Introductory Notes
- I came across the author – and this book – via Aeon ("Lyons (Siobhan) - Whither Philosophy?").
- The idea of machine consciousness is important to my Thesis on PID.
- While the author has received and award for philosophical writing, she seems to be an academic in media studies, though – in this context of SciFi Fiction1 (and therefore of TEs2) – this might be a useful background. However, I’ve found her thought less rigorous than would be found in a philosophy paper.
- Another slight drawback is that the book was published in 2018 which – while contemporary by philosophy standards – is slightly dated in the context of AI. The term ‘Robot’ seems to have dropped out of use somewhat (my Note refers to Android3s (which is – admittedly – more limited in scope, though it seems very difficult to imagine artificial intelligence except through the lens of what we experience as humans).
- Further remarks will appear after the Chapter Summaries below once I’ve read the Chapters!
- I’ve included the author’s Keywords as – in many cases – they relate to my Notes on PID. Where there is no analogue, I may consider adding a Note of my own in due course.
- Anyway, my detailed comments (will) appear following the Chapter Abstracts below.
Back Cover Blurb
- This book challenges conventional notions of biological life and death in the area of robotics, discussing issues such as machine consciousness, autonomous AI, and representations of robots in popular culture.
- Using philosophical approaches alongside scientific theory, this book offers a compelling critique on the changing nature of both humanity and biological death in an increasingly technological world.
- Siobhan Lyons is a lecturer in media and cultural studies at Macquarie University, Australia. She has contributed to several books, including Philosophical Approaches to the Devil, Westworld and Philosophy, and Understanding Nietzsche, Understanding Modernism. Her works have also appeared in The Washington Post, The Conversation, and New Philosopher, among other publications. She was awarded the New Philosopher Writers’ Award in 2017.
Contents
- Introduction: Can Robots Die? – 1
- Death, Humanity and Existence – 9
- Machine Consciousness: Ethics and Implications – 27
- Imagining a Robot Death – 49
- Conclusion: Death Beyond Biology – 71
Bibliography – 77
Index – 83
Chapter Abstracts
- Chapter 1
- This chapter introduces the key themes and questions that this book seeks to investigate.
- The question of whether or not a robot can be understood as a living and dying organism — technically, scientifically, biologically or philosophically — is introduced.
- I also discuss the origins of the term ‘robot’, and how this informs contemporary debates around the ethics of robots in the future.
- Keywords:-
→ Robots4
→ Death5
→ Media
→ Science
→ Humanity6,7,8,9
- Chapter 2
- In this chapter, I discuss the significance of death in regards to understanding humanity and existence.
- I examine how the fear of death is seen to define humanity and is often understood as a uniquely biological phenomenon.
- This chapter also discusses the development of transhumanism, with robots becoming more human-like, and humans becoming more machine-like in their quest for immortality. Such developments are radically altering the conventional understanding of what it means to be a human and what it means to die.
- While the parameters of humanity are being amended to potentially include machines, the notion of death itself is also being reconfigured to potentially accommodate a non-biological death.
- Keywords:-
→ Death10
→ Robots11
→ Biology
→ Immortality12
→ Transhumanism13
- Chapter 3
- This chapter investigates the notion of ‘machine consciousness’ and the concept of a ‘robot life’.
- The chapter focuses on current debates surrounding the ‘hard problem of consciousness’, and the potential link between machines and consciousness in science and technology.
- This chapter also deals with the significant ethical implications of the development of machine life, including the development of autonomous weaponry or ‘killer robots’, as well as the potential loss of an ‘essential’ humanity.
- Finally, this chapter examines the persistence of the ‘Frankenstein Complex’, before challenging commonplace assumptions about the malevolent potential of a robot species.
- Keywords:-
→ Machine Consciousness14
→ Brain15
→ Ethics
→ Essentialism16
→ Killer Robots17
- Chapter 4
- This chapter examines the portrayal of robot deaths in popular culture. The portrayal of robot deaths in film and television allows for a broader understanding of the manner in which we view and treat the phenomenon of death as something inherently biological.
- This chapter also investigates the manner in which we employ language to further separate humans from machines. Popular culture is particularly useful in offering an alternative perspective when discussing the notion of machine mortality, focusing more on behaviour, rather than biology.
- Furthermore, this chapter discusses the extent to which a robot could be considered a divine figure.
- Keywords:-
→ Robots18
→ Death19
→ Science Fiction20
→ Clones21
→ Language22
→ Suffering
- Chapter 5
- In this concluding chapter, I finalise the debate regarding the manner in which society has viewed itself in a superior manner in regards to life and death.
- Using Deleuze’s philosophy, I argue how robots, in their future form, can be seen as what Deleuze calls a ‘people-to-come’, ushering in a new understanding a ways of being and ways of dying that do not abide by or conform to a rigid, biological constraint.
- I also argue how consciousness does not necessarily hold the same importance it once did in the economy of life, while death can be seen more as a moral phenomenon, rather than an intrinsically biological one.
- Keywords:-
→ Death23
→ Humanism
→ Culture
→ Consciousness24
→ Biology
Detailed Notes
- Chapter 1:
- Chapter 2:
- Chapter 3:
- Chapter 4:
- Chapter 5:
Appendix 1: Interesting References: There are many, but many are not worth pursuing. Those that I already have a listed below. Those that I might have pursued were I expecting to live forever are listed in a further Appendix, together with brief descriptions from Amazon:-
- "Anders (Charlie Jane) & Krell (Jason) - 10 Robot Deaths That Were More Moving Than Almost Any Human's",
- The Monthly - Charlton & Chalmers - The robot race
- "Dennett (Daniel) - Consciousness Explained",
- "Nagel (Thomas) - What is it Like to Be a Bat?"
Appendix 2: Extended Reading List
- Canton (James) - Future Smart: Managing the Game-Changing Trends that Will Transform Your World
- 1 Mar. 2016 (£7.70 used paperback)
- Amazon Book Description:
- Game-changing trends are coming in business, technology, workforce, economy, security, and environment. Climate change, energy demand, and population growth will redefine global risk and power. Exponential new technologies will emerge in digital money, mobile commerce, and big data. An explosive new middle class of over one billion consumers will enter the marketplace. Every nation, job, business, and person will be transformed. To thrive in this future you have to become predictive, adaptive, and agile, to become Future Smart.
- Dr. James Canton, a renowned global futurist and visionary business advisor, illuminates the pivotal forces and global power shifts that everyone must understand today to thrive in a rapidly changing landscape:
→ Regenerative medicine will extend our lifetimes and rebuild our bodies;
→ Robots and drones will drive our cars, teach our kids, and fight our wars;
→ Smart machines will design, manage, and service 40% of all global businesses, energy, commerce, finance, and manufacturing, without humans;
→ Digital consumers who live always connected will challenge every business to change its strategy;
→ Climate change wars will redefine security and resources.
- Most of us are not prepared to meet the challenges the future will bring, but these changes are coming fast. Armed with knowledge, those who are Future Smart can take action to reinvent themselves, their businesses, and their world.
Book Comment
Palgrave Pivot; 1st edition (11 May 2018). Nice hardback.
Text Colour Conventions (see disclaimer)- Blue: Text by me; © Theo Todman, 2025
- Mauve: Text by correspondent(s) or other author(s); © the author(s)