"Looking across the last 50,000 years of storytelling it's hard to find fundamentally modern narratives that rise to the level mythology. Until you consider artificial intelligence, AI."
I do agree with liberally slanted NPR that robots turning against their human creators represents a new type of human Myth, but I vehemently disagree that it is the only modern contribution to mythology.
He-llo, ever heard of zombies, NPR ?! You're showing your elitist, effete stripes. NPR readers, too. Only one online commenter, a female of all people (Erin Bell), even sort of mentioned zombies but she got it all wrong and called them renegade robots of a sort.
Look, does anybody recall any stories about Greek, Roman, Chinese, or Native American heroes battling armies of the walking dead? No.
And there are like a thousand times more movies and books about zombies than there are about sentient renegade robots. And way better ones, too. Tell the truth: how many of you ever fell asleep watching that Kubric classic of the evil sentient machine genre, 2001: A Space Odyssey, vs. falling asleep watching Night of the Living Dead or Dawn of the Dead? I rest my case.
HAL: "Just what do you think you're doing, Dave?"
Dave: "Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....."
By Adam Frank
February 16, 2011 | NPR
February 16, 2011 | NPR
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