Philosopher René Descartes’ quote “cogito, ergo sum” became well known after being translated into English as “I think, therefore I am.” It was the result of his attempt to figure out which of the things he thought he knew were impervious to doubt.



Long before Descartes uttered these words, however, humans were telling stories about artificial beings and thinking about what defines humanity. A new book by Adrienne Mayor, entitled Gods and Robots: Myths, Machines, and Ancient Dreams of Technology, explores the history of robots from as far back as Ancient Greece.

In the book, Mayor asks whether ancient myths such as the story of Pandora and her famous box of misery have influenced the finest technological minds of the 20th and 21st centuries. In this podcast, she discusses such topics with Jordan Erica Webber