‘Human Resources’ – Adrian Tchaikovsky (Tor Books)
Page Count: 20 PagesA long read, then a short read then… I’m not thinking that far ahead, we’re halfway through the week and it feels like I’ve been through a week already ;o) Just a couple more days after this and it’s the weekend.
Anyway, after spending the last couple of weeks in ‘The Fall of Cadia’, I needed my next read to be short and sweet but something I could get my teeth into, and chew on for a bit, at the same time. I had a feeling that ‘Human Resources’ was the read I was after so I gave it a read and…
Set years before Service Model, Adrian Tchaikovsky’s all-too plausible short story navigates a world where humans are increasingly redundant.
“Holring and Baselard value your contribution to our team”
As one of the last non-robot employees at Holring and Baselard, Tim Stock retains a vital role in the human resources department: firing the multinational conglomerate’s remaining human workers.
But the soul-crushing task eats away at Tim. As he watches the company replace his human colleagues with cheaper labor, Tim starts to question his own job security. After all, what use could robots possibly have for an HR department?
I don’t think I’ve ever read something so utterly depressing yet so optimistic all at the same time. Tchaikovsky taps into the fear and uncertainty around where technology is leading us (gently reminding us that we gave it that push to start off with) and gives us a little glimpse into that future. And it’s just as cordially bleak as you’d expect, a monumental disconnect delivered with an algorithmic smile. As someone who struggles to fit in at the best of times, I found it terrifying. And one day, it just might happen.
At the same time though, Tchaikovsky gives us a little twist that casts everything in a new light, right at the end. While tales like ‘Human Resources’ are all part of us trying to define our relationship with technology, the beauty of speculative fiction is that this process isn’t necessarily a one way street. Who is to say that a whole new workforce won’t end up trying to define its relationship to us? Tchaikovsky leaves his ending appropriately open but I’m choosing to see a hint of optimism in that path forwards. Like I said, the alternative terrifies me.
Asimov wrote his ‘Three Laws of Robotics’, don’t be too surprised if you see Adrian Tchaikovsky’s name under a ‘Robotics in the Workplace: Policy Document’ in the near future. A lot of thought went into ‘Human Resources’ and it’s all the more thought provoking for it.
Set years before Service Model, Adrian Tchaikovsky’s all-too plausible short story navigates a world where humans are increasingly redundant.
“Holring and Baselard value your contribution to our team”
As one of the last non-robot employees at Holring and Baselard, Tim Stock retains a vital role in the human resources department: firing the multinational conglomerate’s remaining human workers.
But the soul-crushing task eats away at Tim. As he watches the company replace his human colleagues with cheaper labor, Tim starts to question his own job security. After all, what use could robots possibly have for an HR department?
I don’t think I’ve ever read something so utterly depressing yet so optimistic all at the same time. Tchaikovsky taps into the fear and uncertainty around where technology is leading us (gently reminding us that we gave it that push to start off with) and gives us a little glimpse into that future. And it’s just as cordially bleak as you’d expect, a monumental disconnect delivered with an algorithmic smile. As someone who struggles to fit in at the best of times, I found it terrifying. And one day, it just might happen.
At the same time though, Tchaikovsky gives us a little twist that casts everything in a new light, right at the end. While tales like ‘Human Resources’ are all part of us trying to define our relationship with technology, the beauty of speculative fiction is that this process isn’t necessarily a one way street. Who is to say that a whole new workforce won’t end up trying to define its relationship to us? Tchaikovsky leaves his ending appropriately open but I’m choosing to see a hint of optimism in that path forwards. Like I said, the alternative terrifies me.
Asimov wrote his ‘Three Laws of Robotics’, don’t be too surprised if you see Adrian Tchaikovsky’s name under a ‘Robotics in the Workplace: Policy Document’ in the near future. A lot of thought went into ‘Human Resources’ and it’s all the more thought provoking for it.
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