Some years ago I was privileged to give a Mary Shelley Halloween Lecture at her house in Dorset (now converted into a Shelley Theatre). We had a Computer Frigh

Some years ago I was privileged to give a Mary Shelley Halloween Lecture at her house in Dorset (now converted into a Shelley Theatre). We had a Computer Fright Night: Are digital monsters real? Never before (or since) have I enjoyed such a strong connection with an audience tackling complex issues of digital harms through a literary lens. So much of the pre-digital science fiction from authors like Shelley, Wells, and Forster is powerful and appropriate for understanding our situation today. Shelley herself is a complex character and her own connection to writing science fiction can help understand our hopes and disappointments/betrayals of technology.