Robots on Screen
Artificial intelligence in a century of cinema
Will be published approx. on 15. October 2026
Book
Hardback
224 pages
978-1-80570-048-7 (ISBN)
Description
Discover how a century of cinema has imagined robots and artificial intelligence.
From the groundbreaking Maschinenmensch of Metropolis to the iconic droids of Star Wars, Robots on Screen explores how film has shaped our relationship with intelligent machines. As AI and robotics move from fiction into everyday life, these cinematic visions feel more urgent than ever.
Across more than 250 images and film stills, this illustrated history reveals:
The origins of screen robots, from early automata and silent cinema to sci-fi classics.
Iconic films and characters, including Metropolis, Blade Runner and The Terminator.
A truly global perspectives, from Hollywood to Japanese anime and Soviet films.
The real-world parallels between cinematic AI and today's rapidly advancing technology.
As we stand on the brink of an AI-driven future, the questions posed by these films have never been more relevant: Will robots help us or threaten us? Will machine intelligences deserve rights? Will electronic minds become smarter than our own? Will AI take our jobs?
Perfect for film lovers, sci-fi fans and anyone fascinated by the future, Robots on Screen is an essential guide to the machines we've imagined.
From the groundbreaking Maschinenmensch of Metropolis to the iconic droids of Star Wars, Robots on Screen explores how film has shaped our relationship with intelligent machines. As AI and robotics move from fiction into everyday life, these cinematic visions feel more urgent than ever.
Across more than 250 images and film stills, this illustrated history reveals:
The origins of screen robots, from early automata and silent cinema to sci-fi classics.
Iconic films and characters, including Metropolis, Blade Runner and The Terminator.
A truly global perspectives, from Hollywood to Japanese anime and Soviet films.
The real-world parallels between cinematic AI and today's rapidly advancing technology.
As we stand on the brink of an AI-driven future, the questions posed by these films have never been more relevant: Will robots help us or threaten us? Will machine intelligences deserve rights? Will electronic minds become smarter than our own? Will AI take our jobs?
Perfect for film lovers, sci-fi fans and anyone fascinated by the future, Robots on Screen is an essential guide to the machines we've imagined.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Quarto Publishing PLC
Dimensions
Height: 269 mm
Width: 250 mm
Thickness: 21 mm
Weight
1340 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-80570-048-7 (9781805700487)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Piers Bizony is the author of The Space Shuttle: Celebrating Thirty Years of NASA's First Space Plane, One Giant Leap: Apollo 11 Remembered, and The Art of NASA. He has written about science, aerospace, and cosmology for a wide variety of magazines in the United Kingdom and the United States. His other books include 2001: Filming the Future, The Rivers of Mars, Starman (a biography of Yuri Gagarin), and Space: 50, marking the fiftieth anniversary of Sputnik.
Content
Foreword 6
1. Cogwheel Dreams - The Prehistory of Robots 8
2. Tin, Steel and Plastic - The Earliest Screen Robots 24
3. The Android Era - The Prospect of Artificial Humans 106
4. Them Against Us - Existential Risks to Humanity 160
5. The Singularity - AI in Everything, Everywhere 190
Index 220
Acknowledgements 224
1. Cogwheel Dreams - The Prehistory of Robots 8
2. Tin, Steel and Plastic - The Earliest Screen Robots 24
3. The Android Era - The Prospect of Artificial Humans 106
4. Them Against Us - Existential Risks to Humanity 160
5. The Singularity - AI in Everything, Everywhere 190
Index 220
Acknowledgements 224