Technological Dominance, "Discarnate Men," and the Vestiges of Humanity in William Gibson's Neuromancer and Philip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

In their respective texts, William Gibson and Philip K. Dick both envision the place of humanity in a world dominated by technology, and both perceive and illuminate the dystopian possibilities that may result from the exponential development of technology. By invoking Marshall McLuhan’s observations regarding technological dominance and the resulting “discarnate man,” this essay will aim to show how the numbed interiority of the characters depicted in Neuromancer and Do Androids Dream? is the result of their interactions with technology which has massaged them into new forms of being. Furthermore, this essay will show how, by using AIs and replicants as doubles (or doppelgangers) of the human characters, both novels depart from conventions of science fiction by turning the focus away from the non-human, and back towards human emotion, touch, and empathetic response.