Service Model
by Adrian Tchaikovsky · first published 2024
64% recommend27% neutral9% critical
Why HN recommends it
Darkly humorous science fiction following a service robot as it confronts questions of AI, control and self-determination. Timely and thoughtful, it suits fans of robot and AI themes.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Task Item No. 1: Become Self-Aware Meet Charles™, the latest in robot servant technology. Programmed to undertake the most menial household chores, Charles is loyal, efficient and logical to a fault - that is, until a rather large fault causes him to murder his owner. Understandably perplexed, Charles finds himself without a master and, in a society reliant on artificial labour, worthless. Fleeing the household, he enters a world he never knew existed. Here, an age-old human hierarchy is disintegrating, and a robot ecosystem devoted to its well-being is struggling to find a purpose. Charles
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A couple of my favorites from this year, I read a lot (50 to 100 a year) Fiction: - What We Talk About When We Talk About Love by Raymond Carver - Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky - A Man with One of Those Faces by Caimh Mcdonnell - Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro - A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine - Antimatter Blues by Edward Ashton - Where…
on “Ask HN: What were the best books you read this year?” ↗Another good one is Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky Also, I feel like if I am recommending something I have to recommend Dungeon Crawler Carl, which is my current obsession. I've read all the books multiple times in multiple formats,…
on “Murderbot, she wrote” ↗the best author-read audiobook I've listened to recently has been Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky[0]. He did a really good job and I would never have guessed it was the author himself. As you say, it's a very different and difficult job. [0] https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/B0CMXTZZN2
on “William Gibson Reads Neuromancer (2004)” ↗I read Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky recently and I think it takes more-or-less takes direct inspiration from this story (and the poem) with modern aesthetics. I liked it, it’s more dark-humorous than strictly bleak,…
on “There Will Come Soft Rains [pdf]” ↗I just finished reading Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky [1], a really timely novel that deals with lots of open ended questions of AI, robots, humanity, control, self determination, and so on. Really recommend it if you're into these…
on “GPU World” ↗I don't think I've been disappointed by anything from Adrian Tchaikovsky, tbh. Alien Clay and Service Model are also great.
on “Newly discovered spider builds spring loaded snare to catch ants” ↗…with "The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet". I'd argue Andy Weir's "Project Hail Mary" is hopeful sci-fi, and the movie adaptation was great. You could perhaps put Adrian Tchaikovsky's "Elder Race" and "Service Model" in there too, since both are pretty hopeful in overall outlook. And if you broaden to include fantasy, Travis Baldree's "Legend and Lattes" series is very much in the same vein as Becky Chambers. It…
on “Writing a better reality: The case for optimistic sci-fi (2022)” ↗Adrian Tchaikovsky’s Service Model is a good look at this IMO.
on “Andreessen Horowitz is investing billions into a bleak future” ↗…second this -- but, at the same time, it's such a shame that Tchaikovsky hasn't written anything else worth a damn, despite writing something like three novels every year! His two most recent, Shroud and Service Model, are bloated, uninspired, and borderline unreadable. I guess he's now subject to that curse of established authors, where editors are scared to mess with their manuscripts and trim the fat.
on “What 'Project Hail Mary' teaches us about the PlanetScale vs. Neon debate” ↗Reminds me of parts of Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Service_Model
on “Experimental surgery performed by AI-driven surgical robot” ↗I started listening to Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky a couple of days ago. The premise is not new, but follows an interesting trajectory from a robot’s view point. This post is a fun little exercise, performing a design overview on…
on “Service Model (Book) System Design for Task Management” ↗You might be interested in this prequel to "Service Model": "Human Resources" [1] [1] https://reactormag.com/human-resources-adrian-tchaikovsky/
on “Sci-Fi Short Film "There Is No Antimemetics Division" [video]” ↗