Our Fear of AI: Exploring Its Creators and Creations in Fiction

The idea of technological creation has proliferated across fiction for the last century. As the world becomes increasingly technologically advanced, these fears have become more tangible. With the rise of Artificial Intelligence particularly, from Alexa to self-driving cars, comes a rise in the fear of what intelligent creations might lead to. In order for AI to continue growing and adding value to society, experts must contend with the apprehension surrounding AI. While these conversations are already occurring, they generally focus on the fear of the machine itself. This thesis argues that the fear of the creators and regulators of AI, not just the machine, heavily influences the fear of AI as a field. It examines three different AI takeover narratives, "With Folded Hands", Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, and Ex Machina, in order to analyze the fears surrounding technology creators in conjunction with the influence of societal events and systems of the times.Plan II Honors Progra