Robot History

Robots features sound design and special effects to enhance your listening enjoyment. Listen out for the beeps and hums of computers and techno music! The future is here. Explore the world of robots and artificial intelligence in this kids’ STEM audiobook by robotics professor Dr. Henny Admoni...

Master Lecture Series: History of the Third Robot War is a future history lecture so epic it will knock your digital socks off! In this satirical Audible Original that turns The Great Courses on its head, Professor Tirannous Rexavier Shepard guides you through the multiverse-shattering events of the war, from the opening "pyew pyews" through Le Battle Finale. Master Lecture Series pays homage to the Sci-Fi and Fantasy genres with gut-busting (and circuit-bending) whimsy.

In a world of self-driving cars and big data, smart algorithms and Siri, we know that artificial intelligence is getting smarter every day. Though all these nifty devices and programs might make our lives easier, they're also well on their way to making "good" jobs obsolete. A computer winning Jeopardy might seem like a trivial, if impressive, feat, but the same technology is making paralegals redundant as it undertakes electronic discovery, and is soon to do the same for radiologists.

Sometimes, getting what you want is the worst thing that can happen. Dell Eckhart lives on the wrong side of the portal. The side where the ruin and devastation left behind by the war makes everyday life harder than it’s ever been. More than anything, he wants to win a ticket for passage through the portal. He’s running out of chances, but he’s not going to let that stop him. He needs that ticket. It’s the only way to save the one person he truly cares about. There’s just one problem. That person is actually an android. And androids aren’t allowed through the portal. Doesn’t ...

From award-winning author Eve L. Ewing comes a middle grade novel about a forgotten homemade robot who comes to life just when aspiring fifth-grade scientist Maya needs a friend -- and a science fair project. Maya's nervous about fifth grade. She tries to keep calm by reminding herself she knows...

Echo London never wanted to be the curator of the People’s Library, a digital collection of human consciousness. But when she’s assigned as its head librarian, Echo is entrusted with humanity’s greatest minds and historical figures, all of whom have been recreated through controversial consciousness-capturing technology that lets visitors interact with the dead. But an anti-tech rebellion is stirring. When a rebel attack results in tragedy, a mysterious woman wearing an ancient death mask leaves behind cryptic final words for Echo: It all begins with nothing.

Welcome to The History of Dysfunctional Robots. This is a book which starts by chronicling a history of another future then ends with content indescribable. Equal parts ethnography and prophecy, this little book is bound to be a hit with the Remnant of a future time who reside in the Great Cube City. It is a warning, a prayer of vengeance and praise. No further explanation shall be given.

The iconic visionary returns with his first new novel since the New York Times bestseller Spook Country. Whatever you do, because you are an artist, will bring you to the next thing of your own... When she sang for The Curfew, Hollis Henry's face was known worldwide. She still runs into people...

"This book is a tour de force." -- Adam Grant, New York Times bestselling author of Give and Take A revolutionary new history of humankind through the prism of work by leading anthropologist James Suzman Work defines who we are. It determines our status, and dictates how, where, and with whom we...

Literary Theory for Robots reveals the hidden history of modern machine intelligence, taking listeners on a spellbinding journey from medieval Arabic philosophy to visions of a universal language, past Hollywood fiction factories, and missile defense systems trained on Russian folktales. In this provocative reflection on the shared pasts of literature and computer science, former Microsoft engineer and professor of comparative literature Dennis Yi Tenen provides crucial context for recent developments in AI, which holds important lessons for the future of humans living with smart technology.

Things are rarely what they seem in the city of New Orleans. A wild and powerful love story. Let the games begin. ◆◆◆ It was midnight when FBI Special Agent Piper Pierce arrived in New Orleans with her luggage, a new assignment, and a head full of secrets. She was a strikingly beautiful woman with long silky brown hair and sultry blue eyes. But the gun, the badge, and the attitude warned that she was tough. On purpose. All day. Every day. Even in the French Quarter. And just a few miles away, Detective Maverick Patterson with the NOPD was ending a biker undercover case. You know, ...

Read by George Newbern "George Newbern provides a convincing, conversational narration of this audiobook about robot intelligence. There's a lot to digest. Much of it deals with speculation as to who will be right: those who believe in AI (artificial intelligence machines that may eventually...

Robots may one day rule the world, but what is a robot-ruled Earth like? Many think the first truly smart robots will be brain emulations, or ems. Scan a human brain, then run a model with the same connections on a fast computer, and you have a robot brain, but recognizably human. Train an em to do some job and copy it a million times; an army of workers is at your disposal. When they can be made cheaply, within perhaps a century, ems will displace humans in most jobs.

This audiobook will help you get ready for the changes coming in the years ahead. Listen now. Packed with expert insights, the book addresses critical questions: How will AI alter employment, education, and global geopolitics? What ethical dilemmas will arise as humans interlace with AI through cyborgs and synthetic biology? Can we prepare for superintelligence and its utopian—or dystopian—outcomes?

The most remarkable true stories of all time and around the world brought vividly to life - from the Big Bang right up to the present day. Embark on a journey across millennia and around the world, from the latest understanding of the origins of the universe, the birth of the Earth, the very first life, the age of dinosaurs, the rise of humans, ancient civilisations, colonialism, wars, technology, everyday life, global struggles for freedom and equality, pandemics - and much more.

The first robot to walk the earth was a bronze giant called Talos. This wondrous machine was created not by MIT Robotics Lab, but by Hephaestus, the Greek god of invention, more than 2,500 years ago. In this groundbreaking account of the earliest expressions of the timeless impulse to create artificial life, Adrienne Mayor tells the fascinating story of how ancient Greek, Roman, Indian, and Chinese myths envisioned artificial life, automata, self-moving devices, and human enhancements - and how these visions relate to and reflect the ancient invention of real animated machines.

"With impeccable inflections and tones, El-Attar's narration embodies the quirky investigator and those who surround her. She personifies both the place and the people, making them come alive. Listeners will imagine they're traversing Cairo through the deep, dark night. This is a perfect listen...

There has been a lot of ink devoted to discussions of how robots will replace us and take our jobs. But MIT Media Lab researcher and technology policy expert Kate Darling argues just the opposite, and that treating robots with a bit of humanity, more like the way we treat animals, will actually serve us better.

When George’s father died, he left his son a watchmaker’s shop - and a whole lot more. But George has little talent for watches and other infernal devices. When someone tries to steal an old device from the premises, George finds himself embroiled in a mystery of time travel, wild music, and sexual intrigue.

Spaceflight is one of the greatest human achievements of the 20th century. The Soviets launched Sputnik, the first satellite, in 1957; less than 12 years later, the American Apollo astronauts landed on the moon.