Geeking-Out September 20, 2024
AI Isn't as Modern as You Might Think
Curated by Meg Birmingham
We can consider this the KAOS edition of Too Dope Not to Share, but since I haven’t officially finished the Netflix series I can’t claim to be Geeking Out about it. Instead, what is shared this week will be closely related to Mythology, ancient studies, and how we are connected across time.
It may be surprising to learn but the theory of intelligent machines and artificial intelligence has been around for a very long time. As early as 3,000 years ago we encounter interest in intelligent machines and AI that perform different functions. Even outside of Greco-Roman studies, we can find references to the design and construction of robots and machines.
This article from The Reader explores how these objects have long, complex histories that reveal some striking similarities across culture, time, and space. Robots and AI in fact and in fiction serve the interests of powerful elites, act as liminal objects, and are often used in imaginative texts to think about and interrogate boundaries between natural and artificial, between living and not.