The Wild Robot: First Look
On our free reading days, I am working on a book called The Wild Robot. It is a book about a manufactured robot who accidentally crashes in the midst of an island in the middle of the ocean, stranded amongst tall trees, dangerous storms, and numerous forms of wildlife. I am only about 20% into the book, but I expect to finish it.
The author of this book is named Peter Brown, as you can infer based off of the cover image of the book above. At the author's note at the end of the book, Brown tells us that he has always been fascinated by both robots and the natural world. He thinks about if it's a good idea that robots learn to think and feel like a person would or if we should trust them in serious occupations. He has also explored nature when he was growing up and learned about the behavior of wildlife. He began comparing animals with robots in the sense that their behavior is predictable and they follow fixed routines, almost as if they are "programmed to perform specific actions at specific times." Brown later began asking himself how a robot would act if it was alone in the wilderness; how it would adapt itself in the danger and pick up new skills. After continuing to think about these questions and write and draw more ideas, Brown started to write The Wild Robot.
The reason why I picked up The Wild Robot and started reading it is because, like Brown, I have also harbored interest on how robots, or artificial intelligence, will affect us in the future. Will artificial intelligence end up becoming a threat? Can we continue keeping it under control?
Because I haven't completed the book, I myself still have yet to find out if this smart robot can indeed survive in the wilderness by itself. To me, reading this book is a genuinely excellent experience, as the robot quickly learns how to overcome its hardships and it is very satisfying to see it succeed. If you have an interest in artificial intelligence, nature, or both, or if you just want to read a captivating novel filled with adventure and realism, I strongly recommend The Wild Robot! I am really looking forward to finishing it, and I will most likely write a book review on it for this blog after I finish it.
Thank you for taking the time to read my blog, and I hope you have a great day!
Philip Chen
The book sounds really interesting! I'm not sure if its part of the book, but I've always liked the trope of Robots being lost in the wilderness and bonding with animals. Ill have to check it out!
ReplyDeleteThis book is definitely on my list to read. People at my old school really seemed to enjoy it and I just never ended up reading it. I've been going to the movie theatre for all the new movies and I saw that The Wild Robot is getting a movie too, and it looks like its going to be good. I'll have to read the book before the movie and see how they compare.
ReplyDeleteI've read this book before! Keep reading it, it's a very fun read. After you finish it, read The Wild Robot Escapes which is, in my opinion, even better than the original. Also, The Wild Robot is going to be in theaters soon. We could watch it together :D
ReplyDeleteThis looks like a fun read! I've seen that this is going to become a movie soon so maybe I should read the book.
ReplyDeleteI remember hearing about this book when I was in elementary school. It always seemed interesting but i never got around to reading it. I saw recently that It's getting a movie. I'll have to check it out !
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