This event is part of the Technology & Consciousness Series: Fall/Winter 2018-2019
More than 2,500 years ago—centuries before technology made robots possible—Greek mythology was exploring ideas about creating artificial life—and grappling with still-unresolved ethical concerns about technology.
As early as Homer, Greeks were imagining robotic servants, animated statues, and even ancient versions of artificial intelligence, while in Indian legend, Buddha’s precious relics were defended by robot warriors copied from Greco-Roman designs. Many sophisticated robotic devices were actually built in antiquity, reaching a climax with the creation of a host of robots or automata in the ancient city of learning, Alexandria, the original Silicon Valley.
Join scholar and author Adrienne Mayor as she explores how some of today’s most advanced innovations in robotics and AI were foreshadowed in ancient myth.
Adrienne Mayor is a research scholar in the Classics Department and History of Science Program at Stanford University, and currently a Berggruen Fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences. Her latest book, Gods and Robots: Myths, Machines, and Ancient Dreams of Technology, explores the timeless quest for artificial life, showing how the ancient Greeks imagined automata, self-moving devices, human enhancements, and Artificial Intelligence more than 2,000 years ago. Her previous books include The Amazons, The First Fossil Hunters, and Greek Fire, Poison Arrows & Scorpion Bombs. Adrienne’s books are translated into a dozen languages and her work is featured on NPR, BBC, History and Smithsonian Channels, New York Times, National Geographic, and other media.
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More than 2,500 years ago—centuries before technology made robots possible—Greek mythology was exploring ideas about creating artificial life—and grappling with still-unresolved ethical concerns about technology.
As early as Homer, Greeks were imagining robotic servants, animated statues, and even ancient versions of artificial intelligence, while in Indian legend, Buddha’s precious relics were defended by robot warriors copied from Greco-Roman designs. Many sophisticated robotic devices were actually built in antiquity, reaching a climax with the creation of a host of robots or automata in the ancient city of learning, Alexandria, the original Silicon Valley.
Join scholar and author Adrienne Mayor as she explores how some of today’s most advanced innovations in robotics and AI were foreshadowed in ancient myth.
Adrienne Mayor is a research scholar in the Classics Department and History of Science Program at Stanford University, and currently a Berggruen Fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences. Her latest book, Gods and Robots: Myths, Machines, and Ancient Dreams of Technology, explores the timeless quest for artificial life, showing how the ancient Greeks imagined automata, self-moving devices, human enhancements, and Artificial Intelligence more than 2,000 years ago. Her previous books include The Amazons, The First Fossil Hunters, and Greek Fire, Poison Arrows & Scorpion Bombs. Adrienne’s books are translated into a dozen languages and her work is featured on NPR, BBC, History and Smithsonian Channels, New York Times, National Geographic, and other media.
This event is part of the Technology & Consciousness Series: Fall/Winter 2018-2019
More than 2,500 years ago—centuries before technology made robots possible—Greek mythology was exploring ideas about creating artificial life—and grappling with still-unresolved ethical concerns about technology.
As early as Homer, Greeks were imagining robotic servants, animated statues, and even ancient versions of artificial intelligence, while in Indian legend, Buddha’s precious relics were defended by robot warriors copied from Greco-Roman designs. Many sophisticated robotic devices were actually built in antiquity, reaching a climax with the creation of a host of robots or automata in the ancient city of learning, Alexandria, the original Silicon Valley.
Join scholar and author Adrienne Mayor as she explores how some of today’s most advanced innovations in robotics and AI were foreshadowed in ancient myth.
Adrienne Mayor is a research scholar in the Classics Department and History of Science Program at Stanford University, and currently a Berggruen Fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences. Her latest book, Gods and Robots: Myths, Machines, and Ancient Dreams of Technology, explores the timeless quest for artificial life, showing how the ancient Greeks imagined automata, self-moving devices, human enhancements, and Artificial Intelligence more than 2,000 years ago. Her previous books include The Amazons, The First Fossil Hunters, and Greek Fire, Poison Arrows & Scorpion Bombs. Adrienne’s books are translated into a dozen languages and her work is featured on NPR, BBC, History and Smithsonian Channels, New York Times, National Geographic, and other media.
read more
More than 2,500 years ago—centuries before technology made robots possible—Greek mythology was exploring ideas about creating artificial life—and grappling with still-unresolved ethical concerns about technology.
As early as Homer, Greeks were imagining robotic servants, animated statues, and even ancient versions of artificial intelligence, while in Indian legend, Buddha’s precious relics were defended by robot warriors copied from Greco-Roman designs. Many sophisticated robotic devices were actually built in antiquity, reaching a climax with the creation of a host of robots or automata in the ancient city of learning, Alexandria, the original Silicon Valley.
Join scholar and author Adrienne Mayor as she explores how some of today’s most advanced innovations in robotics and AI were foreshadowed in ancient myth.
Adrienne Mayor is a research scholar in the Classics Department and History of Science Program at Stanford University, and currently a Berggruen Fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences. Her latest book, Gods and Robots: Myths, Machines, and Ancient Dreams of Technology, explores the timeless quest for artificial life, showing how the ancient Greeks imagined automata, self-moving devices, human enhancements, and Artificial Intelligence more than 2,000 years ago. Her previous books include The Amazons, The First Fossil Hunters, and Greek Fire, Poison Arrows & Scorpion Bombs. Adrienne’s books are translated into a dozen languages and her work is featured on NPR, BBC, History and Smithsonian Channels, New York Times, National Geographic, and other media.
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California Institute of Integral Studies - CIIS
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