MACMILLAN Perceiving the Future through New Communication Technologies: Robots, AI and Everyday Life

The volume offers multiple perspectives on the way in which people encounter and think about the future. Drawing on the perspectives of history, literature, philosophy and communication studies, an international ensemble of experts offer a kaleidoscope of topics to provoke and enlighten the reader. The authors seek to understand the daily lived experience of ordinary people as they encounter new technology as well as the way people reflect on the significance and meaning of those technologies. The approach of the volume stresses the quotidian quality of reality and ordinary understandings of reality as understood by people from all walks of life. Providing expert analysis and sophisticated understanding, the focus of attention gravitates toward how people make meaning out of change, particularly when the change occurs at the level of social technologies- the devices that modify and amplify our modes of communication with others.  The volume is organised into three main sections: The phenomena of new communication technology in people's lives from a contemporary viewpoint; the meaning of robots and AI as they play an increasing role in people's experience and; broader issues concerning the operational, sociological and philosophical implications of people as they address a technology driven future.  From the Back Cover This book updates a long standing problem: how do people understand and prepare for the future using the technologies at hand and that they expect to have imminently? Drawing on experts from a variety of fields, the volume provides novel and penetrating insights that reflect innovative research on both headline-gripping and historical problems. Organized in three sections, the first examines Artificial Intelligence (AI) and mobile communication as they both cause disruptions and solve problems at both personal and society-wide levels. The second section explores specific technologies in social contexts. Here the focus is on AI, robotics, and even smart speakers in real-world scenarios. The third and final section addresses deeper implications for how emerging media has been used to come to terms with the problem of what will happen next. At no other time in recent memory have people been so concerned about how to move from the disturbed current situation into an improved future state, one that promises a brighter future for all; in this regard, these timely and penetrating studies offer sound guidance. James E. Katz is Feld Professor of Emerging Media at Boston University’s College of Communication, USA, where he directs its Division of Emerging Media Studies. His publications on the effects of artificial intelligence, social media, mobile communication, and robot-human interaction have been internationally recognized and widely translated. Among his recent volumes are Journalism and the Search for Truth in an Age of Social Media (with Kate Mays, 2019) and Philosophy of Emerging Media (with Juliet Floyd, 2015). Juliet Floyd is Professor of Philosophy at Boston University, USA. Her publications, translated into several languages, span the history and philosophy of logic, mathematics, language, symbolism, and new media, focusing especially on the history of twentieth century philosophy and philosophical aspects of emerging media.  Her recent books include Wittgenstein’s Annotations to Hardy’s Course of Pure Mathematics (with Felix Mühlhölzer, 2020) and Wittgenstein’s Philosophy of Mathematics (2021).  Katie Schiepers is Division Administrator for Emerging Media Studies at Boston University, USA. She holds a Master of Philosophy in Classics and Master of Science in World Heritage Conservation and is currently pursuing advanced studies in educational policy. About the Author James E. Katz is Feld Professor of Emerging Media at Boston University’s College of Communication, USA, where he directs its Division of Emerging Media Studies. His publications on the e