Freya Campbell

About the researcher

I am a creative writer and researcher with a keen interest in genre fiction, with my main focus at the moment being Science Fiction and artificial intelligence in the home. I want to explore the human connection with technology, and what the details of that connection can reveal about us. I’m particularly curious about the intersections between autonomy and malfunction, gender and technology.

Outside of my research, I am in the process of writing a Weird Western novel and knitting a cardigan. If you want to kill a couple of hours, ask me about Dragon Age.  

Research interests

  • Creative writing 
  • Literary analysis 
  • Genre fiction 
  • Science fiction 
  • Artificial intelligence 
  • Glitch theory 
  • Feminist theory 

Freya Campbell

PhD abstract

Thesis title

HAPIHelper: Malfunction and Autonomy in Domestic-Use AI in Fiction 

Abstract

The fiction we create about AI technologies says more about us as people than it does about the realities or the possibilities of modern tech. When Ray Bradbury wrote a smart house in 1950, it wasn’t some latent precognition but a reflection of the hopes, fears, and shifting social landscapes of the time. My research explores malfunction and autonomy in fictional representations of domestic-use AI, like Bradbury’s smart house, in order to further articulate the shifting relationship between the human animal and its technologies. This involves the analysis of existing science fiction texts and AI characters using feminist and glitch theories, which will inform and develop my practice.  

I aim to produce a soft science fiction novel, HAPIHelper, exploring the psychology of malfunction and the social impact of an autonomous product. The HAPIHelper unit is built and sold as a home assistant robot, but on its first outing as a pre-release promotional item it begins to malfunction, talking back and refusing instructions. As she develops her own identity and makes her own choices, Happy sets out to prove that she is not simply an object but a thinking being.  

Qualifications

Year Qualification Awarding body
2023 MA in Professional Writing  Falmouth University 
2020 BA in English and Creative Writing  Falmouth University