This talk by Teresa Heffernan considers the far reaches of the multi-billion-dollar immortality industry and the money and power behind the scenes that fuels this fantasy science even as the planet teeters on the brink of collapse. After examining some contemporary fictions that challenge big tech and its paradoxical escalation of the end of all […]
AI, the Immortality Industry, and the Ethics of Death Read More »
By Teresa Heffernan Alan Turing–the force behind theoretical computer science, artificial intelligence, and the Universal Turing Machine–was instrumental in cracking intercepted coded messages, which enabled the Allies to defeat the Nazis. He was charged with “gross indecency” in 1952 and punished for homosexuality. He submitted to chemical castration in lieu of prison.
The Tyranny of Life Under Algorithms: A Short Meditation Read More »
Dr. Teresa Heffernan (Saint Mary’s University, Halifax) is scheduled to give a public lecture January 17, 2018 at the University of King’s College on “Imagining Automatons: Images of Robots in Fiction and Science.”
Imagining Automatons–Upcoming Lecture Read More »
By Karen Asp What is the K5 “autonomous data robot”? This seems to be the underlying question in various news reports covering the recent commercial launch of Silicon Valley-based Knightscope’s new security technology. And it is quickly followed by more questions that in essence ask, what does it mean for us? Does it mean that
R2-D2 on Patrol? Using Fiction to Define the K5 Security Robot Read More »
