Thinking Machines: The First AI Takeover Story
New Books in Science, Technology, and Society
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Exploring the Roots of Robot Rebellion
This chapter analyzes Carol Capek's seminal play 'Rossum's Universal Robots', which introduced the term 'robot' and laid the groundwork for the robot rebellion genre. It examines how the play intersects with ideologies like nationalism, capitalism, and religion, while raising ethical questions about artificial beings and their rights. The narrative unfolds through the character Helena Glory, who ignites a revolutionary awareness among robots, provoking a philosophical discourse on the nature of consciousness and the possible blurring of lines between humans and machines.
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