Would Life Be Better As A Robot? Transhumanism in the Global South.

Transhumanism in sci-fi and IRL robots is the subject of the Dec 2023 Science Robotics Science Fiction/Science Fact focus article.

The transhumanism sci-fi stories in the Global South anthology Africa Risen asks: Would life be better as a robot?

See the Science Robotics article here. as part of the special issue on the Global South.

Africa Risen is an  award-winning anthology Africa Risen (2022), edited by Sheree Renée Thomas, Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki, and Zelda Knight, with 3 stories on robotics. All address some form of transhumanism as a response to some form of ecological collapse. However, the stories aren't bashing robotics or dwelling on catastrophes, instead each is about the balance between technology and cultural traditions. The stories and their hard science aspects amplify the articles and editorial in the Science Robotics special issue on the Global South. So do these African and Africa diaspora authors think life would be better as a robot? The answer is probably not, life is, well, a struggle- the trick of it is being part of family, home, and culture.

See more Science Robotics Science Fiction/Science Fact articles here.

Transhumanism is cyborgs taken to an extreme, it you want to learn more about cyborgs in sci-fi and in real life, see aslo:

• Cyborgs topic in RTSF

• Edgar Allen Poe's story-- the first cyborg story

• The robotics science in Alita: Battle Angel in Science Robotics here and a podcast here.

If you'd like to read more Black robotics scifi, please see:

• Prey of Gods by Nicky Drayden