Generation robot
Subtitle: a century of science fiction, fact, and speculation
By: Terri Favro
Published: 2018
Language: eng
Number of pages: 231
ISBN-13: 9781510723108
Subjects: Artificial intelligence in literature; Social aspects; Science; Robotics; Robots in literature; Robots; Technological innovations; Technology; Artificial intelligence
Description: "Generation Robot covers a century of science fiction, fact and, speculation--from the 1950 publication of Isaac Asimov's seminal robot masterpiece, I, Robot, to the 2050 Singularity when artificial and human intelligence are predicted to merge. Beginning with a childhood informed by pop-culture robots in movies, in comic books, and on TV in the 1960s to adulthood where the possibilities of self-driving cars and virtual reality are daily conversation, Terri Favro offers a unique perspective on how our relationship with robotics and futuristic technologies has shifted over time. Peppered with pop-culture fun-facts about Superman's kryptonite, the human-machine relationships in the cult TV show Firefly, and the sexual and moral implications of the film Ex Machina, Generation Robot explores how the techno-triumphs and resulting anxieties of reality bleed into the fantasies of our collective culture. Clever and accessible, Generation Robot isn't just for the serious, scientific reader--it's for everyone interested in robotics and technology since their science-fiction origins. By looking back at the future she once imagined, analyzing the plugged-in present, and speculating on what is on the horizon, Terri Favro allows readers the chance to consider what was, what is, and what could be. This is a captivating book that looks at the pop-culture of our society to explain how the world works--now and tomorrow"--
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 211-231).
Table of contents: title: Introduction: Why robots?; title: Isaac's kids (1950); title: Monolith (1968); title: A tramp in the AI winter (1985); title: Fun and games with thinking machines (2018); title: Hitching a ride in a driverless car (2025); title: Waking up the house (2030); title: The good robot (2040); title: Sex and the singularity (2050).