Summary: We worry about robot uprisings and artificial intelligence taking over, and we contemplate what it would mean for a computer to be conscious or truly human. These ideas aren’t new to modern society — they go way back, at least to the mythologies of ancient Greece. Adrienne Mayor, is a folklorist whose recent work has been on artificial humans in ancient mythology. Mythology is rife with stories of artificial beings. It’s useful to think about our contemporary concerns in light of these ancient tales.
