Publisher's Synopsis
<b>For Fans of Mary Roach, a Sweetly Nostalgic and Enlightening Exploration of Futures Past, Present, and Still to Come</b><br><br><i>Generation Robot</i> covers a century of science fiction, fact, and speculation—from the 1950 publication of Isaac Asimov’s seminal robot masterpiece, <i>I, Robot</i>, to the 2050 Singularity when artificial and human intelligence are predicted to merge. Beginning with a childhood informed by pop-culture robots in movies, in comic books, and on TV in the 1960s, to adulthood where the possibilities of self-driving cars and virtual reality are daily conversation, Terri Favro offers a unique perspective on how our relationship with robotics and futuristic technologies has shifted over time. Peppered with pop-culture fun-facts about Superman’s kryptonite, the human-machine relationships in the cult TV show <i>Firefly</i>, and the sexual and moral implications of the film <i>Ex Machina</i>, <i>Generation Robot</i> explores how the techno-triumphs and resulting anxieties of reality bleed into the fantasies of our collective culture. <br>Clever and accessible, <i>Generation Robot</i> isn’t just for the serious, scientific reader—it’s for everyone interested in robotics and technology since their science-fiction origins. By looking back at the future she once imagined, analyzing the plugged-in present, and speculating on what is on the horizon, Terri Favro allows readers the chance to consider what was, what is, and what could be. This is a captivating book that looks at the pop-culture of our society to explain how the world works—now and tomorrow.
