Spoiler alert: This week’s column is centred around a great book that I will spoil for you in the first paragraph. Bookmark the column now, read or listen (only 90 minutes) to the book before reading on at your own risk.  

More than 200 years ago, long before artificial intelligence or humanoid robotics were a thing, German author E.T.A. Hoffmann warned us of their dangers.

His 1816 short story Der Sandmann is a gothic tale of obsession and delusion. It’s arguably the earliest cautionary fable about falling in love with machines and is the basis on many of your favourite sci-fi movies. 

In this classic German Romantic tale, the protagonist Nathanael becomes obsessed with Olimpia, who appears to be the beautiful and enigmatic daughter of a professor and a watchmaker.

She is quiet, poised, and always listens attentively. When Nathanael gazes into her eyes, he is entranced. He falls deeply in love with her before discovering that she is an automaton, a lifelike mechanical doll created by the sinister inventor Coppola and the professor Spalanzani.

So, all Nathanael saw when he gazed into Olimpia’s eyes was the reflection of his own eyes. That’s the moment he........

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