How Frankenstein's Monster Became Sexy

Arguing for a ban related to human cloning research in the late 1990s, Leon Kass, chairman of George W. Bush's President's Council on Bioethics, controversially invoked "the wisdom of repugnance": the idea that disgust can be "the emotional expression of deep wisdom," cluing us in that a scientific or technological practice is nasty, sinister, a threat to our humanity. Shelley's Frankenstein takes the contrary ethical stance, showing us the hazards of repugnance--how the creature is turned violent and vengeful after rejection by people horrified at his appearance. Responsible engagement with emerging technologies ranging from iPhones and Google search to artificial intelligence and genetic engineering requires us to reject physiognomy, the age-old fallacy that we can deduce the virtue or vice of something (or someone) by assessing its exterior beauty. The sexiness of our contemporary Frankenstein's creatures captures the enormous difficulty of rejecting technological charm--after all, in Splice, Ex Machina, Her, and Westworld, the irresistible creatures come out on top, outfoxing, transcending, or physically eviscerating their hapless creators and caretakers.