Alan N. Shapiro

Alan N. Shapiro
Born (1956-04-23) 23 April 1956
NationalityAmerican
Alma materMIT
Cornell University
New York University
Known forChanged public perceptions of Star Trek, Changed public perceptions of Baudrillard, Introduced idea of Dialogical Artificial Intelligence
Scientific career
FieldsScience fiction studies, Media theory, Technological art, Artificial intelligence, Transdisciplinary design, posthumanism

Alan N. Shapiro (born 23 April 1956 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American science fiction and media theorist. He is a lecturer and essayist in the fields of science fiction studies, media theory, posthumanism, French philosophy, creative coding, technological art, sociology of culture, software theory, robotics, artificial intelligence, and futuristic and transdisciplinary design. Shapiro's book and other published writings on Star Trek have contributed to a change in public perception about the importance of Star Trek for contemporary culture. His published essays on Jean Baudrillard - especially in the International Journal of Baudrillard Studies - have contributed to a change in public perception about the importance of Baudrillard's work for culture, philosophy, sociology, and design.

Shapiro has contributed many essays to the journal of technology and society NoemaLab — on technological art, software theory, Computer Science 2.0, futuristic design, the political philosophy of the information society, and Baudrillard and the Situationists.