Representations of Robots in the Media

“We live in cities. Our fields are asphalt, our stars are electric street lights, our forests are high tension wires.”  Hans Windisch.

This is a quote by Hans Windisch, a German photographer who specialized in cityscapes in 1929. From the early 20th Century this ever-changing world was clearly evident. Instead of grass, stars, and forests, we have commercialized, industrialized products to suit our needs rather than the natural landscapes that were once the norm. Windisch was commenting on this industrialized world before the Brave New World expressed by Aldous Huxley, before the terrifying notion of Big Brother in Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty Four, before many of the greatest 20th century writers. This quote has never been more relevant than it is today. Technology has, to some extent, overwhelmed the world of essential natural resources.

 Good morning Ladies and Gentleman, my name is Fiachra Kissane and it is my honour to be presenting to you at the Future Directions Youth Forum. Science in the media can be portrayed in two ways, either detrimental to society or beneficial to social order. The media thus create a desired connotation in which an audience’s perception of the subject may be altered. On the issue of Robotics, the media portrays science as an impending apocalypse. The idea of Robots, Cyborgs and Artificial intelligence take on this perception. Throughout all media sources; film, newspapers, popular culture, television, even artwork, the idea of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics is seen as an impending doom cast upon society.  An interview conducted by the team at Hungry Beast with P.W. Singer entitled “Robot Wars” positions the audience to see robots as the cause of an imminent apocalypse. In film, the Terminator series popularized the notion of this imminent robot apocalypse. These two sources are those that will be analyzed in today’s seminar, in relation to their negative connotations produced by the directors, writers and cinematographers. ...