The Spawn of Frankenstein
Event
No work of literature has done more to shape the way people think about science and its moral consequences than Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley's Frankenstein. Today, almost two centuries after the novel's publication, advances in artificial intelligence, genetic engineering, robotics, and many other fields demonstrate the enduring salience of Frankenstein's themes.
Why are we still talking about Frankenstein? And what do we still have to learn from Victor Frankenstein and his creature, at a time when our scientific and technological capabilities make the novel’s premise of creating life in the lab more plausible than ever?
Join us on Thursday, February 2, in Washington, D.C., to discuss the legacy of Shelley’s Frankenstein and how the novel continues to influence the way that we confront emerging technologies, understand the complex relationships between creators and their creations, and weigh the benefits of innovation with its unforeseen pitfalls.
Happy hour to follow.
Future Tense is a partnership of Slate , New America , and Arizona State University .
Agenda:
3:00 pm It's Alive:
Ed Finn
Director, Center for Science and the Imagination, Arizona State University
@zonal
3:10 Playing God:
Nancy Kress
Science Fiction Writer
@nancykress
Josephine Johnston
Director of Research and Research Scholar, The Hastings Center
@bioethicsjosie
Patric M. Verrone
Writer and producer, Futurama
@pverrone
Moderator:
Ed Finn
Director, Center for Science and the Imagination, Arizona State University
@zonal
4:00 pm Unintended Consequences:
Samuel Arbesman
Scientist in Residence, Lux Capital
Author, Overcomplicated: Technology at the Limits of Comprehension
@arbesman
Susan Tyler Hitchcock
Senior Editor of Books, National Geographic Society
Author, Frankenstein: A Cultural History
@Hitchbooks
Cara LaPointe
Engineer and Naval Officer
Moderator:
Joey Eschrich
Editor and Program Manager, Center for Science and the Imagination, Arizona State University
@JoeyEsch
4:50 Fear of the Unknown:
Jacob Brogan
Editorial Fellow, New America
@Jacob_Brogan
Charlotte Gordon
Author, Romantic Outlaws: The Extraordinary Lives of Mary
Wollstonecraft and Her Daughter Mary Shelley
Distinguished Professor of Humanities, Endicott College
@chargordbooks
David Guston
Founding Director and Professor, School for the Future of Innovation in Society, Arizona State University
Annalee Newitz
Tech Culture Editor, Ars Technica
@Annaleen
Moderator:
Bina Venkataraman
Carnegie Fellow, New America
Director of Global Policy Initiatives, Broad Institute, MIT & Harvard
@binajv