Download or read book Rhetoric of the Human and Representations of Artificial Intelligence in Science-fiction written by Calvin T. Johns and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 150 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Abstract: The human animal survives as a technological creature. The work of environmentalism and the recent re-enchantment with 'Nature' must be seen as regenerative steps forward, not steps back toward some pre-technical state. The inorganic, fabricated worlds of human beings are equally our 'environments,' and, viewed as such, could provide new possibilities for community renewal, experiencing authenticity, and spiritual meaning. Artistic texts, like those of science-fiction, demonstrate productive and progressive methods for bridging the gap between the human and machine. In this vein, I argue that representations of artificial intelligence, urban environments, and hybrid technologies in science-fiction texts imagine for us solutions to the presumed antagonism between Nature and Technology and its spiritual effects. Although science-fiction since Mary Shelley has voiced anxieties over industrialization and scientific 'progress,' several artists have argued for a spirituality that can exist within technology by refiguring traditional dystopias. As tutor texts, I use the novels of Philip K. Dick and the mangalanime series Ghost in the Shell, visions that react against the Romantic nostalgia of canonical, pessimistic sci-fi. Drawing from these texts as well as those of critical theory, cognitive science, philosophy, and material culture, I openly question the boundaries between organic and inorganic, human and machine, natural and artificial, scientific and spiritual. Seen as conflicting poles, these binaries reflect too simplistic a worldview and may occlude progressive development beyond hollow compromise. My work makes room for us to accept the reconciliation of Nature and Technology, undermining the 'tech-junkie' and 'tree-hugger' mentalities that mitigate healthy ecological practices internationally and the development of new forms of spirituality.