Robots in Popular Culture: Androids and Cyborgs in the American Imagination

Robots in Popular Culture: Androids and Cyborgs in the American Imagination seeks to provide one go-to reference for the study of the most popular and iconic robots in American popular culture.

In the last 10 years, technology and artificial intelligence (AI) have become not only a daily but a minute-by-minute part of American life-more integrated into our lives than anyone would have believed even a generation before. Americans have long known the adorable and helpful R2-D2 and the terrible possibilities of Skynet and its army of Terminators. Throughout, we have seen machines as valuable allies and horrifying enemies. Today, Americans cling to their mobile phones with the same affection that Luke Skywalker felt for the squat R2-D2. Meanwhile, our phones, personal computers, and cars have attained the ability to know and learn everything about us.

This volume opens with essays about robots in popular culture, followed by 100 A-Z entries on the most famous AIs in film, comics, and more. Sidebars highlight ancillary points of interest, such as authors, creators, and tropes that illuminate the motives of various robots. The volume closes with a glossary of key terms and a bibliography providing students with resources to continue their study of what robots tell us about ourselves.

Provides readers with detailed information on popular examples of robots/AI in American popular culture

Provides readers with considerable Further Reading suggestions, including scholarly, pop culture, and scientific readings on each topic

Places popular examples of robots/AI in pop culture in proper historical perspective

Provides scholarly material that gives readers additional important historical context in five essays

Gives equal coverage to a diverse array of robots, from the well-known to the obscure