Posthuman desire in robotics and science fiction

This article explores how human-posthuman intimate relationships are thematized in both robotics and in science fiction film, literature and robotic art. While on the one hand many engineers and computer scientists are working hard, albeit in an altogether affirmative way, toward the technological development of anthropomorphic robots which are capable of providing social assistance, emotional support and sexual pleasure, aesthetic representations of intimacy between man and machine give us on the other hand a more nuanced and critical picture of possible future forms of desire. However, these fictional works are themselves very often complicit with the use of familiar dualistic paradigms as male-female or self-other. Drawing on Deleuze and Guattari’s ideas of ‘becoming-other,’ scholars in critical posthumanism counterpose to this as an essentially traditional approach a nondualist reconceptualization of human beings and of the technological other, a reconceiving which is centered on ‘encounters of alterity’ and ‘unnatural alliances.’ The aim of this article is to expand on and to further develop these theories into what can be called a theory of ‘new networks of desire.’ According to this network idea, romantic entanglements between man and machine can better be seen as a specific form of power which does not leave us just where and who we were, but transformed. Desire is thus shown as a site for challenging our restricted self-understanding as humans and for transgressing humans’ self-centeredness

Immanence for transcendence: confronting the techno-theological eschatology of posthuman speculative science

Posthuman speculative science, typified by the writings of Hans Moravec, Frank Tipler, and Ray Kurzweil, evinces a faith in technology’s capacity to transform the future destiny of humankind. For these thinkers technology, and in particular information technology, will provide the means by which present-day humanity or its descendents will participate in their posthuman evolution, thus ushering in an eschatological kingdom marked by the end of human and cosmic finitude. This paper will critique the implied techno-theology of this posthuman eschatology and offer as its counterpoint a theology of technology informed by a Christian hermeneutical framework

Creating Room for A Singularity of Our Own: Reading Sue Lange\u27s We, Robots

The accessibility of Lange’s text might mitigate against recognizing its importance. Lange’s simple sentence structure and direct communicative mode convey a presently overlooked logical moral assertion: the impending Singularity is not a male-dominated patriarchal domain. The Singularity, in other words, should not be construed in a manner which excludes women and feminism. This assertion is patently obvious. But, nonetheless, it is often ignored. Before I read Lange’s novella as a description of the Singularity which feminists can embrace, I include the following background information: 1) a discussion about why the discourse relating to the Singularity needs to be expanded and 2) an introduction to Lange’s place within feminist science fiction

A better life through information technology? The techno-theological eschatology of posthuman speculative science

This is the pre-peer reviewed version of the article, published in Zygon 41(2) pp.267-288, which has been published in final form at http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/118588124/issueThe depiction of human identity in the pop-science futurology of engineer/inventor Ray Kurzweil, the speculative-robotics of Carnegie Mellon roboticist Hans Moravec and the physics of Tulane University mathematics professor Frank Tipler elevate technology, especially information technology, to a point of ultimate significance. For these three figures, information technology offers the potential means by which the problem of human and cosmic finitude can be rectified. Although Moravec’s vision of intelligent robots, Kurzweil’s hope for immanent human immorality, and Tipler’s description of human-like von Neumann probe colonising the very material fabric of the universe, may all appear to be nothing more than science fictional musings, they raise genuine questions as to the relationship between science, technology, and religion as regards issues of personal and cosmic eschatology. In an attempt to correct what I see as the ‘cybernetic-totalism’ inherent in these ‘techno-theologies’, I will argue for a theology of technology, which seeks to interpret technology hermeneutically and grounds human creativity in the broader context of divine creative activity

Welcome to the world of tomorrow today: Matt Groening\u27s Futurama as posthuman mediator

In this thesis an explanation of posthuman theory along with a close analysis of both Fry and the robot Bender. These analyses respectively show how we are already posthuman as well as the material limitations of posthuman subjectivity

Unmasking Mecha Identities; Visual Media Perspectives on Posthumanism in Japanese Popular Culture

Current Japanese animation has shifted to present posthumanism as a formative tool towards the establishment of personal identity, rather than simply a utopian dream, or a nightmare of fear, which is in contrast with prior works of Japanese visual and print science fiction from the 1930\u27s to 1990\u27s, which depicted posthumanity as, at the least, ambiguous or even destructive towards human identity; this shift can be seen beginning with Japan\u27s earliest science fiction works and is suggestive of a gradual acceptance and integration of the mechanical into the self. Analysis of posthumanity in popular media in other parts of the word, namely the United States, shows posthumanism from a polarizing perspective of either, uncertainty and fear, or idealist fantasy, which suggest that America has yet to establish the same level of conceptual paradigm which has been achieved by the Japanese in the 21st century. From this analysis, it would seem as though the general trend of acceptance and affinity for posthumanity could be represented by an ascending linearity, the general trend is that humanity, especially Japan, is moving closer and closer to robots and identification with them as identity forming tools. This trend suggests a paradigm shift where ideological and cultural constructs are helping to move humans and machines closer together. As opposed to most of the work that has been done in the study of animé, this thesis is an attempt to analyze new animé narratives which have had very little exposure in terms of academic study. It is not simply about putting robots, machines, or mecha on a pedestal, but is rather meant to decode the shifting portrayal of robots within popular culture and then try to understand how these shifts differ across borders, from the United States to Japan

For the Love of Robots: Posthumanism in Latin American Science Fiction Between 1960-1999

Posthumanism—understood as a symbiotic relationship between humans and technology—is quickly and surely becoming an inextricable part of daily life. In an era where technology can be worn as an extension of—and an enhancement to—our bodies, traditional science fiction tropes such as robots and cyborgs resurface and reformulate questions on critical aspects of human experience: who are we and what do our (imagined) technologies say about our world? Such questions are far more complex than they appear. Their answers should not come from one source alone, as humanness is experienced differently across time and cultural systems. In this sense, it is imperative to focus critical attention on works beyond the English-language canon in order to discover alternative readings of the posthuman, understand how varying historical, social, and economic contexts give new meanings to robots, cyborgs and hyper-technological imaginaries, and provide balancing perspectives to the ideas presented in canon posthuman science fiction from the developed world. To this end, this study centers on posthuman science fiction from Latin America. The primary works included here are limited only to Mexico, Chile, and Argentina—three of the countries with the greatest science fiction output in the region. This study explores the intersections of gender, sexualities, and posthumanism, as well as the underlying sociopolitical implications of such narratives. They exhibit an undeniable influence of canon Anglophone science fiction in terms of tropes (robots as mates for humans, cybernetic doppelgangers, technological utopias and dystopias) as well as problematic representations of gender, sex, and race. Yet, at the same time, posthuman elements in these Latin American narratives exhibit distinct local traits. Moreover, robot and cyborg figures enhance and renew discourses of political corruption, dictatorial trauma, surveillance, social and ecological decline. This study aims to outline the ways in which Latin American posthuman science fiction stands apart from the canon and proves itself as a legitimate genre. Simultaneously, this project seeks to supplement the nascent critical corpus on Latin American science fiction. It is my hope that this study’s insights will contribute to the field’s growth and success with scholars and readers alike

Blurring Posthuman Identities: The New Version of Humanity Offered by Bicentennial Man

The aim of this paper is to analyse the 1999 film version of Isaac Asimov ’s “The Bicentennial Man ” (1976), a film that reflects the changing status of the dichotomy human/non-human in our culture. The idea of blurring the human body boundaries has become one of the most repeated and successful subject matters of the science-fiction genre, a subject especially attractive in a time that some critics have defined as “post-human ”. Starting from Norbert Wiener theories we will see different approaches to the idea of the cyborg and the “post-human ”, which will help us to understand the changing relationship between machine, robot and cyborg in Bicentennial Man (1999). We will analyse in which ways the film answers the question: what does it mean to be human in a posthuman world? El propósito de este artículo es analizar la versión cinematográfica de 1999 de la historia corta “The Bicentennial Man ”(1976) escrita por Isaac Asimov. Se trata de una película que refleja la cambiante posición de la dicotomía humano/ no humano en nuestra cultura. La idea de las fronteras poco nítidas del cuerpo humano se ha convertido en uno de los temas más repetidos y exitosos del género de la ciencia ficción, un tema especialmente atractivo en una época que algunos críticos han denominado “posthumana ”. Comenzando por las teorías de Norbert Wiener veremos diferentes aproximaciones a la idea del cyborg y de lo posthumano, lo que nos ayudará a comprender la cambiante relación entre máquina, robot y cyborg en Bicentennial Man (1999). Analizaremos de qué modo la película responde a la pregunta: qué significa ser humano en un mundo “posthumano ”

Gods of Transhumanism

Purpose of the article is to identify the religious factor in the teaching of transhumanism, to determine its role in the ideology of this flow of thought and to identify the possible limits of technology interference in human nature. Theoretical basis. The methodological basis of the article is the idea of transhumanism. Originality. In the foreseeable future, robots will be able to pass the Turing test, become “electronic personalities” and gain political rights, although the question of the possibility of machine consciousness and self-awareness remains open. In the face of robots, people create their assistants, evolutionary competition with which they will almost certainly lose with the initial data. For successful competition with robots, people will have to change, ceasing to be people in the classical sense. Changing the nature of man will require the emergence of a new – posthuman – anthropology. Conclusions. Against the background of scientific discoveries, technical breakthroughs and everyday improvements of the last decades, an anthropological revolution has taken shape, which made it possible to set the task of creating inhumanly intelligent creatures, as well as changing human nature, up to discussing options for artificial immortality. The history of man ends and the history of the posthuman begins. We can no longer turn off this path, however, in our power to preserve our human qualities in the posthuman future. The theme of the soul again reminded of itself, but from a different perspective – as the theme of consciousness and self-awareness. It became again relevant in connection with the development of computer and cloud technologies, artificial intelligence technologies, etc. If a machine ever becomes a "man", then can a man become a "machine"? However, even if such a hypothetical probability would turn into reality, we cannot talk about any form of individual immortality or about the continuation of existence in a different physical form. A digital copy of the soul will still remain a copy, and I see no fundamental possibility of isolating a substrate-independent mind from the human body. Immortality itself is necessary not so much for stopping someone’s fears or encouraging someone’s hopes, but for the final solution of a religious issue. However, the gods hold the keys to heaven hard and are unlikely to admit our modified descendants there