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Frankenstein complex

Frankenstein complex noun: the fear that an artificial intelligence will turn against humans.

Noun

Frankenstein complex (plural Frankenstein complexes)

  1. The fear that an artificial intelligence will turn against humans.
    • I'll admit that this Frankenstein Complex you're exhibiting has a certain justification—hence the First Law in the first place.1947 March, Isaac Asimov, “Little Lost Robot”, in Astounding Science Fiction, volume 39, number 1, page 116
    • Mr. Graf, you're still disturbed. You sure you're not harboring just a little of the old Frankenstein complex about all this? It's all right to admit it to me—in fact, I want you to talk about it.1987 December, Lois McMaster Bujold, “Falling Free”, in Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact, volume 108, number 13, page 30

Forms of Frankenstein complex

pluralFrankenstein complexes

Origin of Frankenstein complex

Coined by American science fiction author Isaac Asimov in 1947 in his novelette Little Lost Robot. From Victor Frankenstein, the title character of Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein (1818).

Questions about Frankenstein complex

What does Frankenstein complex mean?
Frankenstein complex means the fear that an artificial intelligence will turn against humans.
What part of speech is Frankenstein complex?
Frankenstein complex is a noun.
What is the plural of Frankenstein complex?
The plural of Frankenstein complex is Frankenstein complexes.

Words near Frankenstein complex in the dictionary

  1. frankenprey
  2. Frankens
  3. FrankenSAM
  4. frankensence
  5. frankenstein
  6. Frankenstein complex
  7. Frankenstein complexes
  8. frankenstein doctor
  9. frankenstein doctors
  10. frankenstein monster
  11. frankenstein monsters

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: Frankenstein complex (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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