Dangers of Technology Exposed in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

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Mary Shelley's Frankenstein was a literary piece that touched on many different issues, not only in her time, but also today. The creation of life in Frankenstein was Shelley’s symbolic warning to the new industrialized era. “It also [can] be seen to be warning about the dangers of uncontrolled application of technology and its use without proper morality” (Brachneos). The warning in Frankenstein applies today more than ever because of the creation of AI (Artificial Intelligence) and computers that “think for themselves” The two are connected in a sense. Some would argue that Victor, the character that created the monster wanting to play od, is like the programmers of AI computers today.

In Frankenstein, Shelley creates two very complex characters. They embody the moral dilemmas that arise from the corruption and disturbance of the natural order of the world. When Victor Frankenstein is attending school, he becomes infatuated with creating a living being and starts stealing body parts from morgues around the university. After many months of hard work, he finishes one stormy night bringing his creation to life. However, “now that [Victor] had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled [his] heart” (Chambers). Right after Victor realizes what he has done, he falls into deep depression and must be nursed back to health by his friend. Victor spends the rest of the story facing consequences and moral problems from creating unnatural life. When he realizes that the ‘monster’ has killed his brother, even though no one believes him, he feels responsible for his brother’s murder because he was responsible for the existence of the ‘monster’. Also feeling responsible, Victor...

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.... Credo Reference. Web. 25 April 2011.

4. Brachneos. “Frankenstein – a Literature Essay on Social Context Comments.” Writinghood . N.p., 3 Mar. 2011. Web. 24 Apr. 2011. .

5. Burns, Alisa. “Frankenstein of the Future.” Frankenstein Commentary. N.p., Sept. 2002. Web. 24 Apr. 2011. .

6. Links999. Ethical and moral issues regarding artificial intelligence. Links999.org, 24 Apr. 2011. Web. 25 Apr. 2011. .

7. Snyder, Lawreence. “Limits to Computation.” Fluency4. 4th ed. 2010. Pg. 689 Print.

8. "Artificial Intelligence and Consciousness." Encyclopedia of Consciousness. Oxford: Elsevier Science & Technology, 2009. Credo Reference. Web. 26 April 2011.

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