The Spawn of Frankenstein

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? 

On Thursday, February 2, in Washington, D.C., Future Tense met 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. 

Future Tense is a partnership of Slate , New America , and Arizona State University .

Agenda

Overview - 'It's Alive' featuring Ed Finn, Director, Center for Science and the Imagination, Arizona State University 

Panel - 'Playing God featuring Nancy Kress, Science Fiction Writer; Josephine Johnston, Director of Research and Research Scholar, The Hastings Center; and, Patric M. Verrone, Writer and producer, Futurama. Moderated by Ed Finn, Director, Center for Science and the Imagination, Arizona State University.

Panel - 'Unintended Consequences featuring Samuel Arbesman, Scientist in Residence, Lux Capital, Author, Overcomplicated: Technology at the Limits of Comprehension and Susan Tyler Hitchcock 
Senior Editor of Books, National Geographic Society, Author, Frankenstein: A Cultural History. Moderated by Joey Eschrich, Editor and Program Manager, Center for Science and the Imagination, Arizona State University.

Panel - 'Fear of the Unknown' featuring Charlotte Gordon, Author, Romantic Outlaws: The Extraordinary Lives of Mary Wollstonecraft and Her Daughter Mary Shelley, Distinguished Professor of Humanities, Endicott College; David Guston, Founding Director and Professor, School for the Future of Innovation in Society, Arizona State University; and, Annalee Newitz, Tech Culture Editor, Ars Technica. Moderated by Bina Venkataraman, Carnegie Fellow, New America, Director of Global Policy Initiatives, Broad Institute, MIT & Harvard.