 Mechanical men and artificial beings appear in Greek myths , such as the golden robots of Hephaestus and Pygmalion 's Galatea . In the Middle Ages , there were rumors of secret mystical or alchemical means of placing mind into matter , such as Jābir ibn Hayyān 's Takwin , Paracelsus ' homunculus and Rabbi Judah Loew 's Golem . By the 19th century , ideas about artificial men and thinking machines were developed in fiction , as in Mary Shelley 's Frankenstein or Karel Čapek 's R.U.R. ( Rossum 's Universal Robots ) , and speculation , such as Samuel Butler 's " Darwin among the Machines . " AI has continued to be an important element of science fiction into the present . 
 Mechanical men and artificial beings appear in Greek myths , such as the golden robots of Hephaestus and Pygmalion <a href='null_genetive' title='1'><mark>'s</mark></a>Galatea . In the Middle Ages , <a href='dey_it' title='2'><mark>there</mark></a> <a href='uninflect' title='3'><mark>were</mark></a> rumors of secret mystical or alchemical means of placing mind into matter , such as Jābir ibn Hayyān <a href='null_genetive' title='4'><mark>'s</mark></a>Takwin , Paracelsus <a href='null_genetive' title='5'><mark>'</mark></a>homunculus and Rabbi Judah Loew <a href='null_genetive' title='6'><mark>'s</mark></a>Golem . By the 19th century , ideas about artificial men and thinking machines <a href='uninflect' title='7'><mark>were</mark></a> developed in fiction , as in Mary Shelley <a href='null_genetive' title='8'><mark>'s</mark></a>Frankenstein or Karel Čapek <a href='null_genetive' title='9'><mark>'s</mark></a>R.U.R. ( Rossum <a href='null_genetive' title='10'><mark>'s</mark></a>Universal Robots ) , and speculation , such as Samuel Butler <a href='null_genetive' title='11'><mark>'s</mark></a>" Darwin among the Machines . " AI <a href='been_done' title='12'><mark>has</mark></a> continued to be an important element of science fiction into the present . 
Mechanical men and artificial beings appear in Greek myths , such as da golden robots of Hephaestus and Pygmalion  Galatea . In tdaMiddle Ages , it was rumors of secret mystical or alchemical means of placing mind into matter , such as Jābir ibn Hayyān  Takwin , Paracelsus  homunculus and Rabbi Judah Loew  Golem . By thda9th century , ideas about artificial men and thinking machines was developed in fiction , as in Mary Shelley  Frankenstein or Karel Čapek  R.U.R. ( Rossum  Universal Robots ) , and speculation , such as Samuel Butler  " Darwin among the Machines . " AI done continued to b an important element of science fiction into thedaesent .