OK thank you so much and welcome to
the last I classed launch of the fall

I'll be your host for today
I'm Lisa Yazid from literature media and

communication and I have to say I'm
really excited to be here in my capacity

as moderator because as a science
fiction studies professor I'm usually

the one of us to talk about the Alien and
the alienated in the alienating and

now finally like you I get to Sept sit
back and listen to others do that so

good a few of you left
excellent OK great so

just so you know what we'll be
doing today is what I depart

a little bit from the order that's listed
on your flyer So first we'll have.

From Modern Languages and she will be
speaking about the cult of death and

the post-human of the trans human and
animal rights then we'll have Carole Sund

from literature media and communication
and she'll be speaking about Dracula and

Gothic architecture or just Dracula.

OK.

Right yes next then we'll have Charlie
Kemp from biology who will be talking

about assisted robotics and
then finally off from

which I'm sorry also from biology then
Excellent great you both in biology

your biomedical engineering your biology
mice my apologies and then Yuri will and

our talk and our lunch with a talking
about amongst other things cannibalism

I was thinking it's a little bit
like the Wizard of Oz today right so

it goes animals and vampires and
we actually have four things so vampires.

Vampires robot zombies cannibals I can't
do it it's not a triple anymore my and

with that we'll let our guests Go Go
ahead Dana thank you thank you.

Thank you very much for your.

Hear like the thing.

In my.

Initial.

I wanted to talk about those theoretical
ideas and then I thought well it's

it's hello Eve Let's do something
more sort of hello in oriented and.

Instead of talking about French for
you I decided I would rather speak about

vampires zone because ever void of space.

And.

I would come free of
them too both in my talk.

And let me begin my talk still
by a couple of bold statement

about the role of known
in contemporary culture.

I'm trying to argue that American and

European culture are living know through
what I call the normal human terms

by non-human turn I mean they're
either you will see Sion all of

all kind of normal humans then virus.

There Ever borders favor zone with.

Their rules.

Why one stores are so abandoned and
so dominant into base fictions and

hearts and minds planation all this
fact is it's because they truly

are one the same in all of
human beings and humanity.

I believe that idealization of more
incidents results from a proponent

disenchantment and disillusionment
this human nature human culture and

human civilization.

Antipathy and their version
to humans is what renders men

eating zone this men eating vampires and
US are more in stores and

basically everything with non-human so
attractive to date.

Are several movements contemporary
movements such as animal rights movement.

Humanism trance humanism
contribute to their.

Idealization of stars.

However I believe that the most
important intellectual ground for

current until humanism was laid
out by the French theory and.

Their intellectual origins all of those
all current non-human turn has to do

is a critique of European humanism and
the rejection of human exceptionalism but

today once again I decided
I wouldn't go any.

Sort of direction.

It was not before one thousand
eight is then and humanism and

the rejection of human exceptionalism
the two important ideas

penetrated into poor people culture
this transition deprived them from

their critical impulse and transformed
them into fashionable fashionable cultural

commodities.

And unprecedented popular culture to not.

Trying to suggest that.

And that's quite important for me that.

It's process of this entity human is an.

Empty human role.

In contemporary culture that makes
in them so appealing so much

they're critical impulse
such as vampires or

zone busy representing that imperialism.

In a.

I believe it's much more to do with
the is this purely cataract for him.

Represent.

My hypothesis about.

Them pirates and as I'm on stairs.

I would like to compare
Moon's Toure's them porous and

this this Gewirtz and.

To demonstrate how they are.

How the dynamics of those representations
work in contemporary culture.

I would like to look at Soviet and

poor Soviet literature first literature
and movies first featuring Gore so

that they consider especially telling key
study this respect to the dynamics or

more instances in presence
in contemporary culture so

also as all of you know the communist
ideology here are heated

anything they chose to do
this irrational or mystical

even the Soviet school
curriculum couldn't hold ghosts.

And since the Soviets had coped at
the heritage of the Russian classics

which was very much influenced
by their growth of novel.

Was everywhere and they were there
to stayed popular Spector's counting

school classroom Ruhr or for.

Pushkin's play the student guest and
the ghost of Q.H.

in story.

And of course the ghost of homes that
father was present there a lot but

not loose there was the specter
of Q community in the opening

sentence of the Communist Manifesto.

Yet the children's first encounter
of this ghost could have come.

Even earlier all scores wild.

Cantor real grossest was very
poor people it was turned into

a very popular cartoon.

Remarkably after perestroika and
their abolishing of censorship

the goose that has
survived Soviet communism.

Continued to didn't gain in theme at
as it might have been expected but

great really begin to see that their
popularity took them four hours verbals on

this and to also known spectral undead.

The ghosts that still hang around
in the post Soviet production

are often perceived or wrong and
their appearance in their

secondary kind of second rate movies
doesn't boost their popularity

their only exception probably is
this movie boy son the village

ski a life Jewboy.

Produced during the crisis years or
of the kitchen of war this film tells

the story of a soldier who returns
from Chechnya often listing money

to earn money for his They're doing.

So trying to get a ride home he suddenly
hears the screaming call of the brakes and

the shout of the fellow soldiers who had
earlier sacrificed themselves to save his

life here except the company
of his ghosts friends

even though he knows perfectly
well that they are dead.

And unable to adjust to the corrupt and
humiliating realities of post Soviet

society cure finally dies.

The film connected will this
Russian audience and this

I quote assume because this is a really
rare exception of those ghost stories.

The popular.

Because it was produced by
an outstanding a talented director and

also because it addressed
a very acute political question

the declining popularity of course becomes
even more intriguing in the light of

the only presence of us are more
vampires there are rules zombies

in contemporary poor Soviet Russia but

Poso that Keyes is not are told
unique the course become.

The GO seem to come and much less
attention than them Porus over than

Saunders from the English
speaking audience is well if

they can see the numbers of the followers
of tweeters as some kind of indication of

their popularity those
numbers are very telling.

Just Gorst don't make it
any close to the vampires.

So the question is why do what do
ghost locks so profoundly What

limits their charm and their what prevents
them from reigning over of the rule

of general public as other non-human
more instance especially vampires do.

Have done this question maybe answered
by an exploration of the worries

in the course differ from vampires and
there is a popular more instance in their

interactions this people so
let me turn again first to

Russian literature what do
ghosts do in those narratives

Well if you look at
Pushkin the stone guest.

The ghost all of your.

Huge coursed.

A piece in Pushkin.

A little drama to punish them
in protagonist who won and

the tourist womanizer for
having seduced his video.

Don't knock on.

The commander started should truants
into Gorst grubs don't who are on

drugs him down to hell who was there for

here performs a moral function by
punishing don't want for his voices

in his go go short story over chord.

Of the main character is a poor cleric.

Whose only purpose of life was
to save from his small salary

to purchase a new warm over cord How
did the first night hubris his overcoat

it get stolen from him and
after General to whom he turned to for

help bill rates and humiliates him.

Dies in misery.

And then he returns as Gorst stew
the street as goes to the streets of

San Petersburg and holds people
stealing their cords from them.

Once again the see that this
Gorst actually is a force of

justice he punishes this very general
who was so humiliating to him

in a very similar vein the cause or
of soldiers there

is friends of KIA from the movie
should avoid voice a life who died in.

There also performing
the same moral function.

Their presence in every day sitting brings
up a disturbing contrast between their

troops to die in the bird to feel
while risking their injured friend and

upsurge of two of their mission in the
minimalists and shamed shameless shameful

Chechen war it highlights none bridgeable
gap which separates the corruption and

pity values of Russian province and.

From the ideals of friendship and
compassion so are.

There is worth of there also to.

Perform a moral function to raise.

Our concerns and to sort of.

Demonstrate the immorality
of Soviet realities so

all those goals fall in the footsteps
of the grossest of Gumbel's father

says Shakespeare laid down the ground
rules whose have traditionally haunted and

frightened human villains and
guided human virtue as they know also from

Syria Baltar scored the tips trick chambre
or Charles Dickens the Christmas Carol

the ghost role in those narrative
is to articulate moral judgment and

to punish Moore's who deserves it.

Very much like Mark spector of course they
too was a walk to terrorize capitalist for

telling their imminent destruction for
their brutal exploitation of the workers

the purpose of worst is to
right wrongs on the contrary

the more retribution is never
present in contemporary

vampire narratives or
in the SO in the narratives.

The moral and spiritual mission of
course goes very well tendon hand

is there etymology and they need to
move with your virgin French English and

Russian points to the spiritual aspect of
course it's unlike them presumed this or

variables and gurus to ease and
incorporeal spirit fluid and

transparent ghosts take various shapes but
remain deeply associated this there

can create is ation of human psyche
then a human character dies and

becomes a ghost it's never a deliberate
choice and kurta cannot become a void.

By explicitly villain or
denying his human nature

by contrast to be torn and
become of them in contemporary movies and

fiction one must choose to
reject ones human nature.

And in them Party universe being
turned is considered a social and

the static achievement death
gives an opportunity for

the protectionists to become a vampire and

they can think about Bill as foreign
in their twilight Jessica's or

her you know the True Blood or you learn
a Gilbert from the vampire diaries all of

them being the most
popular them part of our.

Film and movies production.

By Contras do not have fans whose dear
is desire is to become one of them and

as a feature that fundamentally
distinguishes ghosts from vampires and

zombies two is diet.

Do not regard people is neutral
food they do not sink their teeth

into human flesh they do
not drink human blood.

Have no taste for brains and
do not treat people as prey they mean Q.

people but never in order to nimble
on them in those avert spirits

do not challenge the concept of
humanity rather they reinforce

their morality as one of the prime
foundations all of human exceptionalism.

And to straight to this
point I will just show you.

That that's another very telling
example of this the Empire saga of

The Vampire Diaries is considered
kind of very romantic wild and

not at all about man eating aspect of it.

My image is approving
a different point of belief so

let me just show you this
quotation from a Russian writer.

A VICTOR P. live in who explains
human pretty distant nation.

As being part of the Empire food chain.

In direct confirmation of my good point I
put this this can be found in the rise in

popular popularity of this well remember
is famous the night of the Living Dead.

Kickstarted their popularity of their
search of their attraction is more likely

to do them no Brandon far more recent
the return of the Living Dead.

Or Brandon's own bare groundbreakers
because they eat human brains.

Once on this very part
treat in this capacity.

That kind of their celebrity of was
assured the emotion of brain eating at

that epitomize new perception of human
beings what stronger metaphor or

for rejection of human personality and
spirituality

could be there in
the consumption of human brain.

The sending as zombie can
a surely be a likable character.

And be presented as the first
person narrator all of the story.

Monsters is therefore of the ultimate
expression of the current thirty noble

discuss those people who also in the US
are hence have little if anything

to contribute to the humanisation
of the human race another

thought experiment supports my hypothesis.

The popularity of them pious and
coarse and so on the same story is tied to

their ability and willingness to
feed on humans beings through.

US reducing them to food stuff
if they compare the words and

quarters of an ancient Greeks and
from wrapping up to contemporary

when Paris they will see that they share
much in Coleman both being in human.

The beautiful able to float the lows
of physical reality and read minds and.

They're also immortal they
enjoy are all human scenes and

imperfections they are wildly jealous and
greedy sometimes one would expect

all those qualities see the world
the contemporary consumption culture but

why words are not popular and their

answer to my mind is very simple
they do not eat human flesh they

do not suck human blood on the contrary
their cultural role in the verse and

civilization was to demonstrate the reason
the human nature could be good like

their ultimate role was to inspire
epoch making of ations and

science the loss of a democracy and
they stood at the springs of the western

civilization I would like to
conclude my talk by using by quoting

the trailer from fear the walking dead.

Is the is supposed to more
excitement to the viewers.

Then civilization ends it ends fast
thank you very much for your attention

thank you.

Very much or I'd like to thank.

Sponsoring this entire group for
inviting me to consider the post here.

On Human ab him and for
this art class launch and

Richard was invited all of.

Think and write about humanistic
perspectives in the technological world

and motivated me to consider
why I believe the Gothic.

Often focuses on human forces.

For me it's a research topic
however it goes beyond that.

In a world where human beings
are surrounded by anonymous social

political and technological forces
beyond our control the Gothic

often allows us to focus on the human
in contrast to the non-human

although I'll start with a contemporary
twenty fifteen example most of my talk

will focus on the end of the nineteenth
century because that's where I work.

The contemporary example comes from
the AMC series fear of The Walking Dead

the most recent in the series of a zombie
narratives created by Robert Kirkman and

David Ericson even though I generally
think it's obvious you're pretty boring

after all I've spent a lot of my academic
life looking at vampires The sexy and

members of the monsters.

And this really started watching the
parents season the walking dead because

it was filmed in Atlanta and I wanted
to see how a director might use places

that I know fear the walking
dead is set in L.A. and

goes into greater detail about how
the plug virus condition it's not

clear what causes humans to
become zombies is spread.

Both however use the zombies to
represent anonymous impersonal forces

in contrast to the humans who must battle
to maintain some semblance of what

we think of as human in both series
The emphasis is on the humans

despite all the press
the zombie make up gets.

Frankly fear of The Walking Dead
to way too long to get go on and

I wasn't even sure I like the human
characters all that much in the first four

episodes the same that really grabbed
my attention comes almost at the end of

episode the penultimate
episode in the series and

OK how do I get to never mind I got it.

So that we get.

To see that really high school
English teacher Travis Manav played by

Cliff Curtis is trying to learn where
several members of his blended family have

been taken and finally persuade several
members of the National Guard to allow

him to go outside the barbed wire circle
compound that had been a working class

suburb of Los Angeles while the uninfected
members of the community are told

they will be safe in sawed the compound
resembles too many of the World War

two photographs of Auschwitz or
Ravens book or Dachau for my comfort

a connection that proves all too true in
the final episode when representatives of

the government start killing off
the uninfected as well as the infected.

That sense of powerlessness becomes even
more evident when the guard stops and

the commander tells Travis to look through
the scope of a rifle to kill one of

the zombies while almost all the zombies
on the show had been anonymous

Travis looks through the scope and
you can see him right here.

And sees the ravaged zombified
face of a particular zombie and

the name tag Kim on the waitress
uniform she is still wearing

the camera moves back and forth in
a variation of a film technique known as

shot river shot there's no evidence
that Kim can see Travis but

recognizing her former humanity
he can't pull the trigger and

the camera moves from her face to
his surrounded by thousands of.

Travis surrounded by thousands of zombies
and the equally mindless representatives

of the US government here
represents the individual human.

And the final scene of the final episode.

Focuses on him and either his
girlfriend or his wife I'm not sure.

On the

B..

Prior to zooming out to
reveal what is left of L..

Even though they had managed to
rescue most members of their family

it is evident that they are largely
alone in the midst of anonymous forces

both scenes continued to haunt me.

Attending most of the I class lunches this
fall I've been impressed by my colleagues

who are doing real good in the world and
often wonder whether my interest in

popular culture might be considered
trivial then I come to my senses.

I believe that the humanities but

especially the Gothic have an important
place in our curriculum STEM

fields may provide many answers to
the world's problems find a cure for

cancer figure out how to arrest global
warming learn what causes Alzheimer's.

But the humanities put the human
face on those problems and

help researchers understand why
the need for their labs is so great.

I'm not alone in thinking that the focus
on the individual is important either

Thomas Hardy and Bram Stoker two writers
who are rarely thought of together and

asked their readers to consider
the changes taking place during the second

half of the nineteenth century by
focusing on small groups of individuals

Stoker is incorrectly I believe considered
a go writer despite the fact that he wrote

eighteen books only three of them
were Gothic However his obituary in.

The London Times.

Yes.

Dear.

Who.

Describes him as.

Now.

This is not that big a deal.

The master of a particularly lurid and
creepy kind of fiction represented

by Dracula and other novels and
mentions his work for Henry Irving and

some of his journalism Harvey on the other
hand is generally considered a writer

of moral as realistic
fiction even local call or.

A.
Number of years ago when I abandoned

teaching Hardy's novels and evolution on
the industrial age to concentrate on his

short fiction because no student wants to
read tests or Jude the Obscure at the end

of the semester I discovered a totally
anomalous little story by Hardy

called the fiddler of the real because I
was teaching Hardy right before I thought.

I noticed a number of parallels in the two
that I might have otherwise ignored

most notably the fact that these two
otherwise dissimilar writers tell

stories of individuals to emphasize
the power than anonymous forces

in both of these works representatives
of the primitive past have over

individuals who live in a scientific and
technological a progressive present

both writers weave into their fiction the
material evidence of that progress most

obviously the power of railroads to
connect geographically distant places yet

despite the fact that the characters
especially on Dracula believe in progress

both writers suggest that
readers should not forget

the power that the past
continues to wield.

Despite tomorrow's unholy holiday I spend
much time on Dracula today I suspect

that many of you are already familiar
with stokers tale of the monstrous other.

Who comes both from the past and from the
primitive East and whose power over women

causes the professional individuals in
the novel to physicians one attorney and

two independently wealthy men who
are in them order of technology to

align to drive him back to his
Transylvanian castle where they destroy

him or at least believe they do.

Even though most film versions have
Dracula dissolving into ashes or vapor or

something equally insubstantial proof
positive of the power of the present over

the past the conclusion to Stoker's
novel is more ambiguous either he or

an editor made a change before
the manuscript went to press to eliminate

a paragraph in which Dracula's castle is
destroyed at the same time as the reasons

behind this deletion aren't entirely
clear though critical theories abound and

include everything from Stoker's fear
of being accused of plagiarizing pose

the fall of the House of Usher him or
his plans for a sequel.

That the castle remains signifies at
least to me that the forces of modernity

aren't strong enough to curtail the power
of the past certainly stoker makes that

point early in the novel when he has
Jonathan Harker while he is a prisoner and

Dracula's castle comment on
the diary that he keeps in shorthand

quote It is nineteenth century
up to date with a vengeance and

yet unless my senses deceive
me the old centuries had and

have powers of their own which
mere modernity cannot kill and

quote Harker's thoughts about
the power of the past remain

with me at the end when the English heroes
return to their supposed victory over

the vampire after a period of seven years.

Though they have gone on with their
lives most of them having me.

And started families Dracula's castle
looms over them in the background.

Whatever is represented by that powerful
medieval structure remains as well

even in Quincy Harker son of two of
the principal characters readers

tend to forget the fact that because of
his mother's relationship with Dracula

the blood of the vampire
runs through his veins.

While not so obviously supernatural the
fiddler the reals which was published four

years prior to Dracula includes many
of the same ideas about the power of

anonymous primitive forces over
the realistic representation

of the present commission for a special.

Story exhibition number

of.

Of Scribner's Magazine assembled to
celebrate the Chicago World's Fair

also known as the world's Columbian X.
exposition and

eight hundred ninety three it thus
appears to be a pay end to scientific and

technological progress usually
celebrated in exhibitions and

Faiers Hardy made a number of revisions
to the story when they published in

a year later in his collection
life's little ironies but

both versions begin with the mention
of exhibitions World's Fairs and

whatnot as they contrast to quote
the parrots of them all and

now a thing of old times the great
exhibition of eight hundred fifty one

in Hyde Park London and quote.

These references to celebrations of
progress ask readers to consider both this

way that the past holds over the present
and the impact that major developments

have over individuals there is much
evidence to suggest that Hardy thought

deeply about the changes that were taking
place and angle and during his life.

Time eight hundred forty two
one thousand and twenty eight.

And was personally familiar with
the changes that impacted the populations

of both London and the rural area
in which most much of the story is

set fiddler the real is like Dracula or
fear or

the walking dead a work of imaginative
literature that transforms Hardy's

experience of the world into a work that
focuses on the impact these changes had

on individuals.

When.

You actually see.

That Hardie's Hardy's they
are amongst other people as well.

But the more important
photographs are image has

to do with which is too small.

The Crystal Palace another name by
which the Great Exhibition was known in

reference to the glass structure in which
the international exhibition was held by

if you want to pull up maybe
the next one is expandable.

Different places.

That's I don't know it's it may not
be capable but thank you anyway so

this was a real marvel of architecture
at the time and it was certainly.

Well.

I.
Guess.

What you didn't just know you can just
cycle through it that's OK it's more

interesting than I am.

In reference to the glass structure by
which the international exhibition was

held but the eight hundred ninety S.
the Crystal Palace had been rebuilt

on pseudonym Hill remains until fire
destroyed it in one thousand and thirty

six however the area that had housed
the Crystal Palace was now the location.

Various monuments to progress including
the science museum founded in one thousand

and fifty seven the natural history museum
founded in eight hundred eighty one and

the Victorian Albert Museum founded in
one thousand and fifty two a name for

Prince Albert who came up with
the idea for the Great Exhibition.

By focusing on a few characters the rest
of the story reveals a profound awareness

of England at mid century labor
unrest revolutions in Europe and

economic instability had
divided individuals and

classes during the eight hundred twenty S.
thirty's and forty's and

members of the Royal Commission for
the encouragement of Arts Manufactures and

commerce which included Prince Albert
Henry Cole George Wallace and others

arrived at the idea of an exhibition
both to celebrate modern technology and

industrial design and to convince
residents of the United Kingdom that

the problems of the previous decades could
be solved by commitment acknowledging.

Indeed their exhibition of British
progress was an exercise in public

relations on an international scale to
encourage people to attend the exhibition

scientists entrepreneurs and manufacturers
invested in the Great Exhibition and

created the network of railroads to
link all areas of NGO and together and

to demonstrate British prosperity and
ingenuity.

What.

About a time OK I would
continue to talk about.

The one non-human character and
it's a con contrast between

a man who works on the Crystal Palace and
he is really a representative of modern

technology but what happens is that.

A representative of the very
primitive past a fiddler

who is a dandified with really primal.

Forces managed.

To.

Kidnap the the child that the technophile

had adopted and fall in love with and

basically what I see in the in
the two stories between Dracula and.

The real US is the fact that these two
men two riders who are both very much

aware of the impetus to.

Celebration of technology and
progress are very much aware of the pull

in in a different direction.

So.

There we are thanks in.

My labs to health care robotics lab and

today I'm going to be talking with
you about intelligent robots for

health related physical systems but in
the spirit of this gathering I'll call it

helpful non humans with the gentle touch.

I have to robots we work with their mobile
manipulators they can physically move

within the world in this
case using wheels and

then often they have arms to
physically manipulate the world.

They are the non-human helpers.

And we're focused on health how these
types of robots can provide physical

assistance so millions of people across
the world require physical assistance on

a daily basis and right now that's
typically provided by other people but

there are opportunities for robots such
as these to help and in particular

something that we've seen over and
over again is there's an opportunity for

robots such as this to provide
a sense of independence for

people to empower people to do things for
themselves and that's been surprised about

that because when people engineers
engineering students will start out in

my lab they might be more focused on what
needs to be as fast as a human helper or

something but in the end actually it
doesn't necessarily need that but

if you can empower someone to do things
for him or herself that has real.

Real benefit also interesting and
interesting Lee as I'll talk more about

later people actually
would prefer robots for

assistance with some sorts of tasks and
then finally there's an opportunity for

another level of vigilance that you
couldn't have with at least a single human

helper or perhaps an assistant which is
twenty four seven always there to help you

a level of vigilance you wouldn't have
except out in maybe an intensive care unit

where you have a whole team
of people helping you.

There are lots of different forms
robots can take especially to provide

physical systems because often robots move
and therefore for people who are having

difficulty moving it's a it's a make
sense it's a complementary situation and

there's a natural question of why robots
of this form where it's sort of separate

from the person one thing is that it can
do things separately from the person you

can ask it to go get something for you
which can have some advantages you don't

have to interrupt what you're doing you
also don't have to wear it putting it on

and taking it off which can be a barrier
to acceptance for a lot of technologies it

can assist diverse users you can whether
you're in a wheelchair or you're in bed or

you're actually able to walk you can still
potentially benefit from this sort of

assistive technology and my hope is
that it also be a mass market product so

much as you know computer revolution has
had such a high beneficial impact on

the lives of people with disabilities even
though that wasn't the primary intent

of the technology I'm hopeful that
robots like this because are so

general purpose will be relatively
low cost widely available and yet

benefit people who can benefit by them for
health care reasons and medical reasons.

OK so for the rest of the talk
I'm just going to focus on

three I'm going to organize it based on
three things we've learned from the eight

years that my lab has been in operation
we've been conducting research for

about eight years founded in two thousand
and seven and the first of these is that

many people be open to assistance from
Obama and it debaters reframed in terms of

this gathering We want
help from non-human.

So we work with about two hundred
over two hundred people now who.

Actually been interacting with these
types of robots and cross a diverse

group of potential end users from nurses
to older adults to people of severe motor

impairments we've been surprised at
just how open people are to this

receiving assistance from this type of
technology and a focus on older adults and

some of the studies we've done with older
adults especially in collaboration with

Professor Wendy Rogers here in
school psychology Georgia Tech.

So interestingly and this is not
something we expected in large study

with older adults or large for us working
with a number of older adults twenty one

in this case we found that people actually
stated that they prefer robots for

some tasks they prefer assistance
at least in this group.

Strongly prefer to distance from a robot
or stated they would prefer systems for

finding and delivering objects for example
or for laundry as opposed to assistance

from a human preference for
non-human assistance.

And yet it vary based on tasks there are
other tasks or people would prefer Hugh

said they prefer human assistance
such as preparing meals.

And also interesting Lee We for example
the pictures here conducted a study where

older adults and they where home
received medicine that was or

at least a medicine bottle that was
autonomously delivered by the robot.

And on the left side you see what they
stated their preference would be before

interacting with the robot then after
on the right side interacting with this

non-human their preferences changed in
their preferences actually change towards

being more open to having non-human
assistance and I would usually just say

robot assistance but you know in
the interest of this gathering.

But that really depends on
the task there are other tasks for

which there really wasn't a change in for
example in this case it specifically with

respect to whether or not the robot
would actually assist with the taking of

the medication you know taking a pill.

Also in collaboration with Professor
Madeleine Hackney oppressor Lena Tang and

others but we've done some work that.

Suggests that older adults would
be open to doing exercise and

rehabilitative engagement dancing in
this case with with robots such as this

this is based on Madeline hackneys work
with people where people have found that

having people dance with others in a class
sort of setting has been an effective

intervention for some types of issues
such as a Parkinson's disease and so

maybe maybe robots will also be able
to provide assistance in this way.

OK So to summarize.

The preferences really vary by task but
it was the case that in fact they would

prefer assistance from robots over humans
for some of those tasks and we're actually

more open to assistance after working
with the robot for some types of tasks.

This is usually engineers I want to
say you have to really be careful

about speculating what people are going to
think or say I've had a number of robotics

researchers who feel like
you know my mother or

grandmother would never want help from a
robot but you know that's you really need

to be careful about making presumptions
about what people really want and

going out and
asking them actually works well.

OK second thing there's three things we've
learned so a system of mobile manipulation

that's these types of robots that
are providing assistance in the home is

actually feasible for people with severe
motor impairments profound disabilities

using conventional interfaces and
then in the terms of this gathering

helpful non humans don't need to
connect directly to our brains.

And there's a reason for that so
this is evidence he's been a major

collaborator for us in our lab actually.

And Henry unfortunately suffered a brain
stems stroke at the age of forty and

he lost the ability to move his body and

he actually over time recover the ability
move his head and he can move a finger

which is enough for him to operate
a computer through a mouse cursor.

Using a head tracker off the shelf and
by pressing a mouse button with his finger

Now interestingly the stuff I'm going to
show you he's in a situation where people

have had actually these chronic
implants directly to the brain

of electrodes to do measurements from
the brain and to control robots but

I think we're finding that that that
sort of invasive procedure might not be

necessary for us to really provide
useful assistance so for example this

is work we did where Henry was able to
take the robot on a tour of his home and

tell the robot OK this is a drawer do
use this drawer opening behavior this

is a refrigerator which you'll see soon
use this refrigerator opening behavior and

then after that he was able to actually
automate elements of the home he could

tell the robot he lives in California
go to go to the refrigerator and

open the refrigerator and it would just
drive over there and open it flip light

switches open doors things like that we
also developed a system to enable Henry to

shave himself because that was something
that he really wanted to be able to do and

I should have put more of
that video there but but

he was able to shave himself with
the system it took a long time

it was not ideal and I'll talk
a little bit more about it later but

that's something that both he and his wife
wanted to be able to do with the robot and

we succeeded and they actually
collaborate with one another Henry and

the robot work together in
order to shave shave his face.

And then more recently we did work where
he was able to actually use the robot

to get from his bed to pull up a blanket
because in a situation like this and

this is another reason why it's really
valuable to actually work with people

I think one thing is just you realize
when working with people who have lost

the ability to do some of these things we
take for granted just how much we take for

granted so for example the first thing
Henry wanted was to have assistance with

scratching himself and he would get
an itch he claimed about fifty times a day

can you imagine having an itch
that you can't scratch for

yourself or that you have to
ask someone else to do it for

you likewise for a blanket we
regulate our temperature at night

without thinking about it he doesn't
want to wake up his wife in the middle.

Of the night to change and
rearrange his blanket but at least in this

prototype system he was able to pull up
a blanket he was able to grab a cloth for

himself using the robot and wipe his face.

And so I think with these.

Small studies in Henry's home
I think we've established

that it's actually feasible it's possible
for this to be of benefit to someone and

Henry situation when he's using
conventional interfaces without direct

connections to the brain so.

Finally I want to talk about forces.

And in particular make the claim
that permitting contact from robots

when they're intelligently controlling the
forces can increase their effectiveness

and of course you know it's coming in
terms of this gathering let the humans

touch you gently.

Now you might be a little averse
to this notion of first and

you not be alone actually in
robotics robotics researchers

didn't want to have robots touching people
they were concerned about safety and

they particularly didn't want the arm
of robots touching people and

the dominant strategy was just
say OK robots don't touch people.

But if and that was between the robot
touching the world touching people even

the robot touching itself and if you look
at humans who do these sorts of things

all the time we touch you know if I look
across the room many of you you know you

have your arms resting against
the chair you know you have your arms

on your own body it's not a big issue
your arms are not really injured you're

not hurting yourselves and in the context
of care it happens a lot the person who's

providing the care makes contact with
the person who's receiving the care.

And in fact in the types of tasks that
have been shown to be really valuable to

people who have lost the ability to move
and are suffering from other impairments.

Often manipulation is occurring near
the person's body nipple ation.

Performed of objects near the person
manipulation is really important

which means that there's a lot of
opportunity for contact to occur.

So let's talk about the non-human hand in
contact with the non-human hand as a first

place where robots can make contact and
be of use well interestingly in the first

time we tried that shaving system there
was a difficulty Henry actually so

the robot Unfortunately I only showed
a short clip but the robot just

holds the electric shaver near Henry and
then he pushes his face against it.

And even though he was the one regulating
how much force he was applying He actually

got nicks and abrasions and there were
some blood we were not excited about this

this was not a good situation but we when
we checked and in spite of him believing

that he had full sensation his face he was
applying a very high forces to him self

twenty five Newtons actually his wife Jane
when we measure she was applying just

three Newtons to him when she was shaving
him and so one of the problems in this

is a general problem with robots right now
is that robots are stupid all right they

don't have these non-human helpers don't
have all of this wonderful intuition and

common sense that we as humans have
acquired over a lifetime of experience and

so if I were to give that
electric shaver to one of you and

ask you to help shave Henry I doubt that
any of you would have allowed him to apply

that much force to self but this robot
non-human doesn't know it's just ignorant

and so we've looked at ways to give robots
some of this common sense and one is for

example having able body participants
shave themselves recording the forces and

from that we learned that ten Newtons
is fine so Henry's applying two and

a half times as much force as required to
to shave oneself with this electric shaver

and after implementing this now the robot
knows for this task here's where

the reasonable forces into the force
goes above that it retracts and

Henry has had a problem since Likewise
another thing that we take for

granted as humans is just
the forces required to

open various devices in the home we
know you have a refrigerator you.

Kind of you pull a little hot pretty hard
on at first and then it kind of gives and

it opens another cabinet is much easier
to open than a spring loaded door but

robots haven't known this and
that means that they can make mistakes so

if they're really aggressive OK
they can open everything but

maybe it's applying way too much force
to the cabinet maybe it's broken

maybe something's wrong maybe
it's hurt hitting somebody so

by recording these forces we're trying to
give robots and sense about how the world

works the types of things that that
we have and we take for granted.

Of course that So
that's Henry what has allowed

has touched the robot with his head what
about robots a ton of touching people and

we've done a small study where
the robot would come up to people and

touch them and one that was interest in
the message is just that people really

responded differently based on what
they thought the robot's intentions were

the mechanics were the same but if people
thought that the robot was trying to

comfort them they didn't really
want the robot to touch them but

they thought that the robot was
trying to prepare them for some

procedure by a doctor who becoming into
the room they were fine with the contact.

Or almost out of time but

also talk briefly about contact
between the non-human arm and people.

And it turns out that robots are much
better able to operate around

a human body if they're allowed to
make contact with the human body.

But how do you do that safely One
thing is to make the robot soft and

compliant which biological organisms are.

Also to give robots a sense of touch

across their whole bodies which robots
typically have not had this capability and

then you give the robot
a sense of itself and

it has predictions about what's going to
happen if it takes for particular actions.

That's my time's up can I go for
one more moment very quick OK

they can reach it using these methods
they can reach in the clutter and

they can help Henry he loves it
is it just Henry now it turns

out other people are OK having large
scale contact with robots and so.

In the end in terms of this gathering

we want to help in general we want
help from nine humans and I expect for

nine humans to become pretty prominent and
maybe ubiquitous.

Help on one who is don't need to connect
directly to our brains in order to be

useful and very helpful and then went on
humans touch you gently I recommend it and

that's it.

Thank

you.

All right so let's start from this one
that's most that's mine and so lies so

I'm all going to talk
to my science there so

sure that I just want to talk
a little bit about humans.

About those things for
sure whether my specific to humans but

with all this realize that and
one of those ascents one of

the Norman of which is very
specific to humans is a.

Disease I think everyone has
about all of us disease but

not everyone realized this was
a mechanism behind this disease is so

this is a disease of should to.

Provoke.

Well right so
yeah yeah I can do is assist people or

so this is diseases that should
have caused by aggregation

of certain protruding human brains.

Is the sanitation that should
a spray at through brains or

because of this production can I show
you more belies the normal trim and.

Immobilize kind of go out of
this to different shape and

just normal Proctor and of the same
exact type becomes a part of the.

Yes fiber like aggregates so
as a result there's a spread from human

brain almost like an infection like go
into the different regions of the brain so

why I am saying is of this is specific to
humans this disease is usually a pill or

often where all age there are some
cases of your Also disease but

in my jurisdiction of the cases of age
related to see usually a killer was.

Age it's become very frequent as
people leave for longer by an hour

it is already as a sort of most frequent
cause of death and United States and

a minority of the civilized countries
because people live longer as

a scar interest because of for
education of Zaza diseases and say.

Chance of dying or false climate
of disease so by the age of sixty

five there is like five percent
chance of development also time of

the disease by his age of eighty five
almost forty percent people haven't and

also time of the diseases so the disease
once it's appear is once the symptom

appears this is a symptom Sapir
the disease is ultimately fettle and

curable so far so there are some
critical trials for certain cures but

not all of them with dogs so far true
human is a disease some curious can slow

down as they call it cured of some drugs
connection or slowed down the development

of the disease and people die of different
reasons to ensure that sometimes

sometimes still dying of this disease
about non of the normal the rocks so

far can eliminate is a disease can
eliminate is the reason for the disease so

now's the interesting point is this
disease is fountain humans but

it is not found to nonhuman primates
it's not fountain monikers and.

Apes they cannot actually develop
obligations they do have the same

production call time the Lord better they
can develop are going to get a show you're

going to see this accumulation of final
Lloyd better production and brains but

this doesn't kill them they don't
develop the symptoms it was a disease so

the disease itself results symptoms
like dementia loss of memory and

your degeneration and to censure it is
introgression of personality as this is

what is happening in also time out of
disease this disease itself specifically

specific to humans and
the interesting question is why and

here gets a little bit because
the truth can transfer today.

Via to specific to humans maybe
it's simply because we believe so

warm and this is a possible explanation.

If significantly longer than
non-human primates the do

believe significantly
longer than apes and.

Significant along even a very low and
chimpanzees our closest living

relatives so
somehow a designer Aleutian humans develop

Zus ability truly for a long time.

Via could have happened so
far as biologists of also looking for

selection pressure which might
lead to such a development and

one potential selection
pressure which could lead.

And human on the it is that all the people
have become useful like an animal

society as all they do also
no longer use the full for

no longer produce they do not transfer
me the genes from their generation and

they do not really help progeny to
survive now in human society is

this change because of the human
societies First of all all they do need.

I mean some experience through
the eyes of members of the society so

they can become very useful
because of a lot of experience and

moral issues they have accumulated and
the second thing is they are involved

in the raise in this in their
generations not on as a children but

also in arrays and
is a children's children so

sure it is a grand Maza
some grandfathers still

help society to trace and
there is generated in some cases in

some cultures as much as fathers and
mothers right so

is that basically what might
be a reason for people.

And the ability to truly flaunt it but

this might be also something
of a pay a price for.

Because of it can live longer to
become an Peron of this new rigid

generation disorder a sense I
mentioned here is also I'm a disease

this is the most striking the example
this is more spread and this is

that should affect a lot of people but
there are other diseases of those kinds or

about fifty diseases caused by
various similar mechanisms some

of them are not fatal like Parkinson's
disease is not ultimately fair but

was the mechanism behind development
of those diseases very similar.

Model all of them are specific to
humans but are number of them are and

many of them ASA C.-H.
or is old age ages generally

is major risk quacked or
in the diseases so

now one single which might have changed
if you compare in this case and

compare and humans to nonhuman.

Which are real to for
example our relatives and

made sure organisms which are nearest
stars and there was a sense of a compare

humans draw of any isms which are nearest
Droste and solution is sound and.

Of adults who leave the.

Great Apes for example so one thing which
is of course different between humans and

the great apes is a human City Florida but
also humans can develop as US

neurodegenerative diseases and
because of that.

There's all the people provide a lot
of you the fullness of the society by

tonight's meetings and all it's and
helping to raise children but

because of that they also
may become obsolete and

may become a burden one's us disease
develops neurodegeneration I course

there are some knowledge to
disintegrate so if you that should.

Know about any case of all sky
I'm a disease if you didn't have

any interaction as a person having
an old disease your knowledge of this is

a huge blow to the force of her mother and
for the health care so well because

eventually as those people
move in a bit to control the.

Actions of the little ability to think
ascension is their personalities and

personalities as interest rates
they in a sense become known humans

as the disease develops once and

can wander and I never solve this
frankly in literature but I wonder if of

human susceptibility to this kind
of dementia might be a reason for

why manual of non-human sins of.

Religious.

Eval non-human scum is a form
of age to old people so

frequently as Evel gods of
evil god this this is a for.

All to regionals there were
frequently Representatives Auld and

evel evil people so

good are the brave because visit increased
Long give It's a human cell phone call and

her increased possibility does
introgression of personality.

In some people's old age and maybe as
this kind of human specific disease

might have in them popped on
the development of human culture Well

the interesting point is
that she has a mechanism and

walked in the old timers disease
which just passed a genius.

Seems to be very similar to
the mechanism involved in some

useful functions of human brain for
example some recent paper

just common knowledge forms of water
of Nobel Prize for you know Eric and

there was this addresses that our memory
is controlled by a virus similar money

a mechanism also formation
of such aggregate or

change production structures which kind of
remember Bob the change occurred and to.

Ensure code in trooper origin and as
unfortunate remembers the change the color

of the tower memories and batters
an M.R.E. of non-human primates but

maybe this is because certain
conditions in our brain sperm or

does this kind of a change of this kind of
approach are not going to bite my business

same conditions promote role for
evasion of proportions as well and

then this is the question if
it could be is that our new

roads a generator of diseases would
be the price of the pain not only for

even longer but also for being so clever.

So is this interest in Poitou a structure
arises since this connection is it to each

point in human evolution and
history humans began living longer and

then they have actually become humans.

So when all the great apes and
all humans but between OS and

great apes that is a number of
our elder Brazos if you want for

our ancestors who went extinct.

So it to the point you can draw a line and
say as a result some humans and

solves a lot of each poor.

And.

We began sinking better
until even longer so

that's actually a very and
was all syncs kind side was as couple

of the same time a bizarre humans
which didn't leave for long.

So that's OK actually very interesting
question creatures that was law on story

of this is a question which
is on the begin and true for

visual want to begin in truth that cools
to investigate but this will soften labor

to think about whether something about
development of presumption of death

won't age and
non-human since the human culture.

Humans detect sure they
interact with Zaza humanoid

species humanoids common from different
galaxies but humanoids leave in this

like Neanderthals their contracts and.

I mean it's so they all went extinct now
or probably a lot of us out our while so

most likely humans should have pushed
them to the extinctions of modern humans

put them because extinction are some
presumptions of non-human Assen our

culture common for a month or
actions with different kinds of humans.

And again what makes us different from
ours is different kinds of humans this is

actually a separate interesting question
and this summer is sort of going on around

there but we won't have much time talking
about this part to read I want to just to

mention that this question the existence
of this question is very important.

But now I want.

To change gears a little be it and

talk about aspect in of each this kind
of aggravated approach and soulful and

warm so I like the side effects are for
options because this is what for

a start in the novel lips zag sometimes
called time awards and many of them

also called preorders that you might have
heard there should be more to the sides

in this century Vulcan on molecular
mechanisms of this approach and I.

Negation leads into positive and
negative biological effects and

odds are example of this broader
an aggregation make in and

popped on humans I want
to talk about today is

actually related to NOT an interesting
cultural aspect of human history

which is also present in some literature
as well about non humans to Kenya but

it's so.

So you might have thought about how many
people here have thought about this OK So

many people did so
the core disease was actually found.

For tribe Papua New Guinea in around.

One thousand fifty souls
a person who was started as US

disease was Carleton guide to.

Physicians from United States and
then as a people.

As well for
shorter hours of this disease as actually.

Transmitted by Kenya but he is as well.

By Kenya and this was a ritual
anybody is an uncool people so

it was like Sure the kind of.

People died their relatives will
support them and the younger lots of

the children they usually have a great
sense of best pieces lamebrain to gods and

all that shamans idea was probably
that knowledge can be transmitted

visit eats and brains of
knowledgeable people what's wrong for

all of those in the south entrance
me symbol but it was not no

Sure maybe not on the knowledge of what
was was it disease in this case that it

was caused by the same mechanism as
in case of false hymen disease but

by different production there was also
formation of protein obligates and hunger.

It was soul stables and they were
not destroyed destroyed in God's.

Godsons in fact and ever gets into brains
should it cost spread of the disease and

raise my children in the same production
into this but I want to collaborated for

so it wasn't a virus wasn't a book True
it was a portrait but it was no less

infectious than if I was
in fact the lesser minds

of Formosa's diseases known undesigned
Lamb Of course with Yakob disease this

is a very rare disease which happens very
infrequently sometimes by sporadic or

reasons sometimes of could be
transmitted by medical mistreatment so

but it does exist in human
populations all over the world and

United States as well
it's very rare usually.

Because of this transmission by
cannibalism was a very frequent otherwise

and suspension of the same diseases
caused by the same protein and

by the way in as an example
you might have met colleges so

also caused by the same transmitted
from college humans but

one difference between.

Transmission of mad cow is very very
air there is a phenomenon called

species better because of this phenomenon
the broader trend does not truly go to

different species that's easy so
that all the numbers there was

a also cases of mad cow disease after the
future president might call the disease in

England in one thousand nine hundred
twenty S. after all of the cases which

have been that sure they
are identified as transmissions of

this month colleges just a few
months is a level of hundreds.

Yeah yeah yeah almost all of that
is a level of confidence but.

In case of.

Disease it was very high efficiency
of transmission because of

the same proportion so
now what is important.

In about quarter of us
march because our genes

are always sickness chauffeured
assistance for cool.

So if you analyze our drill scared of for
the cumin a section of barrels

a combination of genes which makes them
water for coral and the only explanation

for that is that our ancestors for
each of the shots are very frequently and

there was a high selection pressure for
keeping this assistance.

So and sure there's a lot of
archaeological evidence in the that our

ancestors did you teach as a way
to frequently buy this because

this is actually transmitting the disease
maybe this is why vain sure it was for

Britain and has become a trouble so that's
another case where a disease might have

a very strong impact on humans and this is
why each of the humans has become evil and

consigned to more humans as a culture so

that's a lot of part of our you can see
a connection with a certain kind of

human diseases and
what purpose as humans and humans.

OK so.

That's

the.

Sun from here OK I think we have I'm sorry
that we don't have more time to talk but

I think our enthusiasm for the non-human
has taken on monstrous proportions perhaps

but we do have time for maybe one or two
quick questions if anyone would like to

ask our panel some I think.

Zombies will have to die out be
it because of what you said with.

Courage disease that it can't
continue to proliferate.

Is a good or just as a section of
what it would question who does this

in the paper was for.

He them well she was an educated buy for
we don't can you believe it's disappear

but what they have found is that it was
a tribe which was practiced some coral

disease there was a very quick evolution
and they were actually acquired as a life

of shit just which made them resistant to
coral so unfortunately as on this may not

dies they madeup.

You see if anyone from our audience has
any questions Does anyone here want to try

to get in at least one
question before we go yes.

Yes right after the.

End of the first

talk.

Like.

What.

Do you have any theories
about why that is.

What is why.

What happens is and I bet you see
it continues to drop into and it's

probably hits a real low around the one
nine hundred forty some Going to imagine

because what happens is that the sort of
interest in the weird ends up disappearing

during World War two with the sort of
research renewed interest in science and

technology and
that whole lead up into that but then and

then especially by one nine hundred forty
eight with the first U.F.O. sightings

all the sudden ghost stories are gone out
of culture and they're replaced with I.

Would also say that using those and
grounds they should be very cautious

because they're based on the very
selective sources meaning

books they each are counted
by by the end grams and

that's also affects how much books they're
productive and certain period of time yes.

Yeah.

Yeah but what I would like to say is
certainly well I would like to thank very

much Charlie and Yuri for
participating in this panel and

I have to say that you know I learned so
much from your presentation and

I just if I may I just have two
two very brief questions I think

the.

Well I just wanted to make sure that I I
would love this conversation to continue

I think non-human says an extremely
take a subject and very important topic

that you can sort of look at from very
different angles in this institution and

I hope that probably the can serve
a kind of workshop or reading group or

non humans to continue this
extremely fruitful discussion so

if I may know just to very brief question.

Charlie I wanted to ask you about the
drawbacks of using Grob words I mean this

your Shouldn't there kind of cutting
edge of the research you're trying to

overcome this taboo of Robert not
being able to touch people so

if you can tell us a little bit about
the pretty history of this taboo or

originated and
what are the potential drawbacks of robots

especially quarrying sense of the self.

That you mentioned earlier and
if I may I just as a question to

you.

Yeah OK.

Mike might.

We should for you.

To question.

That point interesting
thing you know what.

Can you believe.

Culturally the most the most.

Highlight.

Just one.

So I don't.

Well I can come comment on this is
probably maybe the extra Fugate's of

the last and it's so in a way so

new to that of mine that we're not teach
English as a for quite a while and

that some of this is
a venture to say that.

I want us so
with respect to the question of

you know why write this transition
to robots be where it's possible for

robots to make contact with people and
why was it like that or the thing

I would say is that previously the places
where robots have been very successful or

in factory settings where they were really
optimized for very different things than

for example we are optimized they were
optimized for environments where it's very

predictable where they're doing the same
thing over and over again they don't have

to really vary their actions and therefore
they didn't need to be that adaptable and

it actually turned out that in
those conditions it made sense for

them to be extremely stiff when one of
these industrial robots holds its arms

it's like a brick wall it's very it's very
stiff It's very strange very different

than our bodies and how we work they also
you know they can go over the same path

extremely precisely and that works well in
a factory setting but once you want robots

to be out of the factories and you want
them to be in environments like a home or

this this room right here or be near
people you know things are not always

in the same place every time you know they
can't be so you don't want them to be so

stiff because next time they're moving in
this direction they might hit something.

We're not always going to be perfectly
aware of things they'll bump into things

and so now there's an effort and more and

more robots are coming out that are
compliant more like us so they can better

deal with these varying environments and
also where they have sensors so they can

better you know predict what's going to
happen and respond to the environment and

as those technologies are emerging you
know it's becoming clear that there

are real opportunities for
robots to be of benefit to people.

But you know that I guess the one other
thing I'd say with that just from

personal experience I happen to be in
a lab where I got my graduate degree where

we did have kind of softer robots and
so I kind of grew up with these these

robots that were sort of OK to be around
and I wasn't I wasn't instilled with this

fear of contact with robots which made
a really big difference culturally and

you know it's in my lab as well other
people you know have very we're grown

up in sort of very different research
cultures where they're kind of scared of

robots because the robots they knew you
shouldn't get near them and I what I

really remember is I went to go visit
a lab and there were some researchers from

that sort of older more industrial world
and from the sort of newer world and

we go up to robot and you could just tell
who was from which group the people who

are familiar with the others they looked
at the robot they tried to get a sense for

how far could reach and
they stayed at least that

far away from it whereas I was getting
right up close to it and really I was that

I was not smart to do that because you
know what type of robot was this I I you

know I'm just too naive anyway so there's
a cultural shift that's happening also

that that kind of you know.

Well I mean besides the cultural
transmission of that fear it

was well warranted because when you have
these robots that are large and fast and

very stiff you know they
really could hurt people and

people in factory settings
actually would there were people

who died from industrial robots
because and in fact in duster.

Robots are designed to work away from
people they have special cages they have

lasers that are there and if someone walks
into it it shuts down just to keep people

safe so if there was a ridge there
truly was a physical danger associated

with those robots and there still is a lot
of those robots in car factories and

such they're very strong and
very stiff and for

what they do they do it very well but
you don't want to be near one.

You know those are truly
scary nine humans.

All right I guess then that that
we have one more question great.

Extra strolls when a big part
of any presentation or and

I just wondered if there's been a sort of
recent decline in interest in Aliens of

that sort.

They were.

Like.

Here Well I think that there are SETI
projects that are still continuing and

people are looking at those and in fact.

A Not one of the novel that won the Hugo
Award this year the three body problem I'm

forgetting the author is actually science
fiction author it's all about the study

program so I think that we're actually
starting to see a very slow resurgence

of interest in that and it comes in part
I think off of our renewed interest in

the space program in space exploration
think about how popular the Martian has

been and one thing that we're seeing in
this wave of interest in space exploration

that we have not seen in previous ones is
an appreciation of the non-human is that

it and the beauty of untouched
Ilian landscapes whereas an earlier

iterations we were often interested in
either imagining romantic landscapes or

transforming harsh landscapes now there's
this real sense of of the beauty and

if you go in colonize do
you change landscapes and

I think that that leads to a renewed
interest in the people who might inhabit

those landscapes so that's my answer for
you I have a colleague named do it.

Douglas Kilgore who does work on SETI and
the non-human and

I recommend you find his book
on this it's excellent work.

For anyone else other questions
while we're going to.

I'm kind of wondering if
anybody thinks that maybe.

Zombies of kind of replaced robots in our
cultural consciousness as the big scary

Horde and you know because thinking
about like Cybermen or the Borg or

something coming to assimilate us
this fear of humanoid robots and

now we seem to be afraid of.

Will just humans in some kind of weird

other state as opposed to
the technology technological humans.

OK Well I think I think what's scary about
the zombie is that they are completely.

Thoughtless.

And the proceed is the herd at least with

the the robot there's that sense of
artificial intelligence which in

the background at least has some sense
of a huge human intelligence with it.

To be a zombie one has to lose all
aspects of the intellectual or

spiritual aspect of humanity and
what connects

to a human is simply the physical sense.

And that was

what.

I was just going to say there's an
interesting historical connection because

are you are which is this one nine hundred
twenty science fiction play from which

the term robot was derived they were
actually if I remember correctly

biological sorts of robots they weren't
they weren't mechanical robots and

so you know they were sort of zombies and
reflected I think some of the fears

of the industrial age and
mechanization of work in dust.

Zation.

OK I think if I can just jump in
as a science fiction person for

a moment I agree I see that shift
as having happened as well and

I think part of it right now is as we're
seeing a sort of resurgence in interest in

AI research and the integration of AI into
our everyday lives everyone has a Siri or

something equivalent to that and
that's not scary right we really

as we begin to use a on our lives it's
very much in that servant model right

rather than the threatening non-human
that wants to grab your resources and

your women and everything else no it's
true right whereas zombies bright as you

say they're completely disconnected from
the human in a way that that AI is not at

this point in time right.

They have this new.

You know those movies showed during my
presentation there's somebody becomes

the first person the writer and
also someone who is

getting this same glimpse of
idealization as them porous so

that's what I would sort of connected
all together to this non-human turn and

just fascination there's more to this as

a sign of denial of humanity and human is.

If you're looking there's a science
fiction scholar Sheryl vent who does

really good work on zombies and
she really connects it with the code and

ideas about bio politics and that she's
right really looking at how zombie movies

were throwing Zajac about about
the divine creation of biological

century essentially And so I think that if
you're looking for something to look at or

works great.

This is not a well formed but I will
try to articulate it I'm just wondering

to what extent you know I believe that
some of these notions in monsters are ways

of reflecting current fears
potentially well founded fear.

At a societal level and
in particular representing this fear

of the unknown which I think we
experience a lot less of now in

modern society you know we were so where
of what happens if we have a question we

look on with a pedia you know we can
almost always turn on a light and yet

you know way back when there's certainly
much more where it's just you know what

is happening this person it's the plague
it's happening right next door to me and

you know these really horrible events
that were more isolated from and

I don't know there's just it's interesting
and yet because I think in some ways

now the greatest fears are not
from the unknowns of nature but

if they are from what we create
you know what are the great

fear of the unknown of what
we will create in any way.

So that's right because you're right
we've seen a real resurgence in

interest in horror.

And and instead of sort of those
optimistic scientific narratives

although we're starting to
see those again too but

we've had a real dip through
the Gothic right and

Kellen much of the first wave of the Gulf
happens with the first sation right and

I wonder if you know world where we can
find answers very quickly many of us if we

don't need that kind of mystery and
that kind of irrational in our world.

To balance that sort of
ability to you know and

I guess one of the things I'm speculating
is we actually might need it more

than that sort of an individual level but
as a societal level it's important for

the survival of the species to
maintain I mean it's like right here.

Right you're if you get to cover
confident you can make terrible mistakes.

I think that's what both Hardy
who I didn't really talk about.

Much and stoker or so and
stoker was a real gadget freak I mean he

he loved automobiles and
he loved the typewriter and

all this kind of stuff and
yet he still has.

That the past is not really
I mean there's a full.

But it has to do with the fact.

That yes.

Well I would add to this but I think you
you put your finger right on the support

and that's why process there believe
this non-human topic of interest to be

developed in this particular
institution because as you rightly

say we are much more afraid now or
what we can create and

because we cannot anticipate
the slightest smallest kind of number

of consequences which may you know
full of from what we are doing

as our hands they're kind of
at the stage of this nowadays

then they can make more things then
they can anticipate how they sort of.

Influence you know our own future and

but that's precisely why it's interesting
to look at this from very different angles

humans and think why.

Suddenly there is.

No humans and interest culturally while at

the same time you know scientific
discoveries youth and discoveries.

You know changing our understanding
of humans and how those cultural and

scientific process are really.

Right anyone else.

OK.

The same lines.

In addition true the fear of non-human so
I sent one important creature of

modern society is a fear of
humans humans are fear and

some self interest in the charms
of fear or science in a way fear

of the future development and so that's
what you mentions of people actually.

Now more frightened by what they
can create by what is the nature

of because they can create what they're
going to see that in the nature of.

This kind of a leap sick thinking about
the future which is in this case as.

Kind of a fugitive each humans
feel their warm development is

actually leads to a tendency
to nine science deny and

scientific progress and people don't even
see how my age there have acquired from

the scientific progress they want to see
this fetus which may melt rituals or

byproducts So that's an important
component on paper some of those.

Generated by.

Human.

Censure of the kind of human the switches
changed in the form of vicious fright and

as a human kind of.

Reflection of fear us existence
aside it's a because of true past

progress that people's minds and
sure to have insufficient time to

sharpness.

And even now.

All right thank you all and
have a happy Halloween.