Science fiction isn't fact, no matter what Big Tech tells you

Some of the biggest minds behind AI may have you thinking a Terminator-like robot is coming for us. But literature professor Teresa Heffernan says tech giants have taken their readings of science fiction plots too far, and failed to provide strong evidence for grandiose claims that originated on the pages of science fiction. She argues there are many reasons to fear AI, but an android uprising isn’t one of them. Heffernan is a professor of English language and literature at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax. She delivered the 2026 Wiegand Memorial Foundation Lecture at the Jackman Humanities Institute | University of Toronto.

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Science fiction isn't fact, no matter what Big Tech tells you is an episode from Ideas by CBC.

This episode is 00:54:08 long.

This episode was published on Apr 15, 2026.

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