Myth-Made Machines

The Stories Behind Artificial Intelligence

Dave Bradley, Kelly Vero

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
• Year: 2026
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9798216370673
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Semantics
• Index: Social Sciences

A fascinating exploration of how our understanding of artificial intelligence has evolved across centuries as depicted through the stories and media we create.

Humans have always dreamed of creating intelligent life. From the earliest legends of Talos to the droids of Star Wars, artificial beings stalk our culture. Today, we routinely interact with computers and AI is a buzzword that dominates headlines and raises record-breaking Silicon Valley investment. As the power and influence of machines continue to grow, it is time to examine our relationship with computers and machine life based on 3,000 years of stories.

Myth-Made Machines: The Stories Behind Artificial Intelligence explores humanity's complex relationship with artificial intelligence through the lens of our cultural imagination. From ancient myths of automata to today's disruptive technologies, this book traces AI's evolution in our collective consciousness. The narrative weaves through centuries of literature, film, and philosophical thought, examining what people believe about the machines that will assist-or perhaps replace-them. Organized historically, it explores how Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Fritz Lang's Metropolis, and contemporary works like The Matrix and Black Mirror have shaped our hopes and fears about machine intelligence, even as we embrace the likes of ChatGPT in the workplace.

Dave Bradley and Kelly Vero highlight how science fiction has reflected and influenced real-world AI development and how our cultural depictions align with current technological trends-or diverge from them. As we stand on the brink of an AI revolution, the authors critically examine our past through the lens of prose, poetry, philosophy, and film and invite readers to contemplate the possibilities and challenges that lie ahead. Blending cultural analysis, literary criticism, and technological insight, Myth-Made Machines is a fascinating read for anyone curious about the interplay between technology and culture.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Halftitle Page
• Title Page
• Contents
• Introduction
• 1 Wired Gods and Bronze Golems: Forging the Future
• 2 I Always Wanted You to Go into Space, Man: Lucian, The Blazing World, and Proto Science Fiction
• 3 Science, Satire, and Swift: Journeys into Automated Knowledge
• 4 Resurrection Is Not Birth: Mary Shelley and Frankenstein’s Monster
• 5 Folly and Futurism: Samuel Butler and the Steam-Powered Skynet
• 6 God from the Machine: What Is AI?
• 7 Fully Automatic: What Are Robots?
• 8 How Do You Hold a Moonbeam in Your Hand? AI in Early Cinema
• 9 Early AI on the Small Screen: The Revolution Was Televised
• 10 The Post-Human Watershed: TV and AI
• 11 Deus Ex-Machina: Games and AI
• 12 The Ultimate Avatar: Conclusion
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index
• About the Authors
• Imprint