Since the 1950s, much discourse about automation in the United States has pointed to ancient Athens as an analogue for what automation will make possible due to dramatically increased leisure time: intensive commitment to the arts, public life, and even contemplation. How and when did this analogy start? In a well-meaning effort to begin to answer those questions, this talk ventures into the writings of Norbert Wiener, the MIT mathematician who popularized “cybernetics” and never used the analogy, though (or because) he knew a lot about ancient Athens. We can learn from his refusal to put ancient Athens on a pedestal.

Presentation by Michele Kennerly

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https://pitt.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_0BW6MNo0QCCIj3QF7J_Ksw