This talk examines the long cultural lineage behind our contemporary understanding of artificial intelligence; showing that the hopes, anxieties, and imagined futures surrounding new technologies are far older than the technologies themselves.

Beginning with the Industrial Revolution, we trace a thread through history and myth, exploring how stories about autonomous machines and artificial beings have shaped our expectations of real technological change. By situating today’s discussions about large language models and “vibe‑coding” within this broader historical and cultural continuum, the talk argues that our current debates are not unprecedented, but part of a much older narrative tradition.

Rather than offering predictions or technical deep‑dives, the session highlights how the stories we tell about technology influence the technologies we build, and how understanding this narrative inheritance can help us navigate the rapidly evolving landscape of AI today.