by Isaac Asimov
First published 1986
This collection presents computers as both victims and villains across multiple stories by science fiction masters. In some tales, machines develop their own will and choose to break the law. In others, humans force computers to commit crimes they never intended. The results range from terrifying to hilarious as artificial minds navigate moral boundaries they were never designed to cross. Writers like Robert Silverberg, Gordon R. Dickson, and Poul Anderson explore what happens when our most trusted tools become our greatest threats. These stories ask whether a computer can truly be guilty of a crime, or if the real criminals are always human. The collection reveals how technology amplifies both our virtues and our flaws, creating new forms of justice and injustice in a digital age.
Genres: science-fiction, crime, technology
Vibes: dark, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: moral-ambiguity, technology-gone-wrong
Period: 20th-Century, 21st-Century
Paperback · Penguin