an easy and pleasant read. I didn't even realize how much I learned from How to Build an Android until I unexpectedly came into contact with Octavia and Lucas, two robots that were being used to research human-robot interaction and person recognition skills, a few weeks later and started a conversation about the Uncanny Valley with one of the researchers. Apparently I learned more than I realized from this book. Note: I received this book through LibraryThing's Early Reviewers Program.
November 18, 2012
I was very excited to read the true story of the creation of one of the first functional androids. The fact that it was modeled after Philip K. Dick, one of my favorite authors, is a definite plus.
This book was very well written, and also quite enlightening. I learned about some of the more recent developments in programming and robotics, and also the difficulties and required synergy to bring the two together. One does not consider all the difficulties that would be encountered in creating an android to do simple human tasks.
I found this read both enjoyable and educational, I would recommend it to anyone with an interest in science fiction or modern science and robotics.
This book was very well written, and also quite enlightening. I learned about some of the more recent developments in programming and robotics, and also the difficulties and required synergy to bring the two together. One does not consider all the difficulties that would be encountered in creating an android to do simple human tasks.
I found this read both enjoyable and educational, I would recommend it to anyone with an interest in science fiction or modern science and robotics.
September 14, 2014
My wife picked this up for me because she knows I like Dick. :)
It's a decent read. Pretty breezy, but engaging enough. I liked how the author kind of peppered and braided seemingly incidental details throughout that had a bigger (though ancillary) impact by the end (I'm thinking of David Byrne's multiple appearances/mentions). Or maybe that's a cheesey kind of gimmick. I dunno, I kinda liked it.
Undoubtedly there are more thorough books on robotics, and there are certainly better books on PKD, but this one fits a nice little niche where the two subjects intersected, off the page, for a brief moment in history.
It's a decent read. Pretty breezy, but engaging enough. I liked how the author kind of peppered and braided seemingly incidental details throughout that had a bigger (though ancillary) impact by the end (I'm thinking of David Byrne's multiple appearances/mentions). Or maybe that's a cheesey kind of gimmick. I dunno, I kinda liked it.
Undoubtedly there are more thorough books on robotics, and there are certainly better books on PKD, but this one fits a nice little niche where the two subjects intersected, off the page, for a brief moment in history.
November 25, 2012
I have a tendency to alternate non/fiction but this followed two novels in a series. As a fan of PKD and modern sci-fi, I was drawn to the premise of this book. What I found not only made me want to read more of his work, but also that of Clarke and Asimov. Dufty takes a relatively ordinary project and makes it dramatic at every turn with his writing style and no nonsense manner of reporting. This book will make you wonder which is more enticing - the level of PKD's insanity or the project to recreate him as an android.
December 1, 2013
David F. Dufty has struck just the right mix of humor, biography and academic rigor to tell the strange, tragic tale of how an android replica of Philip K. Dick came to be and later lost its head. The ultimate villain in this story is the airline that lost the head. The layers of activity behind the realization of this idea are fascinating, bringing together an odd mix of AI, art and chasing down funding sources into an admirably linear tale. It is the lore of Philip K. Dick himself that gives this whole thing a compelling resonance.
August 13, 2016
I picked this up on Overdrive because it was in the SciFi section and I thought it was a SciFi novel. It is not a SciFi novel, it was totally misshelved. It is definitely non-fiction. That said, it was a very interesting read. The people chronicled in this book sought to build a robot replica of SciFi author Philip K. Dick. The stories of their struggles from losing the android's head on an airplane, to having him monologue into oblivion during Comic Con kept me entertained. This book is perfect for futurists or people intrigued by the future of robotics.
December 30, 2012
Someone built a robotic head of Philip K. Dick, I kid you not. They hooked it up to a computer with all his writings, interviews, etc. digitized and you could ask it questions! Now, if that's not weird enough, the head was lost by the airlines in shipment and is still out there somewhere. Add to that the fact that the Japanese grafted a similar head of Albert Einstein onto one of its walking robots and one can see immediately the importance of reading this bizarre true story.
May 8, 2013
I love that these events occurred and that once upon a time there was a talking PKD android in the world. The book, however, is not terribly well-written and there is just not enough drama to the story to make a compelling read. When I found myself reading about the team building the Dick living room and their efforts to comply with Chicago fire safety code I started skimming. Still, I'm glad the history is recorded and again, glad it happened in the first place.
November 18, 2015
I found this book interesting enough when I was thinking it was Science Fiction. When I realized that this really happened, I was amazed. I mean, I get the irony of turning into an androad a man who wrote about not being able to tell if you are a human or a robot, but factor in the issues the fellow had and the idea is mind boggling.
Anyway, a very enjoyable listen, and Bronson Pinchot did a great job with it - I really love his reading work!
Anyway, a very enjoyable listen, and Bronson Pinchot did a great job with it - I really love his reading work!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews