In this drama, the English playwright treats the topic of human identity and cloning, in particular nature versus nurture. Exploring the risks of artificial creation, the play is centred around the conflict between a father and his three sons, two of whom are clones of the first one.
Marshall-Griffith, Linda. 2016. Charlotte Brontë’s Village Re-imagined.
3.4 Short Stories
Buckell, Tobias. 2004. Necahual.
Hulme, Keri. 2004. Floating Words.
Stiegler, Marc. 1989. The Gentle Seduction.
3.5 Poems
Bot or Not. http://botpoet.com/.
This poem is a Turing test for poetry: The reader has to guess whether the poem they are reading is written by a human or by a computer.
Brautigan, Richard. 1967. All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace.
I like to think
(and the sooner the better!)
of a cybernetic meadow
where mammals and computers
live together in mutually
programming harmony
like pure water
touching clear sky …
Burke, Ben. 2015. The Transhumanist’s Lament. https://ideas.ted.com/a-poem-from-the-future/ (audio + verse).
… The wallpaper can see that you’re stressed,
So it turns a lovely shade of blue
The thermostat has thought things over
And is ready to have a word with you …
And Doctor mailman robot
Printed your pills in quite a hurry
Your vitamins were running low
Now there’s B12 in your curry …
3.6 Non-Fictional Texts
H+Pedia. https://hpluspedia.org/wiki/Main_Page.
Harari, Yuval Noah. 2015. Homo Deus. A Brief History of Tomorrow.
In his new cult book, the author of Sapiens examines the future of Homo sapiens. He realizes that during the 21st century, humanity may gain immortality and God-like powers (homo deus), but he closes with the following question: “What will happen to society, politics and daily life when non-conscious but highly intelligent algorithms know us better than we know ourselves?”
Kurzweil, Ray. 2005. The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology.
More, Max/Natasha Vita-More (eds.). 2013. The Transhumanist Reader.
Pottbäcker, Kirsten. 2006. Science (Fiction) in the Third Millennium. “Challenges” series.
3.7 Movies
Avatar. 2009ff.
Bladerunner. 1982.
Her. 2013.
This American sci-fi romantic drama movie directed by Spike Jonze satirizes digital affairs in a techno-perfect future world. It is centred around the relationship between an introverted man (acted by Joaquin Phoenix) and an artificially intelligent virtual assistant with a female voice.
Gattaca. 1997.
“I not only think that we will tamper with Mother Nature,
I think Mother wants us to.” (Willard Gaylin, Gattaca)
I, Robot. 2004.
Matrix. 1999.
RoboCop. 1987.
The Hunger Games. 2012ff.
Transformers. 2007ff.
Transcendence. 2013.
X-Men. 2000ff.
3.8 TV Series
Black Mirror. 2011ff.
Life after People. 2009/10.
Orphan Black. 2013ff.
Stargate SG-1. 1997ff.
Westworld. 2016ff.
Years and Years. 2019ff.
3.9 Documentaries
Fixed: The Science/Fiction of Human Enhancement. 2013.
How Would Immortality Change the Way We Live? 2017 (6 min.).
Ray Kurzweil: The Coming Singularity. www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uIzS1uCOcE
Transcendent Man. 2009.
This docu chronicles the life and visions of Ray Kurzweil, an American futurist, hailed by Forbes as “the ultimate thinking machine”. It also presents his daring vision of the Singularity, i.e. a point in the near future when technology will be changing so quickly that we will need to enhance ourselves with artificial intelligence to keep up.
Transhumanism. 2019.www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmS_aL-cKxU
Visions of the Future: Science and Technology. 2018.
This is a collection of 6 x 5–7-minute clips on regenerative medicine, genetic match-making, the city car, the bionic boot, etc.
3.10 Music Videos
A Capella Science. 2016. CRISPR-Cas9
This hilarious Mr. Sandman parody satirizes the Nobel Prize (2020) winning genetic engineering technique by which the genomes of living organisms can be modified:
(lyrics) … Cas9
Cheap and precise
Rewriting genomes from microbes to mice
And soon the humble human being
CRISPR-Cas9 bring me a gene …
Dorian Electra. 2015. Forever Young: A Love Song to Ray Kurzweil.
Lady Gaga. 2011. Born This Way.
Lady Gaga plays with identity