ON THE EDGE OF ARTIFICIAL LIFE AND EXISTENTIALISM: LEGITIMIZING ‘ROBO-CULTURE’ THROUGH ANARCHY, ORDER AND MANUFACTURE

• Main Author: Timuçin Buğra EDMAN
• Format: Article
• Language: Turkish
• Published: Selçuk University 2017-06-01
• Series: Selçuk Üniversitesi Edebiyat Fakültesi Dergisi
• Subjects: Cyborgs; Robo-Culture; Asimov; order; chaos
• Online Access: http://sefad.selcuk.edu.tr/sefad/article/view/693/622

Human beings desire immortality as well as they desire the role of God. Having power and using this power over weak people is one of the oldest behaviors of humankind. One of the most important psychological causes of slave trade, almost as old as human history, is undoubtedly the desire of the human to play the immortal God role. We can see this demand in The Epic of Gilgamesh, Beowulf and The Iliad, which are the earliest written works. We witness the search for the immortality and domination of heroes and anti-heroes in works such as Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus, I, Robot and The Robots of Dawn in contemporary literary period. In many of these quests, the man's desire for absolute domination and for immortality cause him to confront God with the desire to produce (or create) something. On the other hand, in contemporary films such as Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice, which is adapted to the motion picture screen, it seems that when the man tries to go beyond himself due to his limitless desire of mastership, he confronts a god, Superman. In the science fiction works of our era, the tendency of man to dominate has begun to turn into chaotic robot-human relationship from old slavery-master relationship like in Asimov’s works. The Terminator or The Matrix series are the best examples for this. Therefore, the article will try to establish the theory of confusion and chaos that people encounter while playing the role of God. In doing so, this theory will be tried to be supported by Asimov's I, Robot, The Robots of Dawn, and Robot Visions novels in the light of some quotations. This article, of course, will also examine the tendency to claim everything in what man thinks he can benefit, rather than simply centering Asimov's works. Are these robots equipped with advanced artificial intelligence going to revolt against the people who produce themselves as Cain rebels against God? Consequently, this work will discuss the point where the relentless search for power and immortality of human beings can reach in view of Asimov's selected novels and definitions.