Kevin LaGrandeur
New York Institute of Technology, Technology and Culture, Faculty Member
- Digital Culture, Science, Technology and Society, Posthumanism, Digital Rhetorics, Technology-mediated teaching and learning, Digital Media, and 46 moreNew Media, Systems Theory, Rhetoric and Public Culture, Cyberstudies, Philosophy of Agency, Technologies of the Self, English, Technology, Digital Humanities, Critical Posthumanism, Posthumanism and Transhumanism, History of Science, Transhumanism/Posthumanism, Transhumanism, Bioethics, History of Science and Technology, Science and Technology Studies, Computer Networks, Databases, Software, Philosophy of Science, Philosophy of Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy of Mind, Futures Studies, Future Studies, Religion, Gender Studies, Philosophy Of Religion, Postcolonial Studies, Animal Ethics, Postmodernism, Conflict Resolution, Migration Studies, Environmental Sustainability, Bioethics Reproductive Technology, Human Enhancement, Anthropocentrism, Futures Studies and Foresight, Space Exploration, Biocentrism, New Materialism, Anthropocene, Posthumanities, Antihumanism, Anthropocentrism Vs Biocentrism, and Posthumansedit
- In addition to being a professor at NYIT, I'm also a Fellow of an international Think Tank called the Institute for E... moreIn addition to being a professor at NYIT, I'm also a Fellow of an international Think Tank called the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies (see ieet.org for more on this organization). I specialize in studying and publishing about technology and culture. I'm specifically interested in the ethics of Human-Robot and Human-AI interaction; also in how technology can be most ethically used in today's society; also in the history of technology, and how it is reflected in today's intelligent technology. My 40+ articles on machine ethics, science and literature, computers and teaching, and digital rhetoric have been published in books, journals, and online sources. A good recent representative article is "Emotion, Artificial Intelligence, and Ethics," in the book Beyond Artificial Intelligence: The Disappearing Human-Machine Divide (2014). My two recent books regarding my research interests are: "Artificial Slaves" (2013), which won a national Science Fiction and Technoculture Studies Award, and "Surviving the Machine Age" (with James Hughes, 2017). You can find all of these publications below, in my Academia.edu webpage.edit
This book explores the creation and use of artificially made humanoid servants and servant networks by fictional and non-fictional scientists of the early modern period. Beginning with an investigation of the roots of artificial servants,... more
This book explores the creation and use of artificially made humanoid servants and servant networks by fictional and non-fictional scientists of the early modern period. Beginning with an investigation of the roots of artificial servants, humanoids, and automata from earlier times, LaGrandeur traces how these literary representations coincide with a surging interest in automata and experimentation, and how they blend with the magical science that proceeded the empirical era. These representations eerily prefigure modern robots, androids, and artificially intelligent networks, and the art that is responsible for their creation blurs the edges between magic and science in a way that resonates especially with modern notions of cybernetics. In the instances that this book considers, the idea of the artificial factotum is connected with an emotional paradox: the joy of self-enhancement is counterpoised with the anxiety of self-displacement that comes with distribution of agency. In this way, the older accounts of creating artificial slaves are accounts of modernity in the making—a modernity characterized by the project of extending the self and its powers, in which the vision of the extended self is fundamentally inseparable from the vision of an attenuated self. This book discusses the idea that fictional, artificial servants embody at once the ambitions of the scientific wizards who make them and society’s perception of the dangers of those ambitions, and represent the cultural fears triggered by independent, experimental thinkers—the type of thinkers from whom our modern cyberneticists directly descend.
Research Interests: History of Science and Technology, Technology, Technoculture, Literature, Renaissance Studies, and 13 moreShakespeare, History of Technology, History of Science, Cybernetics, Computer Networks, Systems Theory, History of Humanoid Robotics, Social Systems Theory, Technology And Culture, Literature And Science, Renaissance literature, Shakespearean Drama, and Christopher Marlowe
This is a link to an initial prototype model of our AR application, in the form of an MP4 video mockup. Context: John Misak and I have been developing an Augmented Reality game to help students understand Shakespeare's play Hamlet. Our... more
This is a link to an initial prototype model of our AR application, in the form of an MP4 video mockup. Context: John Misak and I have been developing an Augmented Reality game to help students understand Shakespeare's play Hamlet. Our hypothesis, based on our research on AR and education, is that our game may help students better understand critical thematic issues in the play, as well as historical and cultural contexts. This link goes to our prototype trailer posted at Dr. Misak's personal homepage: https://www.johnmisak.com/ar-prototype-trailer
Research Interests: English Literature, Education, Technology, Educational Technology, Higher Education, and 15 moreShakespeare, Educational Research, Mobile Technology, Video Games, Video Game Design, Video Game Development and Production, Instructional Technology, Augmented Reality, English, Augmented Reality Art, Mobile Augmented Reality, English Education, Gaming, Hamlet, and Virtual Learning
When it comes to Artificial-Intelligence (A.I) we always hear about doom and gloom. From job losses to a robocalypse; but could these things be just an over-reaction? This is an interview I gave regarding this topic on The Mason Vera... more
When it comes to Artificial-Intelligence (A.I) we always hear about doom and gloom. From job losses to a robocalypse; but could these things be just an over-reaction? This is an interview I gave regarding this topic on The Mason Vera Paine Show of WGN RADIO in Chicago. We covered the ways A.I will effect daily life & what we can do to prepare ourselves. (See above, next to my name, for the link to the podcast.)
Research Interests:
This essay aired on Northeast National Public Radio on 5 September 2017. It's now available as a 2-minute podcast at the magazine *Inside Higher Ed* (see link included on this page). It discusses the future impact of artificial... more
This essay aired on Northeast National Public Radio on 5 September 2017. It's now available as a 2-minute podcast at the magazine *Inside Higher Ed* (see link included on this page). It discusses the future impact of artificial intelligence on the U.S. workforce and the need for policies to address potential economic challenges.
Research Interests: Business, Business Administration, Information Technology, Economics, Technology, and 10 moreBusiness & Society, Construction Technology, Technology Management, Technology and Society, Philosophy of Science (Science And Technology Studies), Economy, Business Management, Business and Management, Public Policy, and Science and Technology Studies
This is a 25-minute podcast interview I did with Dan Fagella of the Silicon Valley firm Techemergence.com. In this interview on AI in Industry, we explore the near future of AI’s impact on the world of work, including these important... more
This is a 25-minute podcast interview I did with Dan Fagella of the Silicon Valley firm Techemergence.com. In this interview on AI in Industry, we explore the near future of AI’s impact on the world of work, including these important questions:
--What skills are least “automate-able” in the next decade?
--What middle class professions have the greatest risk of automation, and what should those professionals be doing now to hedge against job loss?
--What should business leaders be doing now to prepare for “phasing out” work while still taking care of their employees?
--What skills are least “automate-able” in the next decade?
--What middle class professions have the greatest risk of automation, and what should those professionals be doing now to hedge against job loss?
--What should business leaders be doing now to prepare for “phasing out” work while still taking care of their employees?
Research Interests: Business, Business Administration, Information Technology, Economics, Development Economics, and 10 morePhilosophy of Science, Technology, Business & Society, International Business, Business Process Management, Economic Development, Strategy (Business), Economy, Business Management, and Business and Management
Futurists tend to exaggerate, overestimating the change that’s heading our way; however, significant changes to humanity are coming nevertheless. Most likely there will be no new species, no destructive post-human scenario, no sci-fi... more
Futurists tend to exaggerate, overestimating the change that’s heading our way; however, significant changes to humanity are coming nevertheless. Most likely there will be no new species, no destructive post-human scenario, no sci-fi movie style acceleration of evolution. However, what we can say or even predict with certainty is that the way we interact with the world and with the machines of the future will change. Human beings will remain human, but their relationship with objects will be deeper, a kind technological intimacy. [NOTE: ARTICLE BEGINS ON P. 22]
Research Interests:
For visual artists, the incipient elements of the posthuman identified in this article signal change in how art is produced and under whose agency, what human art means, and even what being human means—given the blurring of how we define... more
For visual artists, the incipient elements of the posthuman identified in this article signal change in how art is produced and under whose agency, what human art means, and even what being human means—given the blurring of how we define the concept of " human " in a rapidly changing posthuman environment.
Research Interests: Critical Theory, Philosophy, Art History, Technology, Digital Humanities, and 14 moreArt Theory, Bioethics, Digital Media, Contemporary Art, Posthumanism, Arts Education, Philosophy of Art, Digital Culture, Critical Posthumanism, Transhumanism, History of Art, Visual Arts, Emerging Technologies, and Fine Arts
[NOTE: This is an early draft of the introductory chapter of our book Surviving the Machine Age: Intelligent Technology and the Transformation of Human Work (Palgrave Macmillan, 2017). For the final version, see the book. It can be... more
[NOTE: This is an early draft of the introductory chapter of our book Surviving the Machine Age: Intelligent Technology and the Transformation of Human Work (Palgrave Macmillan, 2017). For the final version, see the book. It can be found at books.google.com, or at Palgrave’s website.]
Many economists and experts have begun to argue that the increasing automation of jobs may finally create a decline of available jobs for humans. Given this pessimism, there is a need to look more closely at the questions concerning not only whether technological employment will happen, but also at some specific scenarios for it, whether we might avoid it, and some options we may have to do so. This chapter introduces these issues. It also points toward and summarizes arguments that are developed in the other chapters of the book, by experts from the fields of economics, philosophy and law who are involved in the study of technological unemployment.
Many economists and experts have begun to argue that the increasing automation of jobs may finally create a decline of available jobs for humans. Given this pessimism, there is a need to look more closely at the questions concerning not only whether technological employment will happen, but also at some specific scenarios for it, whether we might avoid it, and some options we may have to do so. This chapter introduces these issues. It also points toward and summarizes arguments that are developed in the other chapters of the book, by experts from the fields of economics, philosophy and law who are involved in the study of technological unemployment.
Research Interests: Business, Business Ethics, Information Technology, Economics, Philosophy, and 12 moreEthics, Philosophy of Science, Technology, Business & Society, Posthumanism, Technology Management, Transhumanism, Technology and Society, Business Management, Robots, Business and Economics, and Science and Technology Studies
This is an op-ed article published in the newspaper USA Today about how we can and must adjust to rising loss of jobs to technology. Published 3/13/17. Click on the link at the top of this page to get to it.
Research Interests: Business, Business Administration, Robotics, Future Studies, Information Technology, and 15 moreEconomics, Development Economics, Labor Economics, Political Economy, Philosophy of Science, Technology, Business & Society, Construction Technology, Posthumanism, Digital Culture, Transhumanism, Technology and Society, Transhumanism/Posthumanism, Business Management, and Science and Technology Studies
[NOTE: This is an essay commissioned and published by the Cleveland Museum of Contemporary Art for its Spring, 2016 Art Exhibition, and can also be found at their website, here:... more
[NOTE: This is an essay commissioned and published by the Cleveland Museum of Contemporary Art for its Spring, 2016 Art Exhibition, and can also be found at their website, here: http://www.mocacleveland.org/sites/default/files/files/lagrandeurpaperfinal.pdf]
The idea of the posthuman--the transformation of humanity by its convergence with emerging technology--is a big new philosophical and scientific concept, and big new philosophical
or scientific concepts often cause paradigm shifts in the way we think about our world, about
ourselves, and about our relation to the universe. And that, in turn, changes art. Which changes us,
because art reflects and anticipates our struggles to absorb and assimilate new ideas and how they
relate to us.
The idea of the posthuman--the transformation of humanity by its convergence with emerging technology--is a big new philosophical and scientific concept, and big new philosophical
or scientific concepts often cause paradigm shifts in the way we think about our world, about
ourselves, and about our relation to the universe. And that, in turn, changes art. Which changes us,
because art reflects and anticipates our struggles to absorb and assimilate new ideas and how they
relate to us.
Research Interests: Cultural History, Artificial Intelligence, Human Computer Interaction, Information Technology, Philosophy, and 17 morePhilosophy of Science, Art History, Technology, Art, Art Theory, Renaissance Humanism, Contemporary Art, Posthumanism, Philosophy of Art, Critical Posthumanism, History of Art, Visual Arts, Transhumanism/Posthumanism, Fine Arts, Artes, Posthumanism and Transhumanism, and Science and Technology Studies
This past summer saw the release of the new film “Avengers: Age of Ultron.” Like so many recent movies, the villains in this one were once again killer robots. But the idea of deadly, weaponized robots isn’t just isolated to titillating... more
This past summer saw the release of the new film “Avengers: Age of Ultron.” Like so many recent movies, the villains in this one were once again killer robots. But the idea of deadly, weaponized robots isn’t just isolated to titillating movie plots. Such machines are already with us, in one form or another, in many places on the globe.
Research Interests: Robotics, Computer Science, Computer Architecture, Human Computer Interaction, Information Technology, and 14 moreEthics, Applied Ethics, Moral Psychology, Technology, Computer Engineering, Posthumanism, Autonomous Robotics, Human-Robot Interaction, Mechatronics & Robotics, Moral Philosophy, Moral and Political Philosophy, Transhumanism/Posthumanism, Computer Programming, and Science and Technology Studies
Early literary instances of artificial humanoid and intelligent systems anticipate in a general way the kinds of thematic issues that cyborgs, androids, and intelligent networks like supercomputers bring up for the contemporary notion of... more
Early literary instances of artificial humanoid and intelligent systems anticipate in a general way the kinds of thematic issues that cyborgs, androids, and intelligent networks like supercomputers bring up for the contemporary notion of the posthuman, understood as a condition in which the human and the machine are becoming increasingly intermingled. Humans have never really been autonomous entities, but rather have always been intimately interdependent upon their environments and tools. And their dreams of intelligent tools even extend back into the era of ancient Rome and Greece, as I will describe below. Thus the seemingly modern idea of a reciprocal dependency upon mechanical devices is just a variation of a much older theme.
Research Interests: Critical Theory, Philosophy, English Literature, Aristotle, Literature, and 15 moreRenaissance Studies, Posthumanism, Shakespeare, Renaissance, Critical Posthumanism, Postmodernism, Literature And Science, Renaissance literature, Shakespearean Drama, English Renaissance Literature, Elizabethan Literature, Christopher Marlowe, Transhumanism/Posthumanism, Doctor Faustus Christopher Marlowe, and Posthumanism and Transhumanism
As post- and transhumanism have become ever-hotter topics over the past decade or so, their boundaries have become muddled by misappropriations and misunderstandings of what defines them, and especially what distinguishes them from each... more
As post- and transhumanism have become ever-hotter topics over the past decade or so, their boundaries have become muddled by misappropriations and misunderstandings of what defines them, and especially what distinguishes them from each other. This edition of essays by various experts, edited by Robert Ranisch and Stefan Sorgner, goes a long way to resolve these issues. The introductory essay by the two editors – both of whom are philosophers – is alone worth the book’s purchase price. They give a very straightforward and understandable synopsis of what defines posthumanism, transhumanism, and the posthuman; and they also give thumbnail sketches of the major differences between them. Basically, transhumanists believe in improving the human species by using any and every form of emerging technology. Technology is meant in the broad sense here: it includes everything from pharmaceuticals to digital technology, genetic modification to nanotechnology. The posthuman is the state that transhumans aspire to: a state in which our species is both morally and physically improved, and maybe immortal – a species improved to the point where we perhaps become a different (and thus “posthuman”) species altogether.
Research Interests: Computer Science, Philosophy, Philosophy of Science, Social Sciences, Literature, and 10 morePosthumanism, Literary Theory, Critical Posthumanism, Postmodernism, History Of Modern Philosophy, Transhumanism/Posthumanism, Posthumanist Ontology, Posthumanismo, Posthumans, and Posthumanism and Transhumanism
NOTE: this is an author's draft of chapter 12 of the book "Handbook of Posthumanism in Film and Television," eds. Michael Hauskeller, Thomas D. Philbeck, Curtis Carbonell (Palgrave, 2015). The final, published version is here:... more
NOTE: this is an author's draft of chapter 12 of the book "Handbook of Posthumanism in Film and Television," eds. Michael Hauskeller, Thomas D. Philbeck, Curtis Carbonell (Palgrave, 2015). The final, published version is here: http://www.palgraveconnect.com/pc/doifinder/10.1057/9781137430328.0018?focus=true ABSTRACT: LaGrandeur demonstrates how the character of the android in film and television represents three themes common to the idea of the posthuman: our blindness to the possible dangers of our own ingenuity and evolving technology; the problems posed by technology-spurred species creation and species-transition (androids often are represented as an emerging species—or human hybrid); and, concomitantly, the perils of human exceptionalism that could lead to the exploitation of any new, intelligent species we may create in our image—in other words, the possibility of a new slave class, with all that it entails.
Research Interests: Film Studies, Film Theory, Television Studies, Posthumanism, Film Analysis, and 27 moreSF Film and Television, Film Genre, Horror Film, Science fictional technology, Science Fiction, Critical Posthumanism, Television And Social Change, Theory of Science Fiction Film, Science Fiction Film, Film History, Cult television, Science Fiction and Fantasy, Series TV, Television History, Television, Transhumanism/Posthumanism, Film, Film and Media Studies, Android, Science-Fiction, Science Fiction Studies, Android Development, Metropolis, Cinema and Television, Fritz Lang's Metropolis, Science Fiction Films, and The Coming Age of Androids
(note: this is a chapter in the book "Beyond Artificial Intelligence: The Disappearing Human-Machine Divide," Eds. Jan Ramportl, Eva Zackova and Jozef Kelemen (Springer, 2014), pp.97-109). ABSTRACT: The growing body of work in the new... more
(note: this is a chapter in the book "Beyond Artificial
Intelligence: The Disappearing Human-Machine Divide," Eds. Jan Ramportl, Eva Zackova and Jozef Kelemen (Springer, 2014), pp.97-109).
ABSTRACT: The growing body of work in the new field of “affective robotics” involves both theoretical and practical ways to instill—or at least imitate—human emotion in Artificial Intelligence (AI), and also to induce emotions to-ward AI in humans. The aim of this is to guarantee that as AI becomes smarter and more powerful, it will remain tractable and attractive to us. Inducing emo-tions is important to this effort to create safer and more attractive AI because it is hoped that instantiation of emotions will eventually lead to robots that have moral and ethical codes, making them safer; and also that humans and AI will be able to develop mutual emotional attachments, facilitating the use of robots as human companions and helpers. This paper discusses some of the more sig-nificant of these recent efforts and addresses some important ethical questions that arise relative to these endeavors.
Intelligence: The Disappearing Human-Machine Divide," Eds. Jan Ramportl, Eva Zackova and Jozef Kelemen (Springer, 2014), pp.97-109).
ABSTRACT: The growing body of work in the new field of “affective robotics” involves both theoretical and practical ways to instill—or at least imitate—human emotion in Artificial Intelligence (AI), and also to induce emotions to-ward AI in humans. The aim of this is to guarantee that as AI becomes smarter and more powerful, it will remain tractable and attractive to us. Inducing emo-tions is important to this effort to create safer and more attractive AI because it is hoped that instantiation of emotions will eventually lead to robots that have moral and ethical codes, making them safer; and also that humans and AI will be able to develop mutual emotional attachments, facilitating the use of robots as human companions and helpers. This paper discusses some of the more sig-nificant of these recent efforts and addresses some important ethical questions that arise relative to these endeavors.
Research Interests: Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, Cognitive Science, Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy, and 13 morePhilosophy of Mind, Ethics, Philosophy of Science, Normative Ethics, Posthumanism, Transhumanism, Cognitive Neuroscience, Transhumanism/Posthumanism, Ethics of Artificial Intelligence, Artificial Neural Networks, Philosophy of Artificial Intelligence, Machine Ethics, and Moral Machines
This article (there is a link to it above--at "jetpress.org") discusses the basic philosophical and legal standards applied to defining the existential status of two artificial androids, the golem and the homunculus, during the Middle... more
This article (there is a link to it above--at "jetpress.org") discusses the basic philosophical and legal standards applied to defining the existential status of two artificial androids, the golem and the homunculus, during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, when their creation was actually considered possible and often believed to be an accomplished fact. It also shows how the historical definition of personhood has generally coincided with Aristotle’s notions, which he provides mainly to determine who is worthy of slavery. These sorts of historical stances on personhood are important, I claim, because they elucidate the difficult social precedents facing any redefinition of non-human personhood today.
Research Interests: Ancient History, Human-Animal Relations, Animal Studies, Animal Ethics, Alchemy, and 25 morePersonhood, Defining Personhood, Personhood as Relational, Paracelsus (Philippus Theophrastus Aureolus von Hohenheim), Hermes Trismegistus and Hermetica, Animal Rights/Liberation, Ancient Philosophy, Magic and the Occult (Anthropology Of Religion), Ancient Greek History, Occultism, Hebrew Bible and Ancient Near East, Animal Rights, Moral Personhood, Hermeticism, Paracelsus, Nonhuman Personhood, Legal Personhood, Archaeology of personhood, The Occult, General research and teaching: history of European magic and alchemy; Hermeticism and Gnosticism; contemporary occultism, Golem, Henricus Cornelius Agrippa, Cornelius Agrippa, Philosophy and Sociology of Human/animal Relations, and Morality and Personhood
A Pew Research Center survey of 2,012 American adults done between March and April, 2013 shows, somewhat surprisingly, that a majority of those surveyed (58%) would not like to live radically extended lives—although they think that other... more
A Pew Research Center survey of 2,012 American adults done between March and April, 2013 shows, somewhat surprisingly, that a majority of those surveyed (58%) would not like to live radically extended lives—although they think that other people besides themselves would.
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind, Philosophy of Science, Philosophy of Technology, and 18 morePosthumanism, Humanoid Robotics, Artificial Life, Critical Posthumanism, History of Humanoid Robotics, Transhumanism, Posthumanist Ethics, Artificial Inteligence, Transhumanism/Posthumanism, Artificial Neural Networks, Philosophy of Artificial Intelligence, Transhumanismo, Swarm Robotics,Industrial Robotics, Mobile Robotics,Bionics, Assistive Robotics, Automation, Machine vision, Artificial Intelligence, PLC, Control Systems, Inteligencia artificial, Posthumanismo, Posthumanities, Posthumans, and Posthumanism and Transhumanism
What is really significant when we look at technology in the ancient world is that technology is not limited to Classical mythology. Rather, its presence in those stories coincides in important ways with its appearance in other types of... more
What is really significant when we look at technology in the ancient world is that technology is not limited to Classical mythology. Rather, its presence in those stories coincides in important ways with its appearance in other types of fictional and non-fictional accounts, and not just in Western literature, but in the literature of other cultures as well. These other accounts include quasi-mythological tales like The Iliad, tales from ancient cultures in India and China, and non-fictional accounts of real instances of technological innovation by ancient inventors. The devices made by ancient Greek engineers—such as the Antikythera mechanism, or the devices of Ctsebius and Hero of Alexandria, and Philon of Byzantium—are especially notable because they reflect, and are reflected by, the various fictional accounts. Chief in importance among technological innovations that appear in all three realms (stories, myths, and reality) are automata, especially humanoid automata. Their main significance is their ability to enhance and project the power and status of their makers or owners, who were sometimes the same individuals.
Research Interests: Mythology And Folklore, History of Science and Technology, Information Technology, World Literatures, Mythology, and 20 moreGreek Literature, Greek History, Technology, Chinese Studies, Literature, Indian studies, History of Science, Computer Networks, Science, Technology and Society, Greek Archaeology, Ancient myth and religion, Greek Myth, Ancient Greek History, Databases, Classical Mythology, Greco-Roman Mythology, Comparative mythology, Software, Ancient Greek Mythology, and Science and Technology Studies
The idea of artificial slaves - and questions about their tractability - is present not only in the literature of modern times but also extends all the way back to ancient Greek sources; and it is present in the literature and oral... more
The idea of artificial slaves - and questions about their tractability - is present not only in the literature of modern times but also extends all the way back to ancient Greek sources; and it is present in the literature and oral history of the early modern period as well. Aristotle is the first to discuss the uses and advantages of the artificial slave in his Politics.
Research Interests: History of Science and Technology, Cognitive Science, Artificial Intelligence, Information Technology, Comparative Literature, and 44 moreMetaphysics, Philosophy of Mind, Philosophy of Science, Greek Literature, Philosophy of Technology, English Literature, Metaphilosophy, Technology, Medieval Literature, Technoculture, Literature, Posthumanism, History of Technology, Computer Networks, Slavery, History of Slavery, Contemporary French Philosophy, Literary Theory, Consciousness, Science, Technology and Society, Critical Posthumanism, Transhumanism, History Of Technology (Technology), Media Theory, Technology and Society, Technology And Culture, Literature And Science, Personal Identity, Renaissance literature, Future of artificial intelligence, English Renaissance Literature, Elizabethan Literature, Databases, Transhumanism/Posthumanism, Software, Zombies, Autonomous Robots, Philosophy of Artificial Intelligence, Humanoid robots, Robots, Flash Fiction, Posthumanism and Transhumanism, The Narrative Construction of the Self, and Science and Technology Studies
Research Interests: Robotics, Future Studies, Artificial Intelligence, Information Technology, Technology, and 36 moreDigital Humanities, Information Security, Internet Studies, Digital Media, Posthumanism, Network Security, Mobile Technology, Computer Networks, Computer Games Technology, Artificial Life, Web Technologies, Digital Culture, Critical Posthumanism, Interactive and Digital Media, Transhumanism, Numerical Analysis, Internet & Society, Digital Arts, Future of artificial intelligence, Computational Mathematics, Databases, The Internet, Transhumanism/Posthumanism, Social Media Marketing, Simulation, Software, Artificial Neural Networks, Digital Marketing, World Wide Web, Internet Marketing Strategies, Dynamic Systems and Control, Information Technology and System Integration, Optimization Technology, System Modeling and Simulation, Integration Technology of Automation Systems, and Science and Technology Studies
As the field of Artificial Intelligence continues to make progress, there is a question of what protocols should be developed to make sure such developments are accomplished in a responsible way. [Download paper here, see original link... more
As the field of Artificial Intelligence continues to make progress, there is a question of what protocols should be developed to make sure such developments are accomplished in a responsible way. [Download paper here, see original link here: http://www.upi.com/Science_News/Technology/2012/08/30/Outside-View-The-Mars-Landing-and-Artificial-Intelligence/11341346322600/]
Research Interests: Robotics, History of Science and Technology, Computer Science, Information Science, Artificial Intelligence, and 19 moreInformation Technology, Philosophy, Ethics, Philosophy of Science, Technology, Computer Engineering, History of Science, Artificial Life, Numerical Analysis, Literature And Science, Computational Mathematics, Space Exploration, Simulation, Artificial Neural Networks, Dynamic Systems and Control, Information Technology and System Integration, Optimization Technology, System Modeling and Simulation, and Integration Technology of Automation Systems
In his article "Do Medieval and Renaissance Androids Presage the Posthuman?" Kevin LaGrandeur analyzes the relationships between literary images of artificial humans associated with medieval alchemists and alchemy, their modified... more
In his article "Do Medieval and Renaissance Androids Presage the Posthuman?" Kevin LaGrandeur analyzes the relationships between literary images of artificial humans associated with medieval alchemists and alchemy, their modified reemergence in the Renaissance, and how such androids may forecast the idea of a posthuman subjectivity that is connected with their present-day descendents. For example, the talking brass heads in Robert Greene's two Renaissance plays, The Honorable History of Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay and Alphonsus, Prince of Aragon have their roots in Arabic sources, and the former derives specifically from legends concerning the thirteenth-century alchemist and philosopher Roger Bacon. These early instances of the artificial anthropoid also anticipate, in a broad sense, the kinds of philosophical issues regarding subjectivity that cyborgs bring up for our "posthuman" society. For instance, the literature of the earlier era represents a fear that humans will be diminished-all of the creators in the fictional literature examined are in danger of losing control of their creations, and thus of having their agency called into dispute.
Research Interests: History of Science and Technology, Information Technology, Philosophy of Science, Philosophy of Technology, Technology, and 18 moreLiterature, Medieval Studies, Renaissance Studies, History of Technology, History of Science, Computer Networks, Systems Theory, Science, Technology and Society, History Of Technology (Technology), Technology and Society, Technology And Culture, Literature And Science, Social Robotics, Ancient Technology (Archaeology), Databases, Embodied and Distributed Cognition, Software, and Science and Technology Studies
This article surveys and analyzes the pre-industrial history of artificial humanoid servants and their historical persistence. The idea of artificial slaves—and questions about their tractability—is present not only in the literature of... more
This article surveys and analyzes the pre-industrial history of artificial humanoid servants and their historical persistence. The idea of artificial slaves—and questions about their tractability—is present not only in the literature of modern times but also extends all the way back to ancient Greek sources; and it is present in the literature and oral history of the Middle Ages and Renaissance as well. Furthermore, at each of these intervals, this idea is connected with an emotional paradox: the joy of self-enhancement is counterpoised with the anxiety of self-displacement that comes with distribution of agency. The idea of rebellious and dangerous artificial slaves is an archetype that spans Western history and persists not only in the pre-modern and modern imaginations, via stories about rebellious AI servants, but also in ancient scientific accounts and in modern systems theory, which is the basis for real AI.
Research Interests: History, History of Science and Technology, Information Technology, Philosophy of Science, Philosophy of Technology, and 14 moreLiterature, Medieval Studies, History of Technology, History of Science, Computer Networks, Renaissance Literature (Renaissance Studies), Science, Technology and Society, Literature And Science, Social Robotics, Databases, Literature and Science (English), Embodied and Distributed Cognition, Software, and Science and Technology Studies
Research Interests: English Literature, History of Ideas, Literature, Renaissance Studies, History of Science, and 11 moreComputer Networks, Science, Technology and Society, Literature And Science, Magic and the Occult (Anthropology Of Religion), Literary History, English Renaissance Literature, Elizabethan Literature, Databases, Necromancy in the Ancient Near East, Software, and Science and Technology Studies
There are numerous indications in his own writing that Aristotle may not have been completely convinced of his own arguments in support of slavery. One example is the fact that, in his _Politics_, he ponders the possibility of creating... more
There are numerous indications in his own writing that Aristotle may not have been completely convinced of his own arguments in support of slavery. One example is the fact that, in his _Politics_, he ponders the possibility of creating artificial slaves, such as looms that would operate themselves. It is clear upon careful reading that he ponders this because of the dangers that human slaves present. But, besides this, there is also his ambivalence about the propriety of enslaving certain classes of people, and his difficulty explaining how some humans can be considered “natural” slaves. Indeed, the very need to defend the idea that “natural slaves” exist points to qualms about his compatriots’, and perhaps about his, views of slavery.
Research Interests:
In the latter half of the 1990s the digital image became prevalent, easy to manipulate, and consequently, easy to recontextualize, meaning that now just about any image is available to any computer user for any occasion. To use Bolter's... more
In the latter half of the 1990s the digital
image became prevalent, easy to manipulate, and consequently, easy to recontextualize,
meaning that now just about any image is available to any computer user for any occasion. To use Bolter's terminology, the "interpenetration" of textual and pictorial space in digital environments, especially on the Web, has increased
markedly, so that the predominance of the digital image now rivals that of the digital word. Indeed, a number of thinkers have noted the digital image's ascendancy in communicating
information via the computer. But how are we to think about, to analyze the rhetorical dimensions of these images? This essay focuses on using classical rhetoric 'as a way of
thinking about the persuasive power of computer-based images.
image became prevalent, easy to manipulate, and consequently, easy to recontextualize,
meaning that now just about any image is available to any computer user for any occasion. To use Bolter's terminology, the "interpenetration" of textual and pictorial space in digital environments, especially on the Web, has increased
markedly, so that the predominance of the digital image now rivals that of the digital word. Indeed, a number of thinkers have noted the digital image's ascendancy in communicating
information via the computer. But how are we to think about, to analyze the rhetorical dimensions of these images? This essay focuses on using classical rhetoric 'as a way of
thinking about the persuasive power of computer-based images.
Research Interests: Technology, New Media, Composition and Rhetoric, Digital Humanities, Digital Media, and 12 moreComputers and Composition, Computer Networks, Teaching Composition, Classical rhetoric, Technology-mediated teaching and learning, Writing Centers, Databases, Digital Pedagogy, Writing Center Theory and Practice, Software, Digital Images, and Science and Technology Studies
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Research Interests: Visual propaganda, New Media, Rhetoric, Composition and Rhetoric, Web 2.0, and 13 moreWeb Design, Terrorism, International Terrorism, Persuasion (Psychology), Propaganda, Digital rhetoric, Visual Rhetoric, Political Violence and Terrorism, History of Terrorism, Science, Technology and Society, Interactive and Digital Media, Cyber Terrorism, and Persuasive Technology
There are numerous avenues for engaging in electronic discussion. The classroom practice I shall describe below could be done on the Internet via environments known as MOO's or MUD's, which are accessible to anyone via 'virtual... more
There are numerous avenues for engaging in electronic discussion. The classroom practice I shall describe below could be done on the Internet via environments known as MOO's or MUD's, which are accessible to anyone via 'virtual classrooms' on the Internet (one I have used, because it is big, and easy to access, is the University of Texas Internet site called Diversity University). In my classes I was not involved in distance learning, and so was not seeking a surrogate for oral discussion, but a means of enhancing it. Hence, rather than using an Internet site, I used an ENFI program installed on our Local Area Network (LAN), and I brought my students to the computer lab for some of our discussions of literature.
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Computer mediated communication (CMC) tends to erase power structures because such communication somehow undermines or escapes discursive limits. Online discussions seem to promote rhetorical experimentation on the part of the... more
Computer mediated communication (CMC) tends to erase power structures because such communication somehow undermines or escapes discursive limits. Online discussions seem to promote rhetorical experimentation on the part of the participants. Finding a way to explain disparities between electronic discussion and oral discussion has proven difficult. Those in composition studies have tried to theorize CMC by reference to postmodern theory, but another form of theory that might help in the investigation of the nature of online communities derives from cybernetics and from information theory. Cybernetics' wider implications have led to the advent of a second-order cybernetics or systems theory--self-organizing, self-making, or autopoietic. Reflexivity provides an implicit reason for the difficulty of controlling electronic class discussion. Third wave cybernetics can be used in conjunction with social applications of systems theory to think about what happens when machines, teachers, and students are all "spliced" into one grand system. It seems that traditional approaches to class discussion with the instructor controlling the flow and order make it natural for teachers to view electronic communities as the early cyberneticists did, as allopoietic mechanisms whose goals can be set and observed. Though control of a system with multiple, dynamic elements may be somewhat difficult, a lack of control does not, in terms of systems theory, preclude an instructor's valuable involvement in an online community.
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In his essay "Stevens' Rock and Criticism as Cure, II," J. Hillis Miller defines the goal of Geoffrey Hartman's writings as representative of what Miller sees as the mission of any deconstructive... more
In his essay "Stevens' Rock and Criticism as Cure, II," J. Hillis Miller defines the goal of Geoffrey Hartman's writings as representative of what Miller sees as the mission of any deconstructive exploration. Such analysis exists, he says, "for the sake of an interrogation of the logos, ...
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This article discusses how George Gascoigne used an androgynous persona in his poetry to try to recover his lost social status at Elizabeth's court.
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Section Four, "Recursive Use of ENFI Transcripts Helps Students Write about Literature," gives specific, useful suggestions about how to make online discussions an effective component of a literature class. The article also offers a short... more
Section Four, "Recursive Use of ENFI Transcripts Helps Students Write about Literature," gives specific, useful suggestions about how to make online discussions an effective component of a literature class. The article also offers a short list of particular chat software features essential for good discussion.
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(NOTE: CLICK ON LINK ABOVE FOR COMPLETE ARTICLE) ABSTRACT: Composition teachers need to pluralize their notions of what constitutes viable discourse to enrich their own rhetoric and to "listen" more effectively to students' writing, so... more
(NOTE: CLICK ON LINK ABOVE FOR COMPLETE ARTICLE) ABSTRACT: Composition teachers need to pluralize their notions of what constitutes viable discourse to enrich their own rhetoric and to "listen" more effectively to students' writing, so that their notions of written discourse may come to reflect the rainbow of international influences that exist in the United States. A good first step would be to move beyond the causal, deterministic framework within which composition teachers now view student essay writing toward an "I-Thou" relationship where the student is encountered in the full freedom of her or his otherness. Instead of gazing at student discourse, seeing it as a product to be weighed, marked for what separates it from an ideal concept of "the Paper," and kept or thrown overboard, would it not be more profitable to keep the focus on the student paper-as-Thou--as the expressive extension of the self that Michel de Montaigne's model implies it is?
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This paper discusses the ethical implications of some current cybersecurity projects under way at his and several other institutions. Especially important are issues of individual privacy and the increasing digital codification of human... more
This paper discusses the ethical implications of some current cybersecurity projects under way at his and several other institutions. Especially important are issues of individual privacy and the increasing digital codification of human character.
Research Interests: Computer Science, Human Computer Interaction, Information Technology, Philosophy, Ethics, and 11 morePhilosophy of Science, Applied Ethics, Technology, Social Sciences, Computer Engineering, Computer Networks, Computer-Mediated Communication, English, Computer Security, Machine Ethics, and Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE)
The Supreme Court recently ruled that corporations are legal persons--meaning not that they are human, but that as entities they have certain legal rights equivalent to persons. My thesis is that this fluidity in perception and... more
The Supreme Court recently ruled that corporations are legal persons--meaning not that they are human, but that as entities they have certain legal rights equivalent to persons. My thesis is that this fluidity in perception and definition of what counts as a “person” also parallels our increasingly common struggles with determining our evolving relationship with animals and Artificial Intelligence. Recent lawsuits by Stephen Wise and the Non-Human Rights Project regarding the “legal personhood” of captive apes and other animals, as well as our animals’ continued evolution from working servants to members of our families, and even the similar titles of recent books such as Citizen Canine and Cyborg Citizen (both about the increasing elision of our definition of personhood) display common themes of ambivalence toward our non-human companions—artificial and natural—in Western society.
Research Interests: Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy, Philosophy of Science, Technology, and 16 moreAnimal Science, Posthumanism, Humanoid Robotics, Personhood, Personhood as Relational, Transhumanism, Animal Rights/Liberation, Artificial Inteligence, Transhumanism/Posthumanism, Emerging Technologies, Animal Rights, Philosophy of Artificial Intelligence, Nonhuman Personhood, Philosophy and Sociology of Human/animal Relations, Morality and Personhood, and Science and Technology Studies
This paper examines the correspondences between the magical codes of the Renaissance wizard and the virtual “magic” produced by the coding of modern computer wizards, who use the information inherent in symbolic, programming... more
This paper examines the correspondences between the magical codes of the Renaissance wizard and the virtual “magic” produced by the coding of modern computer
wizards, who use the information inherent in symbolic, programming language—their own form
of incantations—to program systems that embody impressive aspects of human cognitive capabilities and, often, formidable physical power. Coding is the primary tool of modern
scientists and gamers who try to make digital artifacts, and coded incantations that derive from occult knowledge are the first methods that Renaissance scientists resorted to when trying to
create and control their artificial servants and intelligent artifacts. This coded correspondence between words and reality goes beyond metaphor in the realm of artificial servants and artifacts
in both the modern and early modern periods. In the case of the sixteenth century legends of the golem, for instance, the Cabalistic combinations of the Hebrew alphabet and the various secret names of God that its creator chanted literally made flesh out of earth. In the modern world, the special codes comprised of algorithmic combinations of words, numbers, and symbols that
today’s computer specialists type into their machines actually weave together the fabric of virtual worlds and creatures like bots and, in some modern systems theory and in the world of science
fiction, have the potential to create full-fledged human simulacra, such as the robots in Asimov’s I, Robot, and the avatars in online games.
wizards, who use the information inherent in symbolic, programming language—their own form
of incantations—to program systems that embody impressive aspects of human cognitive capabilities and, often, formidable physical power. Coding is the primary tool of modern
scientists and gamers who try to make digital artifacts, and coded incantations that derive from occult knowledge are the first methods that Renaissance scientists resorted to when trying to
create and control their artificial servants and intelligent artifacts. This coded correspondence between words and reality goes beyond metaphor in the realm of artificial servants and artifacts
in both the modern and early modern periods. In the case of the sixteenth century legends of the golem, for instance, the Cabalistic combinations of the Hebrew alphabet and the various secret names of God that its creator chanted literally made flesh out of earth. In the modern world, the special codes comprised of algorithmic combinations of words, numbers, and symbols that
today’s computer specialists type into their machines actually weave together the fabric of virtual worlds and creatures like bots and, in some modern systems theory and in the world of science
fiction, have the potential to create full-fledged human simulacra, such as the robots in Asimov’s I, Robot, and the avatars in online games.
Research Interests: History of Science and Technology, Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy of Science, History of Mathematics, Philosophy Of Mathematics, and 18 moreHistory of Science, Computer Networks, Astrology, Alchemy, Science, Technology and Society, History of Renaissance Science, Literature And Science, Information Theory and coding, Serious Gaming, Magic and the Occult (Anthropology Of Religion), Databases, Online Gaming, Software, Artificial Neural Networks, Gaming, Philosophy of Artificial Intelligence, Simulation & Simulacra, and Science and Technology Studies
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This presentation is on what I will call “affective robotics,” the recent attempts to induce an affective state (emotion) in various types of Artificial Intelligence (AI). The growing body of work in this new field involves both... more
This presentation is on what I will call “affective robotics,” the recent attempts to induce an affective state (emotion) in various types of Artificial Intelligence (AI). The growing body of work in this new field involves both theoretical (e.g., Buddhist, Kantian deontological, utilitarian) and practical ways (as with Arkin’s and Rossler’s programs) to instill—or at least imitate—human emotion in robots, and also to induce emotions toward robots in humans (as with experiments at MIT, and the theories of Kim and Lipson). The aim of all of this is primarily to guarantee that as AI becomes smarter and more powerful, it will remain friendly to us. Inducing emotions is important to this effort to create “friendly AI” because it is hoped that AI and humans will develop mutual emotional attachments, and because emotions are one of two crucial building blocks for creating advanced AI that are morally aware: what Wendell Wallach and Colin Allen have termed “Artificial Moral Agents” (AMA). In my presentation, I will discuss the more important of these efforts and then address some important questions that arise relative to human progress in the digital age: What sorts of psycho-social models may work best to develop a truly moral machine, given that technological progress brings us sufficiently complex AI? What are current successes? Impediments? Do efforts such as these indeed reduce the complexities of emotive human “movement and the non-verbal spectrum to patterns of imitation and functionality,” or do these theories and programs do more?
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Glocal Symposium “POSTHUMAN FUTURES” NYU-Liberal Studies, New York University, April 22nd 2016 In collaboration with the New York Posthuman Research Group we are delighted to announce the second Glocal Symposium, New York University... more
Glocal Symposium
“POSTHUMAN FUTURES”
NYU-Liberal Studies, New York University, April 22nd 2016
In collaboration with the New York Posthuman Research Group
we are delighted to announce the second Glocal Symposium,
New York University (NYU), Liberal Studies Program
SUBMISSIONS & DEADLINES
We invite abstracts of up to 150 words and a short bio, to be sent to:
NYposthuman@gmail.com
Abstracts should be received by February 21th 2016.
“POSTHUMAN FUTURES”
NYU-Liberal Studies, New York University, April 22nd 2016
In collaboration with the New York Posthuman Research Group
we are delighted to announce the second Glocal Symposium,
New York University (NYU), Liberal Studies Program
SUBMISSIONS & DEADLINES
We invite abstracts of up to 150 words and a short bio, to be sent to:
NYposthuman@gmail.com
Abstracts should be received by February 21th 2016.
Research Interests: Religion, Future Studies, Gender Studies, Philosophy Of Religion, Bioethics, and 27 morePostcolonial Studies, Posthumanism, Animal Ethics, Critical Race Theory, Race and Ethnicity, Critical Posthumanism, Postmodernism, Transhumanism, Conflict Resolution, Migration Studies, Futures Studies, Environmental Sustainability, Bioethics Reproductive Technology, Human Enhancement, Anthropocentrism, Space, Transhumanism/Posthumanism, Futures Studies and Foresight, Space Exploration, Biocentrism, New Materialism, Anthropocene, Antihumanism, Posthumanities, Anthropocentrism Vs Biocentrism, Posthumans, and Posthumanism and Transhumanism
This is the program of the upcoming Symposium "Posthuman Futures", to be held at NYU (NYC, 22-23 April 2016): http://nyposthuman2016.weebly.com
Keynote: Natasha Vita-More. Attendance is free, registration is required.
Keynote: Natasha Vita-More. Attendance is free, registration is required.