Mentor
Gorth, Blake
Document Type
Literature Review
Publication Date
Spring 5-27-2025
Abstract
With the rise of technologies coined as “artificial intelligence,” the question of human agency in society has never been more pressing. The literary genre of science fiction (SF) holds crucial clues to answering the question. Authors of texts such as Player Piano, I, Robot, and Feed each construct societies shaped by the technology they create and postulate drastic consequences as a result. Using Althusserian Marxism to analyze the ideological and repressive state apparatuses of each author’s society and posthumanism to analyze the resulting interactions with technology, this essay seeks to recognize patterns in human behavior that create technological interdependence. Characters in each of the texts’ societies cede their agency to the machines they have created in pursuit of ideologies that promote technology usage. The authors’ technologies bear a striking resemblance to technologies created today, and it stands to reason that their consequences might, too.
Recommended Citation
Eno, Chehalis D., "The Consequences of Technology in Player Piano, I, Robot, and Feed" (2025). Student Research. 10.
https://knowledge.e.southern.edu/eng_studentresearch/10