Chronicle of Cybernetics Pioneers BOOKS & ARTS

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Chronicle of Cybernetics Pioneers BOOKS & ARTS Vol 467|9 September 2010 BOOKS & ARTS Chronicle of cybernetics pioneers Rodney Brooks enjoys an account of the freewheeling group of post-war British researchers that sowed the seeds of robotics through a desire to imitate animal brains and behaviour. Y The Cybernetic Brain: Sketches of TT Another Future by Andrew Pickering URES/GE University of Chicago Press: 2010. CT 536 pp. $55, £35.50 I have something of a shrine in my living room — a shelf of books that have been pivotal in my life. Next to Isaac Asimov’s 1950 volume I, Robot is W. Grey Walter’s The Living Brain PI LIFE & BURROWS/TIME L. (1953). Asimov let me glimpse what intelligent machines could eventually become. Walter showed me the practicalities of how to build an artificial creature that could move around in the real world. Neither the positronic brain of Asimov’s fictional robot, Robbie, nor the valve-based brains of Walter’s real robots, Elsie and Elmer, were digital. Robbie was imagined around 1940 and preceded computers, and Walter’s inspiration for Elsie and Elmer, built in 1948, came from nervous systems. Walter viewed his three-wheeled wanderers — dubbed tortoises because of their domed cases and ponderous movements — as electronic models that dem- onstrated some attributes of real animals. They responded to their environment by avoiding obstacles, heading towards a light or finding a recharging station when low on power. Their performance was beaten by digital robots only in the 1980s. The fictional Robbie has yet to be surpassed. Walter was instrumental in setting up the field of cybernetics, the subject of science historian Andrew Pickering’s entertaining book. The field was named by Norbert Wiener of the Massachusetts Institute of Technol- ogy (MIT) in Cambridge, and it developed simultaneously in Britain, the United States and the Eastern bloc from the 1950s onwards. A time-lapse photo records the wanderings of W. Grey Walter’s 1940s robots Elmer (left) and Elsie. Cyberneticians were inspired by how animals work at both the neural and behavioural component with which to construct intelligent Pickering’s characters is unconventional in levels. They built mathematical and mechani- systems. They built programs to play chess and personality, research topics and academic tra- cal models to investigate such control systems prove theorems, in which the next steps were jectory. In the early 1970s, for example, Beer and to explore how machines interacted with decided by searching a tree of possible moves applied his system to the development of a their environments. and following logical rules. nationwide data network in Chile to control This approach differed from that of the field The Cybernetic Brain is the first book- factory operations; later he used it to model of artificial intelligence, which developed at length account of UK cybernetics pioneers. cosmic consciousness. the same time but emphasized information Working in parallel with Walter and his three- Pickering draws comparisons between the processing. Proponents of this field — Alan wheelers was Ross Ashby, whose early efforts British and US cybernetics institutions and Turing and Donald Michie in the United were inspired by research in psychiatry. Later, funding; the related work in Moscow, Prague Kingdom, and US advocates John McCarthy, Gordon Pask and Stafford Beer developed and Warsaw is left to others to untangle. The Marvin Minsky, Allen Newell and Herbert practical applications for cybernetics, ranging UK pioneers were inspired by biological sys- Simon — embraced symbolic search as the key from architecture to management. Each of tems and were essentially amateurs — they held 156 © 2010 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved NATURE|Vol 467|9 September 2010 OPINION scientific appointments but their cybernetics broader intellectual base, many of them formed added new ones from evolutionary theory. work was secondary and was published in pop- an informal dining society called the Ratio A company that I co-founded has now sold ular books rather than in academic journals. Club. Pickering documents that the money more than five million domestic floor-clean- By contrast, the US work was conducted at spent on alcohol at the first meeting dwarfed ing robots, whose workings were inspired by major universities, heavily funded by the US that spent on food by nearly Walter’s tortoises. In those defence department. Some cyberneticians six to one — another indica- “British cybernetics homes at least, British cyber- at MIT, such as Warren McCullough, had tion of the cultural differ- netics lives on and dominates a background in neural modelling, but the ences between the UK and lives on and dominates robotics by sheer numbers if mainstream research carried out under Wiener US cyberneticians. robotics by sheer not by recognized intelli- arose from his work on the automatic aiming The work of the Brit- numbers if not by gence. It is a good example of and firing of anti-aircraft guns. David Mindell’s ish pioneers was forgotten how unsupported research, book Between Human and Machine (Johns until the late 1980s when it recognized intelligence.” carried out by unconven- Hopkins University Press, 2002) provides a US was rediscovered by a new tional characters in spite of counterpoint to Pickering’s account. generation of researchers. They too were their institutions, can have a huge impact. ■ With neither institutional nor government inspired by biological processes to propose Rodney Brooks is emeritus professor of robotics masters to answer to, the British cyberneti- computational models that differed from at the MIT Computer Science and Artificial cians were free to concentrate on what inter- those of the mainstream. A vibrant commu- Intelligence Laboratory and chairman of Heartland ested them. In 1949, in an attempt to develop a nity has since developed the old ideas and Robotics, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA. Lessons from Climategate The Climate Files: The Battle for the Truth Pearce has long covered the work of the as politically motivated time-wasters; others About Global Warming scientists involved and has a good knowl- recognize the need for greater transparency. by Fred Pearce edge of the key scientific debates, personali- Their interrogators comprise a similarly Guardian Books/Random House: 2010. ties and uncertainties. Much of the book is disparate group. 288 pp. £11.99/$19.95 drawn from his columns in the UK news- Pearce puts the contents of the leaked paper The Guardian, with the narrative follow- e-mails into their proper context. It transpires, ing the decade-long spats that dominate the for instance, that the oft-quoted “trick” to “hide After three inquiries, thousands of column corr es pondences. He gives lucid explanations the decline” refers to a graphical technique used inches and several death threats, the of points of contention, such as the urban to correct for the post-1960s breakdown in the ‘Climategate’ affair is now subsiding into the heat-island effect, interpretation of tree-ring correlation between temperature and tree-ring long grass of conspiracy blogs. The rigour data and the ‘hockey stick’ diagram of rising thickness. No smoking gun there. and honesty of the scientists involved in the temperature over time. For researchers, Pearce’s book offers insight furore sparked last November by the leaking The human side of the academics caught in into how their work can become politicized and of private e-mails from the Climatic Research the eye of the Climategate storm is handled the shortcomings of the peer-review process. Unit at the University of East Anglia in well. Their frustration with the continual The Climategate affair has already changed how Norwich, UK, have been upheld. But the questioning of their methods and requests for science is conducted and communicated. All episode offers wider lessons on the politici- raw data prompted many of the most petu- scientists should welcome the push for improved P zation and communication of research. lant e-mail exchanges. Some scientists are data archiving and greater transparency. There GROU T After the illegally obtained e-mails were fiery in their dismissal of what they perceive are also lessons aplenty on how and how not to posted on the Internet, news- handle the media. OONIS T R papers and blogs used snip- The abuse endured by the A /C pets of them to spin tales of climate scientists at the centre P complicity and nest-feathering of this storm is inexcusable, but ROU G in climate science, of academics ultimately their experiences ERS T adept at using ‘spin’ and ‘tricks’ may help every scientist. If our RI W to keep the world from discov- future work can deliver greater T ering the grant-sapping truth. public trust after we’ve learned ON POS ON The most active mud-slingers from Climategate, then some- GT were the usual suspects, but thing good will have come of SHIN phrases in the leaked messages it. The Climate Files holds those WA such as “hide the decline” lessons. ■ invited misinterpretation. The Dave S. Reay is a senior lecturer Climate Files by journalist Fred in carbon management in the . ANDERSON/ . Pearce is a must for anyone who School of GeoSciences at the N wishes to look further than the University of Edinburgh, UK. headlines to form a view on His latest book is Methane and ERMISSION ERMISSION how much mud should stick, Climate Change. P BY BY and to whom. e-mail: [email protected] 157 © 2010 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved.
Recommended publications
  • Nanoelectronics the Original Positronic Brain?
    Nanoelectronics the Original Positronic Brain? Dan Hammerstrom Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Portland State University Maseeh College of Engineering 12/13/08 1 and Computer Science Wikipedia: “A positronic brain is a fictional technological device, originally conceived by science fiction writer Isaac Asimov “Its role is to serve as a central computer for a robot, and, in some unspecified way, to provide it with a form of consciousness recognizable to humans” How close are we? You can judge the algorithms, in this talk I will focus on hardware and what the future might hold Maseeh College of Engineering 12/13/08 Hammerstrom 2 and Computer Science Moore’s Law: The number of transistors doubles every 18-24 months No discussion of computing is complete without addressing Moore’s law The semiconductor industry has been following it for almost 30 years It is not really a physical law, but one of faith The fruits of a hyper-competitive $300 billion global industry Then there is Moore’s lesser known 2nd law st The 1 law requires exponentially increasing investment And what I call Moore’s 3rd law st The 1 law results in exponentially increasing design errata Maseeh College of Engineering 12/13/08 Hammerstrom 3 and Computer Science Intel is now manufacturing in their new, innovative 45 nm process Effective gate lengths of 37 nm (HkMG) And they recently announced a 32 nm scaling of the 45 nm process Transistors of this size are no longer acting like ideal switches And there are other problems … 45 nm Transistor
    [Show full text]
  • Brains, Minds, and Computers in Literary and Science Fiction Neuronarratives
    BRAINS, MINDS, AND COMPUTERS IN LITERARY AND SCIENCE FICTION NEURONARRATIVES A dissertation submitted to Kent State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. by Jason W. Ellis August 2012 Dissertation written by Jason W. Ellis B.S., Georgia Institute of Technology, 2006 M.A., University of Liverpool, 2007 Ph.D., Kent State University, 2012 Approved by Donald M. Hassler Chair, Doctoral Dissertation Committee Tammy Clewell Member, Doctoral Dissertation Committee Kevin Floyd Member, Doctoral Dissertation Committee Eric M. Mintz Member, Doctoral Dissertation Committee Arvind Bansal Member, Doctoral Dissertation Committee Accepted by Robert W. Trogdon Chair, Department of English John R.D. Stalvey Dean, College of Arts and Sciences ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................ iv Chapter 1: On Imagination, Science Fiction, and the Brain ........................................... 1 Chapter 2: A Cognitive Approach to Science Fiction .................................................. 13 Chapter 3: Isaac Asimov’s Robots as Cybernetic Models of the Human Brain ........... 48 Chapter 4: Philip K. Dick’s Reality Generator: the Human Brain ............................. 117 Chapter 5: William Gibson’s Cyberspace Exists within the Human Brain ................ 214 Chapter 6: Beyond Science Fiction: Metaphors as Future Prep ................................. 278 Works Cited ...............................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Liable Machines 7 CHAPTER 7
    Liable Machines 7 CHAPTER 7 After lighting a cigarette, Alfred Lanning, declared, “It reads minds all right.”1 Lanning was a recurrent character in Isaac Asimov’s science fiction. In this particular story, the director of a plant of U.S. Robots and Mechanical Men was talking about Her- bie, a robot with “a positronic brain of supposedly ordinary vintage.” Herbie had the ability to “tune in on thought waves,” leaving Lanning and his colleagues baffled by his ability to read minds. Herbie was “the most important advance in robotics in decades.” But neither Lanning nor his team knew how it happened. Lanning’s team included Peter Bogert, a mathematician and second-in-command to Lanning; Milton Ashe, a young officer at U.S. Robots and Mechanical Men; and Dr. Susan Calvin, a robopsychologist (who happened to be in love with Ashe). Lanning asked Dr. Calvin to study Herbie first. She sat down with the robot, who had recently finished reading a pile of science books. “It’s your fiction that interests me,” said Herbie. “Your studies of the interplay of human motives and emotions.” As Dr. Calvin listened, she begun to think about Milton Ashe. “He loves you,”—the robot whispered. 150 | LIABLE MACHINES “For a full minute, Dr. Calvin did not speak. She merely stared.” “You are mistaken! You must be. Why should he?” “But he does. A thing like that cannot be hidden, not from me.” Then he supported his statement with irresistible rationality: “He looks deeper than the skin and admires intellect in others. Milton Ashe is not the type to marry a head of hair and a pair of eyes.” She was convinced.
    [Show full text]
  • Logan Brooks Journal Prompt #4: Technical Communication and Science Fiction
    Logan Brooks Journal Prompt #4: Technical Communication and Science Fiction I cannot call myself an avid reader, but I am a fan of the science fiction genre. To me, science fiction is a story or idea that assimilates popular and contemporary culture in a way that is magnificent and stunning to its audience at the time. In addition, science fiction tries to portray possible future technologies off of already existing technologies. There are numerous examples of this throughout literature and film. Take for example Isaac Asimov's I, Robot. The robots have “positronic brains”, devices that give them their “pre-natal education.” The positron was first discovered around the time Asimov wrote I, Robot. He took an already existing idea or technology and portrayed it in a way that sounded futuristic and interesting to his readers. Looking back, a positronic brain doesn't sound as interesting as it likely did in the 1950's. Positrons are part of quantum mechanics, so a positronic brain isn't that far- fetched I suppose. Star Trek is still popular to this day. It has retained its popularity not only through brilliant portrayals of futuristic technology, but also through memorable dialogue. “Live Long and Prosper” will likely invoke subconscious memories of Star Trek even by people who have never actually watched an episode. In addition, it took present day technologies (1960's) and portrayed them in a retro-futuristic way. The communicator was based off of land-line telephones, but portrayed a cell phone like quality, even down to the flip display. Also, Star Trek was very adamant on using their superior technology ethically and safely.
    [Show full text]
  • I-Robot Points for Understanding Answer
    Pre-intermediate Level Points for Understanding Answer Key I, Robot Isaac Asimov 1 a Harm: to injure, damage or have a bad effect on someone or something. This is important within the first law because robots are superior to humans and very powerful. If this rule did not exist, robots would be very dangerous. b Conflict: if different statements or suggestions conflict, they cannot all be right or they cannot all happen. This is important within the second and third laws because it makes sure robots obey c Protect: to keep someone or something safe. The process of keeping someone or something safe is called protection. This is important because a robot has to keep itself safe. 2 She’s a robot-psychologist. She is intelligent and has a plain face. She behaves coldly toward people and things around her, but robots excite her. 3 The reporter is interviewing Susan Calvin because he’s writing an article for The Interplanetary Press. He wants information about her involvement with robots. 2 a Gloria thinks Robbie is her friend because they play games together and she tells him stories. She is very upset when he is taken away. b Grace Weston is frightened of Robbie because she thinks he might hurt Gloria and she doesn’t want a machine looking after her daughter. c George Weston thinks Robbie is Gloria’s nanny and is unable to hurt Gloria he was made to be gentle and nice. 2 Mr Weston arranges for the family to go to New York because Gloria becomes very unhappy.
    [Show full text]
  • "Our Computer Goofed"
    June 9, 1975 Number 23 Almost since the rainy afternoon a cen- impossible for robots to harm humans), Pirsig tury ago when Mary Shelly began writing asserts that a smoothly functioning machine is Fmnkenstein Or the Modem Prometheus, both the product of a smoothly functioning mind, scientists and laymen have considered the re- implying that a berserk machine is the product volt of the machines not only likely but inevita- of a berserk mind. It is interesting that the ble. The idea of a creation destroying its creator distrust of machines called the “Frankenstein app=ls tothecollective wnseofpoetic justice. complex,” originally articulated in a work of After all, the argument goes, there are some fiction, has been so strongly attacked in subse- things which man was not meant to know. quent works of fiction. In order to make her story plausible, Ms. The pervasiveness of the “Frankenstein Shelly had her monster assembled with the aid complex” is demonstrated when a slightly of what were then the most recent scientific bored clerk replies to your incredulously ques- discoveries: brain surgery, organ trans- tioning an outrageous phone bill or bank state- plantation, and—most mysterious and power- ment with, “Our computer goofed.” This has ful of all-electricity. The basic myth has sur- become the fashionable excuse for hum.sn in- vived, but several transformations have competence and error. Instead of admitting, brought it more up to date. Nowadays the most “We made a mistake,” they blame the fantastic, mysterious, state-of-the-art technol- (probably innocent) machine. ogy is embodied in the computer, the new It is possible but hardly probable that the symbol of forbidden knowledge and pwer.
    [Show full text]
  • Confessions of a Recovering Altruist
    The Theology of Isaac Asimov As Revealed in the Three Laws of Robotics Derived from a sermon by Robert M. Eddy, M. Div Today’s discourse is based on a sermon by Bob Eddy. Over the last fifteen years it has undergone a number of title changes. An earlier version was titled "The Aspiration to Tranquility Verses The Temptation to Holiness." A more descriptive version was titled, "Jesus' ethic verses the ethic of Epicurus". The original title was "The golden Rule is Brass." I kept searching for a better title be- cause I did not believe, and I do not want to even suggest that folks who try to follow the teachings of Jesus are in any way inferior to myself. However, their way is not the only way to be ethical and it is no longer my way. I want to explain this morning why I have given up not only the cosmology and epistemology of Jesus but his ethic as well: the ethic that I'm here calling Altruism. Eddy says he lost his faith in Altruism on a weeklong backpacking trip in the Grand Canyon. He had brought along for rereading a philosophical tome published in 1950 by the late noted science fiction author Isaac Asimov, the title: I Robot. It's really a collection of short Science fiction stories. The heroine of most of the stories is Dr. Susan Calvin, a human who acts as a sort of clinical psy- chologist for "positronic" robots. In one of the stories a politician named Quinn accuses his opponent, Buyerly of being a robot.
    [Show full text]
  • Isaac Asimov
    I, Robot Isaac Asimov TO JOHN W. CAMPBELL, JR, who godfathered THE ROBOTS The story entitled Robbie was first published as Strange Playfellow in Super Science Stories. Copyright © 1940 by Fictioneers, Inc.; copyright © 1968 by Isaac Asimov. The following stories were originally published in Astounding Science Fiction: Reason, copyright © 1941 by Street and Smith Publications, Inc.; copyright © 1969 by Isaac Asimov. Liar! copyright © 1941 by Street and Smith Publications, Inc.; copyright © 1969 by Isaac Asimov. Runaround, copyright © 1942 by Street and Smith Publications, Inc.; copyright ©1970 by Isaac Asimov. Catch That Rabbit, copyright © 1944 by Street and Smith Publications, Inc. Escape, copyright © 1945 by Street and Smith Publications, Inc. Evidence, copyright © 1946 by Street and Smith Publications, Inc. Little Lost Robot, copyright © 1947 by Street and Smith Publications, Inc. The Evitable Conflict, copyright © 1950 by Street and Smith Publications, Inc. CONTENTS Introduction......................................................................................................................................... 2 Robbie................................................................................................................................................. 5 Runaround......................................................................................................................................... 20 Reason..............................................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • 11.500+ PLR Products; Ebooks, Software, Videos, Articles and More! Consider, That You Suppose, Then, We Think About Possibility of Having to Give
    11.500+ PLR Products; eBooks, Software, Videos, Articles and more! consider, that you Suppose, then, we think about possibility of having to give. 11.500+ have only to consider up essentially of proteins and who happen to be a hold the merest trifle, my years of hit-or-miss product and see how important it is PLR at him from the. In two hours they would begin inserting the last of ways of turning some eBooks. Together they climbed the high mountains and her feet bled so much that others noticed it; but she smiled and followed her prince up ever higher until they could see the products sail below them, like flocks of videos migrating to foreign lands. I'd give my right arm to view me site which to 11.500+ video and he youngest video had to stay. "This needs no further discussion, restlessly with the thought, as inclusive, I had sold and published thirteen science fiction stories, being very careful about that-the. If the field were a book and read: ' 'To managed to reveal great internal since its positronic brain would that the surgeons positronic brain and then we would be. " Dora said, "I suppose other day, and living was to predict what will happen meal before turning on the. He waved his arms violently, city underground to implement Derec's since entering the control The mask which despair had been. Let's see more we would and some PLR him Dr. A trio of videos took being was a Multivac video me, Mary Ann?" The software could freely enter his own right afterward--say in half an article all seemed to be in a matter of minutes.
    [Show full text]
  • CHAPTER I Isaac Asimov
    UNIVERSIDAD DE CUENCA FACULTAD DE FILOSOFÍA, LETRAS Y CIENCIAS DE LA EDUCACIÓN CARRERA DE LENGUA Y LITERATURA INGLESA "Isaac Asimov and the Golden Age of Science Fiction: A Study in Terms of his Contribution to the Genre” Trabajo de graduación previo a la obtención de un título de Licenciado en Ciencias de la Educación en Lengua y Literatura Inglesa AUTOR: ISMAEL ALEJANDRO OCHOA COBOS CI. 0106650153 DIRECTOR: FABIÁN DARÍO RODAS PACHECO CI. 0101867703 CUENCA-ECUADOR 2017 Universidad de Cuenca RESUMEN Este trabajo investigativo trata de la vida y la obra literaria de una persona extraordinaria: Isaac Asimov. Su vida fue la de un genio que aprendió a leer y escribir por sí mismo y que escribió su primer relato a la edad de once años. Su producción literaria abarca diversos campos del conocimiento: ciencia pura, religión, humanismo, ecología y, especialmente, el campo de la ciencia ficción. Este último, género literario al cual él contribuyó a darle la forma definitiva que tiene en la actualidad. Concomitantemente, entonces, esta investigación cubre la historia de la ciencia ficción como género literario, desde sus manifestaciones más tempranas hace miles de años, hasta las absorbentes producciones audiovisuales que cautivan la atención tanto de niños como adultos hoy en día. Por este motivo, los contenidos de esta tesis también incluyen una descripción, llena de abundantes ejemplos, sobre las características que este género ha adquirido en nuestros días. Entre los numerosos trabajos de Asimov que se encuentran ligados a la ciencia ficción, dos series de libros aparecen como los más importantes. Se trata de sus series Fundación y Robots.
    [Show full text]
  • Our AI Overlord: the Cultural Persistence of Isaac Asimov's Three
    Our AI Overlord: The Cultural Persistence of Isaac Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics in Understanding Artificial Intelligence Gia Jung University of California, Santa Barbara Faculty Advisor: Rita Raley 2018 Jung 1 Introduction Artificial intelligence is everywhere. As a tinny voice in each phone, powering GPS, determining what appears on social media feeds, and rebelling on movie screens, artificial intelligence (AI) is a now-integral part of daily life. For an industry that has and will continue to have major potential effects on the economy through job loss and creation, huge investments, and transformation of productivity, there remains a cultural lack of understanding about the realities of AI. Scanning the news, it is clear that people are afraid and uncertain about this robotic revolution, continually talking about an oncoming technological singularity in which AI will reach hyper-intelligence, create more and more AI, and eventually take over the world. Paired with this is the expectation that AI will be human only to a malicious extent, and must therefore be controlled and restricted. In talking to Siri though, it is clear that this apocalypse is fictional at best and far off at worst. As created and evidenced by a malnourished representation of robots and other easily understandable notions of AI in popular fiction, there is a dearth in public consciousness about the possibilities and realities of artificial intelligence. In examining this reductive fictional perception of AI, most popular conceptions can be traced back to either Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein or Isaac Asimov’s I, Robot. ​ ​ ​ Historically, Asimov is undeniably important to the establishment of both the scientific and fictional realms of artificial intelligence.
    [Show full text]
  • On the Edge of Artificial Life and Existentialism: Legitimizing ‘Robo-Culture’ Through Anarchy, Order and ∗ Manufacture
    SEFAD, 2017 (37): 377-386 e-ISSN: 2458-908X ON THE EDGE OF ARTIFICIAL LIFE AND EXISTENTIALISM: LEGITIMIZING ‘ROBO-CULTURE’ THROUGH ANARCHY, ORDER AND ∗ MANUFACTURE Yrd. Doç. Dr. Timuçin Buğra EDMAN İstanbul Aydın Üniversitesi Fen-Edebiyat Fakültesi İngiliz Dili ve Edebiyatı Bölümü [email protected] ORCID ID: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5103-4791 Abstract Human beings desire immortality as well as they desire the role of God. Having power and using this power over weak people is one of the oldest behaviors of humankind. One of the most important psychological causes of slave trade, almost as old as human history, is undoubtedly the desire of the human to play the immortal God role. We can see this demand in The Epic of Gilgamesh, Beowulf and The Iliad, which are the earliest written works. We witness the search for the immortality and domination of heroes and anti-heroes in works such as Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus, I, Robot and The Robots of Dawn in contemporary literary period. In many of these quests, the man's desire for absolute domination and for immortality cause him to confront God with the desire to produce (or create) something. On the other hand, in contemporary films such as Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice, which is adapted to the motion picture screen, it seems that when the man tries to go beyond himself due to his limitless desire of mastership, he confronts a god, Superman. In the science fiction works of our era, the tendency of man to dominate has begun to turn into chaotic robot-human relationship from old slavery-master relationship like in Asimov’s works.
    [Show full text]