--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Me, I have a science fiction writer's…" description: "\"Me, I have a science fiction writer's conviction that the damn robot is supposed to speak human, not the other way around.\" — Spider Robinson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba3/spider-robinson-9623_conviction_me-i-have-a-science-fiction-writer-s-con_2633129.jpg" --- # Me, I have a science fiction writer's conviction that the… ![“Me, I have a science fiction writer's conviction that the damn robot is supposed to speak human, not the other way around.” quote by Spider Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba3/spider-robinson-9623_conviction_me-i-have-a-science-fiction-writer-s-con_2633129.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba3/spider-robinson-9623_conviction_me-i-have-a-science-fiction-writer-s-con_2633129.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba3/spider-robinson-9623_conviction_me-i-have-a-science-fiction-writer-s-con_2633129.jpg) > “Me, I have a science fiction writer's conviction that the damn robot is supposed to speak human, not the other way around.” [Spider Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spider-robinson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He believes robots should speak like humans, not the reverse. **In simple terms:** Robots should emulate human speech. Key Takeaway Design AI with human‑like language. Themes AI robotics communication Mood analytical curious Type technical speculative When to use this quote - tech development - user interface design - science fiction narratives Key Concepts anthropomorphism language design Questions to Reflect On - How does language shape AI identity? - Should AI mimic humans? A Different Perspective May ignore benefits of non‑human communication styles. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Conviction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conviction/) [Damn Robot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/damn-robot-2206294/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Robot Supposed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/robot-supposed-2206293/) [Robotics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/robotics/) [Robots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/robots/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Science fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science-fiction/) [Speak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speak/) [Speak Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speak-human-653365/) [Supposed Speak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/supposed-speak-1271748/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I know you aren't supposed to speak ill of the dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/april-winchell/i-know-you-aren-t-supposed-to-speak-ill-of-the-dead/) [April Winchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/april-winchell/) > [The world does not speak. Only we do. The world can, once we have programmed ourselves with a language, cause us to hold beliefs.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rorty/the-world-does-not-speak-only-we-do-the-world-can-once-we-have/) [Richard Rorty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rorty/) > [“I ask, I demand to be respected! Shatov went on shouting. "Not for my person--to hell with it--but for something else, just for now,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/i-ask-i-demand-to-be-respected-shatov-went-on-shouting-not-for-my/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [Well, I'm really not supposed to speak to strangers, but we've met before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/princess-aurora/well-i-m-really-not-supposed-to-speak-to-strangers-but-we-ve-met-3/) [Princess Aurora](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/princess-aurora/) > [Just being a model, you're not supposed to speak ever, really.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chrissy-teigen/just-being-a-model-you-re-not-supposed-to-speak-ever-really/) [Chrissy Teigen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chrissy-teigen/) > [“Because nothing between human beings is uncomplicated and there's no way to speak of human beings without simplifying and misrepresenting them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/because-nothing-between-human-beings-is-uncomplicated-and-there-s-no/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [Well, I'm really not supposed to speak to strangers, but we've met before. -Aurora](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sleeping-beauty/well-i-m-really-not-supposed-to-speak-to-strangers-but-we-ve-met/) [Sleeping Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sleeping-beauty/) > [I like the idea of being able to reach out and speak to a human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-sugg/i-like-the-idea-of-being-able-to-reach-out-and-speak-to-a-human/) [Joe Sugg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-sugg/) > [The great mystery is why robots come off so well in science-fiction films when the human characters are often so astoundingly wooden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-podhoretz/the-great-mystery-is-why-robots-come-off-so-well-in-science-fiction/) [John Podhoretz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-podhoretz/) > [It's going to be fun watching this robot start malfunctioning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-haye/it-s-going-to-be-fun-watching-this-robot-start-malfunctioning/) [David Haye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-haye/) > [So we and our elaborately evolving computers may meet each other halfway. Someday a human being, named perhaps Fred White, may shoot a robot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/so-we-and-our-elaborately-evolving-computers-may-meet-each-other/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [..I find it incredible impossible not to cry when I hear Stevie Nicks's "Landslide," especially the lyric: "I've been afraid of changing, because I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mindy-kaling/i-find-it-incredible-impossible-not-to-cry-when-i-hear-stevie-nicks-s/) [Mindy Kaling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mindy-kaling/) > [I don't know if robots have personalities, but I think maybe we are special robots that are maybe human after all. We try to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-manuel-de-homem-christo/i-don-t-know-if-robots-have-personalities-but-i-think-maybe-we-are/) [Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-manuel-de-homem-christo/) > [The other one I did was 'I, Robot.' I take apart Isaac Asimov's Robots world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-doctorow/the-other-one-i-did-was-i-robot-i-take-apart-isaac-asimov-s-robots/) [Cory Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-doctorow/) > [A South Korean inventor has finally created the robot that mankind has been waiting for. Scientists who have been worried about the robot apocalypse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-pesca/a-south-korean-inventor-has-finally-created-the-robot-that-mankind/) [Mike Pesca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-pesca/) ## More by Spider Robinson > [“There's a price for absolution on this planet, and it's called penance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spider-robinson/there-s-a-price-for-absolution-on-this-planet-and-it-s-called-penance/) [Spider Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spider-robinson/) > [And I repeat: if there is anything that can divert the land of my birth from its current stampede into the Stone Age, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spider-robinson/and-i-repeat-if-there-is-anything-that-can-divert-the-land-of-my/) [Spider Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spider-robinson/) > [“Annie clouded up. For a second, he thought she was going to erupt, and flinched. She saw that...and got control of herself with an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spider-robinson/annie-clouded-up-for-a-second-he-thought-she-was-going-to-erupt-and/) [Spider Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spider-robinson/) > […when writing, always hook the reader with your first sentence…in love, never settle…value yourself first and this will help you to value others…life is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spider-robinson/when-writing-always-hook-the-reader-with-your-first-sentence-in-love/) [Spider Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spider-robinson/) > [If you've lived a bad life, they send you to Hell. But if you've been truly wicked, they give you a tour of Heaven…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spider-robinson/if-you-ve-lived-a-bad-life-they-send-you-to-hell-but-if-you-ve-been/) [Spider Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spider-robinson/) > [The whole world turns upside down in ten years, but you turn upside down with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spider-robinson/the-whole-world-turns-upside-down-in-ten-years-but-you-turn-upside/) [Spider Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spider-robinson/) > [“I had not until then fully realized that I was odd, that there was anything strange about growing up with a single-parent genius. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spider-robinson/i-had-not-until-then-fully-realized-that-i-was-odd-that-there-was/) [Spider Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spider-robinson/) > [“Shared pain is lessened Shared joy is increased Thus do we refute entropy”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spider-robinson/shared-pain-is-lessened-shared-joy-is-increased-thus-do-we-refute/) [Spider Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spider-robinson/) > [She danced because she needed to. She needed to say things which could be said in no other way, and she needed to take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spider-robinson/she-danced-because-she-needed-to-she-needed-to-say-things-which-could/) [Spider Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spider-robinson/) > [Sometimes I think I must have a Guardian Idiot. A little invisible spirit just behind my shoulder, looking out for me...only he's an imbecile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spider-robinson/sometimes-i-think-i-must-have-a-guardian-idiot-a-little-invisible/) [Spider Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spider-robinson/) > [...I know good design when I fail to trip over it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spider-robinson/i-know-good-design-when-i-fail-to-trip-over-it/) [Spider Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spider-robinson/) > [The problems of today's youth were no longer a Sunday supplement, or a news broadcast, or anything so remote and intangible. They were suddenly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spider-robinson/the-problems-of-today-s-youth-were-no-longer-a-sunday-supplement-or-a/) [Spider Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spider-robinson/) > [Now that I finally have the time for it, this web surfing stuff turns out to be as interesting and fun and addictive as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spider-robinson/now-that-i-finally-have-the-time-for-it-this-web-surfing-stuff-turns/) [Spider Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spider-robinson/) > [Librarians are like crack dealers when it comes to hooking small children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spider-robinson/librarians-are-like-crack-dealers-when-it-comes-to-hooking-small/) [Spider Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spider-robinson/) > [We did make use, from time to time, of candles, neckties, scarves, shoelaces, a little water-color paintbrush, her hairbrush, butter, whipped cream, strawberry jam,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spider-robinson/we-did-make-use-from-time-to-time-of-candles-neckties-scarves/) [Spider Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spider-robinson/) [Explore all 71 Spider Robinson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spider-robinson/) ## More Conviction quotes > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [Once you pull the trigger, you've got to throw balls aggressively and with conviction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-smith/once-you-pull-the-trigger-you-ve-got-to-throw-balls-aggressively-and/) [Alex Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-smith/) > [I've been around in public life for a long time. I think people know what I stand for. They know that I have strong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-turnbull/i-ve-been-around-in-public-life-for-a-long-time-i-think-people-know/) [Malcolm Turnbull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-turnbull/) > [“Desert are you, deluge are you, in a crowd of fakes, only truth is you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/desert-are-you-deluge-are-you-in-a-crowd-of-fakes-only-truth-is-you/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [For a successful revolution it is not enough that there is discontent. What is required is a profound and thorough conviction of the justice,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-r-ambedkar/for-a-successful-revolution-it-is-not-enough-that-there-is-discontent/) [B. R. Ambedkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-r-ambedkar/) > ['Peace on earth, good will toward men' - democracy must cling to that message. For it is my deep conviction that democracy cannot live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/peace-on-earth-good-will-toward-men-democracy-must-cling-to-that/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [No physiologist who calmly considers the question in connection with the general truths of his science, can long resist the conviction that different parts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/no-physiologist-who-calmly-considers-the-question-in-connection-with/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [ Beneath everything else, North and West, there ran a profound, unvoiced, almost subconscious conviction that the \[American\] nation was going to go on growing-in… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-catton/beneath-everything-else-north-and-west-there-ran-a-profound-unvoiced/) [Bruce Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-catton/) > [Nor would anybody suspect. If was one thing all people took for granted, was conviction that if you feed honest figures into a computer,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/nor-would-anybody-suspect-if-was-one-thing-all-people-took-for/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [When you fight to give your family bread, that's not passion anymore: that's conviction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoel-romero/when-you-fight-to-give-your-family-bread-that-s-not-passion-anymore/) [Yoel Romero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoel-romero/) > [If you know the differences between an oak and a poplar, a spruce and a pine, down to the needles... you are able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-allen-lawson/if-you-know-the-differences-between-an-oak-and-a-poplar-a-spruce-and/) [T. Allen Lawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-allen-lawson/) > [We need the conviction to be able to think for ourselves and to take action outof our own sense of responsibility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senora-roy/we-need-the-conviction-to-be-able-to-think-for-ourselves-and-to-take/) [Senora Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/senora-roy/) > [The law of England has established trial by judge and jury in the conviction that it is the mode best calculated to ascertain the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-bentham/the-law-of-england-has-established-trial-by-judge-and-jury-in-the/) [Jeremy Bentham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-bentham/) > [If you are going to flip something, you must have the courage of your convictions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/if-you-are-going-to-flip-something-you-must-have-the-courage-of-your/) [Julia Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-child/) > [We embark unhesitatingly on the path, in a direction that is absolutely right and urgent, supported by everyone, in the knowledge that this path…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yehudi-menuhin/we-embark-unhesitatingly-on-the-path-in-a-direction-that-is/) [Yehudi Menuhin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yehudi-menuhin/) [Browse all 2,157 Conviction quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conviction/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Me, I have a science fiction writer's conviction that the damn robot is supposed to speak human, not the other way around.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Spider Robinson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spider-robinson/me-i-have-a-science-fiction-writer-s-conviction-that-the-damn-robot/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Conviction" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spider-robinson/me-i-have-a-science-fiction-writer-s-conviction-that-the-damn-robot/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba3/spider-robinson-9623_conviction_me-i-have-a-science-fiction-writer-s-con_2633129.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba3/spider-robinson-9623_conviction_me-i-have-a-science-fiction-writer-s-con_2633129.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba3/spider-robinson-9623_conviction_me-i-have-a-science-fiction-writer-s-con_2633129.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Me, I have a science fiction writer's conviction that the damn robot is supposed to speak human, not the…” — Spider Robinson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Spider Robinson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spider-robinson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Me, I have a science fiction...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spider-robinson/me-i-have-a-science-fiction-writer-s-conviction-that-the-damn-robot/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spider-robinson/me-i-have-a-science-fiction-writer-s-conviction-that-the-damn-robot/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```