R.U.R. – Social Robot Futures

Robots and What It Is To Be Human

Feb 21, 2021Jan 31, 2023

— Podcast with Robin Murphy and Teresa Heffernan

In the introduction to “Robots,” Episode 49 of Words to that Effect: Stories of the Fiction that Shapes Popular Culture, podcast host Conor Reid reflects on how, “from the very first use of the word robot,” in the early 20th century play, R.U.R., “there are tensions and contrasts between the miraculous technological advancement the robots embody, and fundamental issues of freedom and slavery and what it is to be human.”

Discussion

Reading the Human through Robots and AI

May 31, 2019Jan 31, 2023

Book review by Teresa Heffernan (forthcoming in Novel)

Debates about whether robots will take over jobs or open up as yet unimagined career possibilities dominate the headlines. Silicon Valley and the techno optimists promise us that robots will automate boring jobs and create new ones, leaving humans free to pursue their interests in the arts and sciences and ushering in a great era of equality, creativity, and freedom.

Discussion

Science Museum Exhibit: Robotic Delights or Disappointments?

Jun 23, 2017Jan 31, 2023

By Teresa Heffernan

The tagline at the 2017 Robot Exhibit at the Science Museum in London reads “the 500-year quest to make machines human.” The show has attracted a great deal of media attention—The Guardian’s review announced: “Science Museum’s robotic delights hold a mirror to human society” while The Telegraph preview reads “A truly mind-bending array of humanoid imagery ” and the Londonist insists “You HAVE TO SEE Robots At The Science Museum.”[i]