| HUMA 1905
Dangerous Visions, Brave New Worlds:
The Science Fiction Culture and Our Scientific Age
From Automata to Androids and Robots: The Cult of the Machine
Term/Definitions
Automaton (noun)
Etymology: from Greek automatos “self-acting” or “self-moving”
A being (whether biological, mechanical or electronic) that can move or act of itself. More specifically, a device able to simulate actions of a human being.
Plural: automata, automatons.
Robot (noun)
Etymology: from Czech robota “forced labour, drudgery”, robotnik “worker” or “slave”
Czech playwright Karel Čapek (1890–1938): R.U.R.: Rossum's Universal Robots (1920)
A programmable machine capable of a complex series of movements
Android (noun)
Etymology: from Greek andro- “man” + eidos “like”
An automaton or robot resembling a human being
The Meaning of Robots (or Automata or Androids) in SF
Contexts
Myths and Legends
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Hephaestus: “golden girls” & automata
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Pygmalion
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Talos
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Golem
The Scientific Background
Clockwork Universe: clockwork humans?
René Descartes (1596 – 1650)
res extensa: physical substance, body
res cogitans: thinking substance, soul/mind
Automata:
Jacques de Vaucanson, Digesting Duck (1738)
Pierre Jaquet-Droz, The Writer (1774)
Henri Maillardet, Draughtsman-Writer (c. 1800)
Thomas Edison, Talking Dolls (1890)
Robots in Popular Culture
Rossum’s Universal Robots (Karel Čapek, 1920)
Metropolis (Fritz Lang, 1927)
Eric the Robot (1928)
Lester del Rey, “Helen O’Loy” (Astounding Science Fiction, December 1938)
&
Isaac Asimov, “Robbie” (Super Science Stories, September 1940)
Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics:
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A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
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A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
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A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws.
Lecture links:
Video Clip #1 (3.5 minutes)
Jason and the Argonauts (1963): Talos
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19iTLbUC-ZQ
Video Clip #2 (4.75 minutes)
Pierre Jacquet-Droz“The Writer” Automaton (BBC4)
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bY_wfKVjuJM
Video Clip #3 (7.25 minutes)
Franklin Institute's Maillardet Automaton Demo 11/04/07 (4 November 2007)
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwkkDfs-RKg
Metropolis (1927): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0NzALRJifI
Image #1 (Digesting Duck):
http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/wordpress/2013/06/duck.jpg?w=300
Website #1 (Maillardet):
https://www.fi.edu/history-automaton
Website #2 (Edison’s “Talking Doll”):
http://www.nps.gov/edis/learn/photosmultimedia/edison-talking-doll-recordings-1888-1890.htm
Website #3 (Eric the Robot review – Saturday 27 October 1928):
http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/56762327
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