Autonomous (Newitz) - Discussion Questions

Discussion Questions
We'll add publisher questions if and when they're available; in the meantime, use our LitLovers talking points to help start a discussion for Autonomous … then take off on your own:

1. Describe the state of things in the near-future world of Autonomous. What does this fictional world have in common with our present-day world — anything, or very little? It is a realistic, or far too extreme, outcome for "advanced capitalism"?

2. How would you describe Jack? Even though she is old enough to know the ways of the world, does she remain an idealist or has she become jaded through experience? What motivates her?

3. How do you explain the feelings that Eliasz has for Paladin? What do his feelings for the bot say about him and his own sexuality or gender identity. Does the fact that Paladin possesses a female brain make a difference in how we are to perceive the bot or how Eliasz perceives her/him/?

4. What are Paladin's feelings toward Eliasz? How do the loyalty and attachment programs running in through the bot's background affect her/him? Can the bot truly consent to a sexual relationship or not?

5. What is Eliasz's background and how has he been affected by it? What does it mean to be "indentured"?

6. Does anything change by the end of the novel? Is anyone held accountable for Zacuity? Is the basic power and economic structure still in place? Why or why not?

7. One of the big questions posed in Autonomous has to do with personal identity. Can one own a mechanical being if it is sentient?

8. What are some of the other questions posed by Autonomous in terms of ownership, free will, income disparity?

(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution. Thanks.)

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