Whenever discussion of classic dystopian fiction comes up, the usual names are put forward: Orwell, Huxley, Bradbury, Atwood. But it’s rare that I see Kurt Vonnegut’s first novel, 1952’s Player Piano, mentioned in that same breath.
After returning from WWII to see factory automation ramping up, Vonnegut imagined a future where virtually all production was performed by machines, and that the few remaining, rapidly vanishing, human positions require doctorates for qualification. All art and entertainment is mass produced according to algorithmic predictions. The brightest men design programs which will replace themselves.
Frankly, this scenario, along with the numerous other social commentaries involved, strike me as being as relevant – if not moreso – than most of the other aforementioned dystopian novels. I imagine that it is largely overlooked because it lacks the Vonnegutism of his later work, and perhaps has less literary significance for that. All the same, it’s my opinion that the least impressive Vonnegut work stands shoulder-to-shoulder with any of the other dystopian classics, and honestly should be considered required reading of the 2020s.
by Gay_For_Gary_Oldman
1 Comment
I think of this novel all the time. Especially with the “AIs” in the news these days, seems like we are getting closer to the phase of the novel where the engineers that invented all the machines finally invented the machine that could do their own job, and put themselves out of work.