Machines Like Me

How does Charlie’s history in anthropology and robotics inform his treatment of Adam?

Why do you think Ian McEwan chose to use Alan Turing as a character instead of creating a new, non-historical individual as a figure for technological advancement? To what extent do you see the alternate history setting as essential to the plot?

Compare and contrast the ways that Charlie and Adam react to Miranda when she expresses her desire to adopt Mark and how it influences their character development.

Discuss the political turmoil of London in respect to Miranda and Charlie’s relationship. What is the nature of their relationship while Thatcher is the Prime Minister? How does it change after Benn is elected?

Do you think Charlie’s character changes by the end of the novel? If so, in what ways does his love for Miranda inform his new state of mind?

While being examined by his manufacturer’s engineers, Adam is asked questions about love and hate that don’t reveal themselves in his code. What does this imply about the relationship between emotional experience and machine learning—and between machine learning and moral relativism?

Discuss Maxfield Blacke’s role in the novel. In what ways does he represent a pre-technologically advanced society? How does he influence the development of Miranda and Charlie’s relationship?

Peter Gorringe finds salvation in converting to Christianity while in prison. How does this coincide with the novel’s discussion of morality, both relative and objective?