Who Can Replace A Man? By Brian Aldiss

Humans and technology have been relying on each other to do their jobs since the beginning of time. In “Who Can Replace A Man?” by Brian Aldiss, humans are doing just that. The humans have programmed robots to do their everyday jobs to make their life easier. When all humans at the towns nearest tower die, the robots do not receive orders and become frantic. Everything has remained the same since the start of this Earth, humans vs. technology. Humans in “Who Can Replace A Man?” rely solely on robots to do their jobs. Eventually all of the humans are becoming extinct and the robots have no idea what they are going to do. A few robots leave their town to go to the next city. This relationship that is conveyed in the story shows that even without having their original master they follow any order being given by humans. As stated in the text, “If all men have broken down, then we have replaced man” (Aldiss, 143). This states that these robots believe that they were the only intelligence left. The message in this story was portrayed in many different ways.

“For if a machine had broken down, it would have been quickly replaced. But who can replace a man” (Aldiss, 142). This quote shows that the had previously relied on them for an important task. Throughout the story, some might be confused as to whether or not the robots are free of their programming to the point where they do not listen to humans. At the very end of the story, Aldiss writes: “‘Get me food’ he croaked.” and “‘Yes, Master’ said the machines”. This clearly states that a human is giving them orders and that they pursue his