Book Launch: R.U.R. and the Vision of Artificial Life

On January 26, 2024, the University of Chemistry and Technology in Prague hosted a special launch event for the English-language book R.U.R. and the Vision of Artificial Life, recently published by MIT Press.

The book is the international counterpart to Robot 100: Sto rozumů, which was originally published in Czech in November 2020 to mark the centenary of Karel Čapek’s R.U.R.. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Czech edition had no official launch event—so this celebration honored both versions of the book, finally giving them the festive welcome they deserve.

The event was held in hybrid format, allowing contributors from both the Czech Republic and abroad to participate either in person or remotely. Among the international guests who joined virtually were Susan Buckley from MIT Press and Štěpán Šimek, the translator of the new English version of Čapek’s iconic play.

The book was officially launched by Professor Steen Rasmussen—one of the founding figures of the scientific field of artificial life, and a long-time friend and colleague of the book’s editor, Jitka Čejková. She expressed deep gratitude that it was Steen who had the honor of christening the book.

In the Czech Republic (perhaps also in other countries) we have a special custom - when a new book is published, there is an event that we call "baptism of the book" (křest). It's a party where the author, the "godfather" (mostly another well-known person - the author's friend) and, of course, author's friends and people from the public are present, and the book is really "christened" - with wine or champagne poured over it. It also happens when a famous music group releases a new CD. In the case of this book, the "godfather" was Steen Rasmussen (one of the founders of the field of artificial life) and the book was christened with beer "Lachout" from the brewery of the University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, where the book launch took place. Funny - because Steen never knew about book christening, he put the christening liquid (beer) on forehead of Jitka as well.

It was a truly memorable celebration of science and literature!