Jump to content

Frankenstein complex

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

[edit]

Etymology

[edit]

Coined by American science fiction author Isaac Asimov in 1947 in his novelette Little Lost Robot. From Victor Frankenstein, the title character of Mary Shelley's 1818 novel Frankenstein.

Noun

[edit]

Frankenstein complex (plural Frankenstein complexes)

  1. The fear that an artificial intelligence will turn against humans.
    • 1947 March, Isaac Asimov, “Little Lost Robot”, in Astounding Science Fiction, volume 39, number 1, page 116:
      I'll admit that this Frankenstein Complex you're exhibiting has a certain justification—hence the First Law in the first place.
    • 1987 December, Lois McMaster Bujold, “Falling Free”, in Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact, volume 108, number 13, page 30:
      Mr. Graf, you're still disturbed. You sure you're not harboring just a little of the old Frankenstein complex about all this? It's all right to admit it to me—in fact, I want you to talk about it.
    • 1992, Joseph C. Segen, The Dictionary of Modern Medicine, →ISBN, page 234:
      The central character of Mary Shelley's novel by the same name 'Frankenstein' is used as an adjective in a variety of biomedical contexts, eg Frankenstein complex The fear that machines via artificial intelligence may replace physicians
    • 2010, Graham J. Murphy, Sherryl Vint, editors, Beyond Cyberpunk: New Critical Perspectives, Routledge, →ISBN, page 197:
      No wonder Gibson introduces the Turing Registry agents in Neuromancer, representatives of cyberpunk's own apparent Frankenstein Complex: “For thousands of years men dreamed of pacts with demons. Only now are such things possible. []

References

[edit]