All Narratives (355)
Find narratives by ethical themes or by technologies.
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- 9 min
- Kinolab
- 2013
In the world of this film, Robin Wright plays a fictional version of herself who has allowed herself to be digitized by the film company Miramount Studios in order to be entered into many films without having to actually act in them, becoming digitally immortal in a sense. Once she enters a hallucinogenic mixed reality known as Abrahama City, she agrees to renew the contract with Miramount studios under the panic of her declining mental health and sense of autonomy. This renewed contract will not only allow movies starring her digital likeness to be made, but will also allow people to appear as her.
- Kinolab
- 2013
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- 9 min
- Kinolab
- 2013
Dangers of Digital Commodification
In the world of this film, Robin Wright plays a fictional version of herself who has allowed herself to be digitized by the film company Miramount Studios in order to be entered into many films without having to actually act in them, becoming digitally immortal in a sense. Once she enters a hallucinogenic mixed reality known as Abrahama City, she agrees to renew the contract with Miramount studios under the panic of her declining mental health and sense of autonomy. This renewed contract will not only allow movies starring her digital likeness to be made, but will also allow people to appear as her.
When mixed realities make any sort of appearance possible, how do people keep agency over their own likenesses and identities? How can engineers ensure that common human fears, including the fear of aging, do not drive innovations that will ultimately do more harm than good? Should anyone be allowed to give consent for their likeness to be used in any way the new owner sees fit, given how easily people can be coerced, manipulated, or gaslit? How could economic imbalances be further entrenched or established if certain people are allowed to sell their identities or likenesses?
The Congress: Is It Just in My Mind?-
- 7 min
- Kinolab
- 2013
In this film, actress Robin Wright plays a fictionalized version of herself as an actress whose popularity is declining. Her agent Al exposes her to deep fake technology which creates a virtual version of an actor to play a role in any number of scenarios or films. These “actors” are 3D holographs with AI that have been trained to replicate the real person which they imitate. However, Robin is disconcerted with the lack of agency that she would have in deciding how her image and identity appeared in these movies.
- Kinolab
- 2013
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- 7 min
- Kinolab
- 2013
Digital Performers and the Gift of Choice
In this film, actress Robin Wright plays a fictionalized version of herself as an actress whose popularity is declining. Her agent Al exposes her to deep fake technology which creates a virtual version of an actor to play a role in any number of scenarios or films. These “actors” are 3D holographs with AI that have been trained to replicate the real person which they imitate. However, Robin is disconcerted with the lack of agency that she would have in deciding how her image and identity appeared in these movies.
What sorts of problems are implicated with the ability to manipulate another person’s body and likeness in a piece of media without their consent? Does technology like this actually have the potential to free actors from some of the constraints of the film industry, as Al says? How would acting be valued as an art, and actors paid accordingly and properly, if this technology became the norm?
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- 12 min
- Kinolab
- 1965
The city of Alphaville is under the complete rule of Alpha-60, an omnipresent robot whose knowledge is more vast than that of any human. This robot, whose learning and knowledge model is deemed “too complex for human understanding,” cements its rule through effectively outlawing emotion in Alphaville, with all definitions of consciousness centering on rationality. All words expressing curiosity or emotion are erased from human access, with asking “why” being replaced with saying “because.” Lemmy is a detective who has entered Alphaville from an external land to destroy Alpha-60. However, in their conversation, Alpha-60 is immediately able to suss out the suspicious aspects of Lemmy’s visit and character.
- Kinolab
- 1965
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- 12 min
- Kinolab
- 1965
Supercomputer Rule and Condensing Human Behavior
The city of Alphaville is under the complete rule of Alpha-60, an omnipresent robot whose knowledge is more vast than that of any human. This robot, whose learning and knowledge model is deemed “too complex for human understanding,” cements its rule through effectively outlawing emotion in Alphaville, with all definitions of consciousness centering on rationality. All words expressing curiosity or emotion are erased from human access, with asking “why” being replaced with saying “because.” Lemmy is a detective who has entered Alphaville from an external land to destroy Alpha-60. However, in their conversation, Alpha-60 is immediately able to suss out the suspicious aspects of Lemmy’s visit and character.
Can governing computers or machines ever be totally objective? Is this objectivity dangerous? Do humans need emotionality to define themselves and their societies, so that a focus on rationality does not allow for computers to take over rule of our societies? Can the actions of all humans throughout the past be reduced down to a pattern that computers can understand or manipulate? What are the implications of omnipresent technology in city settings?
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- 30 min
- UNIVERSITY OF WÜRZBURG GRADUATE SCHOOLS
- 1982
Hardware specialist Automatic Jack is roped into a dangerous hacking scheme with his partner Bobby Quine while they compete for the affections of Rikki. Their plan is to use deadly malware to infiltrate the protections of Chrome, a mysterious overlord of cyberspace who hoards massive amounts of wealth. They enact this plan by entering cyberspace within a program and visualizing the data held within this digital network which connects people all across the globe.
- UNIVERSITY OF WÜRZBURG GRADUATE SCHOOLS
- 1982
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- 30 min
- UNIVERSITY OF WÜRZBURG GRADUATE SCHOOLS
- 1982
Cyberspace and Internet Imaginations: “Burning Chrome” by William Gibson
Hardware specialist Automatic Jack is roped into a dangerous hacking scheme with his partner Bobby Quine while they compete for the affections of Rikki. Their plan is to use deadly malware to infiltrate the protections of Chrome, a mysterious overlord of cyberspace who hoards massive amounts of wealth. They enact this plan by entering cyberspace within a program and visualizing the data held within this digital network which connects people all across the globe.
How can malware be used for good, and when should it be used for good? How do imaginations of the internet influence how people perceive this mysterious yet pervasive network? In what ways would making aspects of the internet into tangible images help people understand it better? How should the most powerful stakeholders in a given digital architecture be challenged? How might immersion into cyberspace give people more agency?
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- 7 min
- Farnam Street Blog
- 2021
Discusses the main lessons from two recent books explaining how algorithmic bias occurs and how it may be ameliorated. Essentially, algorithms are little more than mathematical operations, but their lack of transparency and the bad, unrepresentative data sets which train them mean their pervasive use becomes dangerous.
- Farnam Street Blog
- 2021
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- 7 min
- Farnam Street Blog
- 2021
A Primer on Algorithms and Bias
Discusses the main lessons from two recent books explaining how algorithmic bias occurs and how it may be ameliorated. Essentially, algorithms are little more than mathematical operations, but their lack of transparency and the bad, unrepresentative data sets which train them mean their pervasive use becomes dangerous.
How can data sets fed to algorithms be properly verified? What would the most beneficial collaboration between humans and algorithms look like?
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- 3 min
- Kinolab
- 2019
In an imagined future of London, citizens all across the globe are connected to the Feed, a device and network accessed constantly through a brain-computer interface. In this narrative, Tom and Ben find out that their father Lawrence, the creator of the Feed, harvested the Feeds from dead people and used the data stored therein to upload their consciousnesses, including memories and emotions, into a cloud. After seeing the “training data” of Lawrence creating digital consciousnesses on this program, an AI was able to make many more digital consciousnesses of non-real people. These consciousnesses are then able to “possess” human bodies through being uploaded to the Feed devices implanted in real people’s brains.
- Kinolab
- 2019
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- 3 min
- Kinolab
- 2019
Digitally Reproducing Humans and “Possession”
In an imagined future of London, citizens all across the globe are connected to the Feed, a device and network accessed constantly through a brain-computer interface. In this narrative, Tom and Ben find out that their father Lawrence, the creator of the Feed, harvested the Feeds from dead people and used the data stored therein to upload their consciousnesses, including memories and emotions, into a cloud. After seeing the “training data” of Lawrence creating digital consciousnesses on this program, an AI was able to make many more digital consciousnesses of non-real people. These consciousnesses are then able to “possess” human bodies through being uploaded to the Feed devices implanted in real people’s brains.
Do we as humans need the physical world and our bodies, or can we successfully transfer/upload consciousness and live only in the digital space? Is consciousness the same thing as a soul, or different? Are these people discussed in the clip human, AI, or something in between? What are the far-reaching consequences of AI potentially being able to create realistic consciousnesses? How can brain-computer interfaces implanted into a person lead to a complete loss of their own autonomy? Can and should humans choose to donate their consciousnesses, memories, or emotions to science, with ultimately small knowledge of how these may be deployed?