神話與科學，乍聽之下似水與油，彼此牴觸，難以共容。
但兩者真的如此涇渭分明，注定只能此消彼長嗎？
「造出，而非生成。」
遠古時代，人們對於人造的生命形式，已有諸多想像與概念雛形。
科幻故事、好萊塢電影裡的人工智慧與仿生人，並非什麼令人耳目一新的概念，要論創造模擬人類樣態的機械，早在希臘神話中，就已出現過由神力賦予生命的類人軀殼。
從以靈液驅動的金屬巨人塔羅斯，到普羅米修斯捏塑而雅典娜賦予靈魂的泥人；從凱爾特國王由神打造的銀手臂，到代達洛斯為其子製造的巨大翅膀，模仿人形、強化其能力(或補強人類缺陷)、進而超越人類—在各時期的神話與傳說中，皆可窺見對創造非自然生命的種種構想，與對其後果的畏懼。
在伊阿宋與金羊毛的故事裡，能看到那名以青銅鑄造，內部由一根流淌諸神靈血的管子賦予其行動力的自動機械巨人塔羅斯，能夠分辨敵我，且展現無堅不摧的巨大攻擊力。而塔羅斯在靈液流盡，頹然倒下前的掙扎模樣，是否展現出他對自身肉體機能終結而無能為力的惋惜與絕望，換言之，他是否擁有了自由意志？若他對自己的「死亡」並非無感，那麼他被賦予的，是單純的行動能力，還是生命？究竟塔羅斯是一個披覆金屬的活物，還是一尊具有行動能力的機械？
類似的難題，也出現在比馬龍與伽拉忒亞的故事中，這位雕塑家愛上了親手刻塑的少女雕像。他的虔心祈禱得到神的垂聽與應允，癡心愛戀的冰冷雕像終有了人類皮囊，但透過神力獲得的行動與思考能力，會讓其擁有自主能力與自我意識嗎？最終，我們究竟能否將之定義為「人」？
古典文學及科學史學家Adrienne Mayor，遊刃有餘地穿梭於傳說、古代機械與工藝、當今人工智慧及大眾文化間，梳理遠古神話裡的科技概念，更佐以豐富文獻及雕塑繪畫等全彩工藝圖片，向讀者呈現古人對人造生命體的構想，不僅有企圖掌握，甚或超越自然的宏願，更有其帶來的，橫貫古今，至今仍為未解難題的道德憂懼。
The fascinating untold story of how the ancients imagined robots and other forms of artificial life―and even invented real automated machines
The first robot to walk the earth was a bronze giant called Talos. This wondrous machine was created not by MIT Robotics Lab, but by Hephaestus, the Greek god of invention. More than 2,500 years ago, long before medieval automata, and centuries before technology made self-moving devices possible, Greek mythology was exploring ideas about creating artificial life―and grappling with still-unresolved ethical concerns about biotechne, “life through craft.” In this compelling, richly illustrated book, Adrienne Mayor tells the fascinating story of how ancient Greek, Roman, Indian, and Chinese myths envisioned artificial life, automata, self-moving devices, and human enhancements―and how these visions relate to and reflect the ancient invention of real animated machines.
As early as Homer, Greeks were imagining robotic servants, animated statues, and even ancient versions of Artificial Intelligence, while in Indian legend, Buddha’s precious relics were defended by robot warriors copied from Greco-Roman designs for real automata. Mythic automata appear in tales about Jason and the Argonauts, Medea, Daedalus, Prometheus, and Pandora, and many of these machines are described as being built with the same materials and methods that human artisans used to make tools and statues. And, indeed, many sophisticated animated devices were actually built in antiquity, reaching a climax with the creation of a host of automata in the ancient city of learning, Alexandria, the original Silicon Valley.
A groundbreaking account of the earliest expressions of the timeless impulse to create artificial life, Gods and Robots reveals how some of today’s most advanced innovations in robotics and AI were foreshadowed in ancient myth―and how science has always been driven by imagination. This is mythology for the age of AI.
