Doing Away with the Young Lady: Depictions of Artificial Intelligence in an Early Pulp Science Fiction Magazine

• In Event: Literary Reading: What Does STEM Have To Do With It?

Abstract

This presentation shares findings from a content and multimodal analysis of early depictions of artificial intelligence in the pulp science fiction magazine Amazing Stories (1926-1931). By examining stories featuring AI, I argue these narratives responded to the changing role of women in the 1920s, particularly the "Flapper" figure. These stories often depicted AI as a replacement for women in work and relationships, reflecting historical anxieties about shifting social norms in the United States during the 1920s.

Author

• Leah Burger, University of South Florida