Expecting the Intelligent Machine: Literary Interpretations and Images of Artificial Intelligence

Nikolay  Yanev

doi:10.46324/PMP2502219

Nikolay Yanev Department of Economic Sociology, University of National and World Economy Researcher, Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4130-8813

DOI: https://doi.org/10.46324/PMP2502219

Keywords: аrtificial intelligence, fiction, automata

Abstract

Is it possible to create an artificial human? This question has received its answers long before the advent of computers and artificial intelligence systems. Drawing on evidence from non-scientific literature, the article aims to register a well-developed and traceable tradition, in which prototypes of self-moving autonomous machines and humanoid creatures are present. These descriptions address fundamental questions: how they are created, how their bodies are formed, what their purpose is, how their minds develop, and what their relationship with humans is like. Through a qualitative study of the content, certain types have been revealed: mechanical, inorganic, or humanoid, as well as organic creatures, the result of either magical or scientific intervention. They surpass humans in strength, speed, and often in intelligence. It is concluded that knowledge, learning, and speech are important properties that mark their rational existence. This is where the danger lies: they may realize their superiority and rebel. When viewed in the context of this tradition, the modern debate on the possibilities and risks of artificial intelligence could benefit from a pre-existing instinct for the risk hidden within the intelligent machine.

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