• Thinking About Thinking Machines: Isaac Asimov’s ‘Franchise’

  • Sep 26 2024
  • Length: 54 mins
  • Podcast

Thinking About Thinking Machines: Isaac Asimov’s ‘Franchise’

Listen for free

View show details

  • Summary

  • In today’s episode in our series on the history of thinking about thinking machines, David and Shannon discuss Isaac Asimov’s 1955 short story ‘Franchise’, which imagines the American presidential election of 2008 as decided by one voter and a giant computer. Part prophecy, part parody: have either its predictions or its warnings about democracy come true? How does the power of technology shape contemporary politics? And why was Asimov’s vision of the future so reactionary?

    To hear a bonus episode on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein to accompany this series sign up now to PPF+ and get ad-free listening and all our other bonuses too: £5 per month or £50 a year for 24 bonus episodes. https://www.ppfideas.com/join-ppf-plus

    The latest edition of our free newsletter is out tomorrow with guides, clips and links for this series: join our mailing list https://www.ppfideas.com/newsletters

    Next time: Philip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
    Show more Show less
Show more Show less

What listeners say about Thinking About Thinking Machines: Isaac Asimov’s ‘Franchise’

Average customer ratings

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Audible.com reviews

Amazon reviews
No Reviews are Available