How to Build an Android: The True Story of Philip K. Dick's Robotic Resurrection is a non-fiction book by David F. Dufty chronicling the creation of a lifelike android replica of Philip K. Dick by Hanson Robotics in collaboration with researchers at the University of Memphis.
The book is structured as narrative non-fiction spanning sixteen chapters and an epilogue. The chapter titles trace a compelling arc: from conception ("A Strange Machine," "A Tale of Two Researchers") through technical challenges ("How to Build a Human Head," "Life Inside a Laptop") to the android's public life ("An Android in Memphis," "First, We Take Chicago") and its mysterious end ("Brain Malfunction," "Headless").
The project brought together roboticist David Hanson, AI researchers, and Dick scholars to create a conversational android modeled on Dick's appearance and trained on his writings. Chapter 9, "A California Bungalow, 1974," suggests the book also explores Dick's 2-3-74 experiences. The android famously went missing in 2006 after being left in an overhead compartment on a flight, an event with almost Dickian irony. The book explores themes central to Dick's own fiction: consciousness, the human-machine boundary, and what it means to resurrect a person through technology.