This interesting article mentions my work, and it focuses on some of the funniest robots and automata of early and silent film. Titled “The Bumbling Robots and Awkward Automatons of Silent Cinema,” this piece by Allison Meier gives some hilarious examples, from The Automatic Motorist (1911), to L’Uomo Meccanico (1921), and Houdini’s The Master Mystery […]
I gave a number of interviews and comments on The Martian and its representation of technology, scientific processes, and space travel. Both the novel by Andy Weir and the film directed by Ridley Scott revel in depicting realistic technological challenges and solutions. You can read my discussion of realism and the […]
I will be presenting a paper titled “Artificial People in The Twilight Zone“ at the Society for Cinema and Media Studies in Spring 2016. The image above is from one of my favorite episodes, “The Lonely,” aired on November 13, 1959 on CBS. Written by Rod Serling, this episode features Corry, a man sentenced to […]
Science for the People is a syndicated radio show that focuses on science, popular culture, history, and public policy, and broadcasts across North America. I participated in a great panel of scientists, journalists and researchers to discuss Artificial Intelligence, organized by the show’s host Desiree Schell. Here is the episode’s description: Artificial Intelligence #348 This […]
I was invited to The Kojo Nnamdi Show, WAMU 88.5 in Washington DC, and was interviewed by guest host Todd Kliman. We talked about my book, Anatomy of a Robot, which he had read so carefully, and about the perennial appeal of robots and other artificial people! It was a great conversation, and wonderful experience […]
My article on “Affect and Machines in the Media” was just published in The Oxford Handbook of Affective Computing, edited by Rafael A. Calvo, Sidney D’Mello, Jonathan Gratch, and Arvid Kappas. This essay discusses major cultural fantasies and preconceptions about machines and emotion, as these have been formed in science fiction literature, film, and popular […]
I was online answering questions about robots on io9, and if you don’t know this website you really should check it out, it has such an irreverent and also knowledgeable approach to science fiction media and culture. Here is the link to the discussion, which took place on August 15, 2014, from 11 -12 Pacific […]
Perhaps it is the impending film release of The Fault in Our Stars that has occasioned new interest in how the category known as “young adult literature” operates today in the publishing world, the book-to-film world, and the general reading world. The debate has taken many forms this summer, and has intensified after the publication […]
My new book, Anatomy of a Robot: Literature, Cinema and the Cultural Work or Artificial People has just come out from Rutgers University Press. It is so exciting to see this project come to fruition and the book looks beautiful. Here is some more information about this project. Description Why do we find artificial people […]
I gave a talk recently at the Center for Cultural Studies at the University of California at Santa Cruz. It was a great honor to be invited to present my work, and the discussion after the talk was lively and inspiring, with faculty and students from the departments of Literature, History of Consciousness, Film & […]