Tropicalizing Frankenstein in Latin America. A tale about promising technologies and apocalyptic robots

Abstract

Frankenstein is not an exclusive character belonging to the realm of the Gothic narrative, but a vivid element that has evolved and adapted to diverse social contexts and geographies. Mary Shelley's work has endured the passing of time and now is a symbol of the popular culture. In this paper, I look to understand Mary Shelley's Frankenstein influence on people’s attitudes regarding technology and science, particularly artificial intelligence and robots. How the negative visions and fears about the misuse of science to break traditional moral and religious boundaries are still present in popular culture. Fieldwork will be focused on reviewing several Latin American newspapers and magazine articles in Spanish and Portuguese published on the Internet. As final outcomes will show, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein still continues influencing people’s imagination about science and technology, even in technically less developed regions.

Keywords

• Latin America
• Artificial Intelligence
• Robots
• Frankenstein
• Ethics of science