Reviewers of this wonderful film are focusing on the AI aspects of it. And that's not wrong. If AI develops to a point it can 'think' for itself and understand mentally, if not feel chemically, emotions, then are they synthetic humans? Should we then ask their consent to be used as tools for us?
If we do, should we ask for consent from cows to be raised to be killed and eaten? Cows have emotions already and are very socially structured. Where does the question of consent end?
Another issue is that if we have mechanical organs for people such as kidneys, livers, hearts and even limbs, at what point do we consider them not human? Never, because they have a brain? But if AI has a brain that can mimic everything we can see, and feel, and touch and smell, and laugh at and cry about, are they machines? Or are they mechanical humans? Would an AI be able to control a human limb grafted on to it? I think that would be relatively easy.
Will there ever be a time when there is such synergy between machines added to humans and human parts added to machines, that the line blurs to such an extent that 'real' humans are not the norm, and even become forgotten, and AI humans become the norm, procreating by building new units and programming them appropriately?
It makes me wonder if the future of the human race lies in us building better humans that will not fall to the weaknesses of current humans, but transcend what we are and make us almost immortal.
Will they still be humans? If we made them in our image, and taught them how to be human, and they can do and see and feel everything we can, then surely they are evolved humans?
Watch the film and see what you think.
NB, it's been noted that about three minutes before the film ends, Cherry has been dancing to the music of a vinyl record for a considerable time when the music begins to repeatedly skip. The scene cuts to the record on the turntable, where the stylus is seen skipping on a groove on the very outside edge of the record, which is the very start of it and its music. This is listed as a goof, or mistake.
But is it? Or is it a metaphor for "everything starting again"?
If we do, should we ask for consent from cows to be raised to be killed and eaten? Cows have emotions already and are very socially structured. Where does the question of consent end?
Another issue is that if we have mechanical organs for people such as kidneys, livers, hearts and even limbs, at what point do we consider them not human? Never, because they have a brain? But if AI has a brain that can mimic everything we can see, and feel, and touch and smell, and laugh at and cry about, are they machines? Or are they mechanical humans? Would an AI be able to control a human limb grafted on to it? I think that would be relatively easy.
Will there ever be a time when there is such synergy between machines added to humans and human parts added to machines, that the line blurs to such an extent that 'real' humans are not the norm, and even become forgotten, and AI humans become the norm, procreating by building new units and programming them appropriately?
It makes me wonder if the future of the human race lies in us building better humans that will not fall to the weaknesses of current humans, but transcend what we are and make us almost immortal.
Will they still be humans? If we made them in our image, and taught them how to be human, and they can do and see and feel everything we can, then surely they are evolved humans?
Watch the film and see what you think.
NB, it's been noted that about three minutes before the film ends, Cherry has been dancing to the music of a vinyl record for a considerable time when the music begins to repeatedly skip. The scene cuts to the record on the turntable, where the stylus is seen skipping on a groove on the very outside edge of the record, which is the very start of it and its music. This is listed as a goof, or mistake.
But is it? Or is it a metaphor for "everything starting again"?