Violence in Machines Like Me

Through the violent demise of the artificial intelligence Adam, Ian McEwan's Machines Like Me explores violence in modern society and technological ethics. Drawing on Žižek's theory of violence, this paper analyzes this novel through three dimensions: subjective violence manifests as physical harm to both humans and machines; symbolic violence, enacted through language and media, imposes implicit disciplinary power over humans and machines; systemic violence, embedded in political and cultural structures, reinforces oppression against both humans and machines.