I believe that automata were created in the past with the intention of deceiving, tricking, and establishing power. Most of the technologically advanced structures mentioned in the chapter were used to burn, kill, and torture individuals. For instance, the bull supposedly invented by Perilaus, was shown to the king with the intention of burning his enemies inside of it. Also, when the idea of wings started appearing, the Ancient Greeks experimented with these flying devices without paying attention to any safety. In fact, they made people jump off a cliff in the Leucadia island for their entertainment, knowing that they would die. All these aforementioned examples prove that whoever had access to newly introduced devices, made use of it in a way that manifested power and malevolence, just like the way advanced technology is utilised nowadays. For example, countries strive to gain access to the newest technology that would allow them to be equipped with as many weapons as possible, which are put into use against anyone who dares to harm the homeland, and consequently allowing the country to gain power and control. Despite the multiple stories that describe the presence of several automata, such as the bronze bull and the Menmon statue, I believe that these inventions were considered to be science fiction at the time, due to how futuristic they seemed to be. Consequently, they served as a model as well as inspired many of the inventions that we use nowadays, such as air-planes.

Kings managed to use machines to torment and kill “criminals” in bizarre ways just for their amusement! The irony lies in the fact that most useful machines that we use nowadays to benefit the society such as car produce pollution that will someday make the earth uninhabitable and to add some science-fiction, the rich will fly with rockets to other planets leaving the poor to die miserably and suffer while they’re at it.

i watched both blade runner movies and i liked them both. i particularly like the fact that they showed the consequences of having a replicant and treating it like a slave. which will ultimately lead to a rebellion from the replicants. i also liked when they introduced the replicant who didn’t know she was a replicant “Rachel” and that her creator “Tyrell” said that they make the replicants “more human than human”. and that relates to the discussion which we had in class about what is the difference between humans and machines and this movie defies all of what we established as it shows that these replicants have souls as well as rational thinking. but after all this is a science fiction story. of course after the discussion we had in class today i think that it’s safe to say that this could happen in the future. we don’t know when and we don’t know where. i just hope that if we do reach this level of scientific advancement, we have the right state of mind and the right motivation to give this all the precautions and not to miss all of the warnings we have had over the years, whether it be as movies, books or advice from an expert.

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton