Could a Robot Be Your Dog’s Best Friend?

Future Tense Fiction

On this month’s episode of Future Tense Fiction, host Maddie Stone talks to Andrew Silverman about his short story “Furgen.”

Tucker, the story’s canine protagonist, is the center of his owner Caro’s world. When Caro buys an A.I.-enabled dog trainer that promises to help both her and Tucker live their best lives, everything starts to fall into place—the A.I. takes care of Tucker when he’s sick, trains him to walk without a leash, and even helps Caro get a girlfriend. But as Tucker’s bond with the A.I. deepens, optimizing for their best lives starts to mean something much different than what Caro originally had in mind.

After the story, Maddie asks Andrew about how his own experiences as a dog owner—and a pediatric neurologist—influenced the story. Plus, Maddie talks with canine behavioral scientist Clive Wynne, who wrote a response essay to Andrew’s story, about whether a dog could really fall in love with a robot.

Guests: Andrew Silverman is a pediatric neurologist and the author of “Furgen.”

Clive Wynne is a professor of psychology and director of the Canine Science Collaboratory at Arizona State University. He is also the author of Dog Is Love: Why and How Your Dog Loves You.

Story read by Peggy O’Neal

Podcast production by Tiara Darnell

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