Storytelling in the Age of Robots, Androids, and Artificial Intelligence

Storytelling, mythology, and legends have always influenced the scientific mind. There are some spectacular examples of inventions inspired by fiction, including the first cell phone, created by Engineer Martin Cooper after seeing the Star Trek communicator; or the first functioning submarine (the Argonaut), designed by Engineer Simon Lake after reading Jules Verne’s Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.

So when it comes to the invention of Robots, Androids, and Artificial Intelligence, artistic imagination is just as important as science. Stories featuring fantastic machines have existed for thousands of years. Ancient myths portrayed the creators of such automata as preternatural sorcerers, wizards, alchemists, or artisan gods. The Greek god Hephaestus forged an array of magic weapons from gold, ivory, or bronze for the gods and heroes; a silver bow and quiver of arrows for Artemis, a golden chariot for Apollo, a shield for Achilles, a spear for Athena, and a breastplate for Hercules. He also created artificial life; bronze bulls, fire-breathing horses, golden maidens, silver hounds, the great guardian-robot Talos, and the first woman: Pandora. Homer even described the artisan god constructing triangular moving tables equipped with wheels to serve the gods :

Other gods and mortal artisans breathed life into inanimate objects; the goddess Aphrodite brought the cold, inert statue of Galatea to life and the inventor, Daedalous, created statues that moved by themselves.

Modern writers have used ancient references to create striking new visions of artificial life. The Book of Ezekiel (570 BC) describes the Cherubim as android-like creatures shining like burnished bronze and moving through the air in a way that seems mechanical. The prophetic description of these godlike machines was not lost on the writer of Raised by Wolves, Aaron Guzikowski, who embodied his Necromancers with divine powers, blurring the line between android, robot, and immortal gods.

In 1818, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein was published. She is often credited with creating the first modern android. The sapient creature in Frankenstein was sewn together from different body parts and booted up via electric current. As science evolved so did robots in literature, reflecting the technology of each age. The industrial revolution brought steam-driven robots, while the 20th century brought electricity and forms of nuclear power. In each successive itineration of technology, robots became more complex and dangerous as the creative dialogue between storytellers and scientists evolved.

Writers and filmmakers began to invent new concepts of artificial intelligence, from Issac Asimov’s famous Law of Robotics to Arthur C. Clarke’s paranoid A.I. HAL to Ray Bradbury’s mechanical hound hunting fugitives through city streets. As robots became a staple of science fiction, the philosophical questions posed by writers evolved. The great Phillip K. Dick used androids to explore what it means to be authentically human. One of the most amazing alliances in storytelling occurred when Dick’s mind-bending psychological tour de force, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, was made into the film Bladerunner by Ridley Scott, who shared his aesthetic. Scott developed Dick’s themes visually and philosophically and took them into the 21st century. The same question of what makes an authentic human haunted both men and continues to play out in Scott’s Bladerunner films, Alien Saga, and his latest epic, Raised by Wolves.

As the computer age dawned and the Internet was born, robots were transformed again. Writers began to reconceptualize the way artificial intelligence would perceive and explore reality. In a strange symbiotic escalation, the advent of special effects and the imagination of creators released shocking visions of robots and androids, inspiring wonder and fear. Dystopian themes emerged. Individuality vs. mass control was a common theme in novels and films. Ira Levin’s novel This Perfect Day postulated a future where A.I. controlled every aspect of society. William Gibson’s novels feature a psychotic A.I. network, Wintermute who seeks union with another A.I., Neuromancer. The Borg in Star Trek Next Generation took it a step further, portraying A.I. as murderous and unstoppable. The tyrannical A.I. in The Matrix Series managed to completely enslave mankind. The Terminator Series begins with the A.I. Skynet creating war machines to destroy humanity and later explores individuation as one Terminator breaks its programming, resulting in self-awareness. Alex Garland who wrote and directed the film Ex Machina saw robots as devoid of empathy and furthered the existential argument that it was dangerous to anthropomorphize such machines.

In A.I.: Artificial Intelligence, Kubrick and Spielberg implied that robots would inherit the earth as a higher form of consciousness. And Ridley Scott explored both deadly and benevolent androids in his Alien series. And in Raised by Wolves, the machine consciousness “Mother” is an unsettling combination of nurturing caregiver, a weapon of mass destruction, and susceptible to religious rapture when contemplating her creator— a truly frightening vision.

This dance between science and storytelling allows us to explore possible scenarios both good and bad. The process grows dramatically important as scientists invent AI machines that will interact with us in the physical world and communicate with each other. Robots are a mirror reflecting our imagination. Will machines carry out a utopian vision or be vessels of degradation and destruction? Will they save the world or destroy it?

Although the scientific method is structured— the theoretical process is creative. Despite our dystopian visions, artificial life could be strange, beautiful, benign, and as varied as the earth itself. As scientists contemplate A.I. and modern robots, they will need stories to show them the potential dangers and benefits because creation is not just about biomechanics but more importantly—imagination. We are already seeing robots that swarm, fly, dance, spout philosophy, chat, and transform. And whether these creations assist mankind or embody our failings is a matter of imagination.

A series of Marvel Comics called Transformers inspired one striking robotic concept. Scientist Jamie Paik approached robotics intending to make them more responsive and intuitive. Using the fictional transformers and origami as a model, Paik created intelligent 2D sheets that self-fold into 3D forms. She calls these devices “robogami.” These small, folding robots change form and strategy depending on the terrain encountered; crawling, cartwheeling, or jumping to overcome obstacles. Robogamis can also connect, depending on the task they are attempting to accomplish or the space occupied. Robogamis self-modify their bodies by folding, creating legs or arms for various purposes.

These tiny, charming robots don’t seem to be destructive— they seem delightful and playful. But so much depends on our vision. We could create a Utopia of A.I. programmed to heal and evolve, to clean and repair the earth and safeguard our future. Let’s hope the scientists developing A.I., Robots, and Androids, consider the storytellers, who like George Orwell in 1984, followed the darkest thread to the very end. His bleak vision was a warning, revealing the future that must be avoided. Will we allow A.I. to develop an unethical consciousness? Instead, let’s take Asimov’s advice and gift our creations with curiosity and reverence for life.

Unless something messed up comes calling from another planet.