Technophobia!

<p>Techno-heaven or techno-hell? If you believe many scientists working in the emerging fields of twenty-first-century technology the future is blissfully bright. Initially human bodies will be perfected through genetic manipulation and the fusion of human and machine; later human beings will completely shed the shackles of pain disease and even death as human minds are downloaded into death-free robots whereby they can live forever in a heavenly posthuman existence. In this techno-utopian future humanity will be saved by the godlike power of technology.</p> <p>If you believe the authors of science fiction however posthuman evolution marks the beginning of the end of human freedom values and identity. Our dark future will be dominated by mad scientists rampaging robots killer clones and uncontrollable viruses. In this timely new book Daniel Dinello examines the dramatic conflict between the techno-utopia promised by real-world scientists and the techno-dystopia predicted by science fiction.</p> <p>Organized into chapters devoted to robotics bionics artificial intelligence virtual reality biotechnology nanotechnology and other significant scientific advancements this book summarizes the current state of each technology while presenting corresponding reactions in science fiction. Dinello draws on a rich range of material including films television books and computer games and argues that science fiction functions as a valuable corrective to technological domination countering techno-hype and reflecting the weaponized religiously rationalized profit-fueled motives of such science. By imaging a disastrous future of posthuman techno-totalitarianism science fiction encourages us to construct ways to contain new technology and asks its audience perhaps the most important question of the twenty-first century: is technology out of control?</p>