Bioinformatics (86)
Find narratives by ethical themes or by technologies.
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- 4 min
- Kinolab
- 2020
In this imagined future, citizens interact with the world and with each other through brain-computer interface devices which augment reality in ways such as sending each other visual messages or changing one’s appearance at a moment’s notice. Additionally, with this device, everyone can automatically see a “ranking” of other people, in which Alphas or As are the best and Epsilons or Es are the worst. With all of these features of the devices, privacy in its many forms is all but outlawed in this society.
- Kinolab
- 2020
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- 4 min
- Kinolab
- 2020
Augmented Communication and a Post-Privacy Era
In this imagined future, citizens interact with the world and with each other through brain-computer interface devices which augment reality in ways such as sending each other visual messages or changing one’s appearance at a moment’s notice. Additionally, with this device, everyone can automatically see a “ranking” of other people, in which Alphas or As are the best and Epsilons or Es are the worst. With all of these features of the devices, privacy in its many forms is all but outlawed in this society.
How can brain-computer interfaces work together with virtual reality to enable us to share images, styles, and other information to our friends more seamlessly? What if humans could also implement VR into our communications? Would that improve interactions? How could deception sneak into this system? How do social media quantifications, such as a number of likes or followers, act as a sort of preliminary “ranking” for a person, and how does this affect people’s opportunities? Have social media and other digital media platforms conditioned society to see a lack of privacy as the norm, and conversely privacy as a sort of vice? How should we continue to value privacy in the age of social media monopolies?
Brave New World: Picking Outfits-
- 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?
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- 2 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 clip, Meredith must seek help from the leader of a developing country without the Feed network, because the Feed has become hacked and is bringing down infrastructure with it.
- Kinolab
- 2019
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- 2 min
- Kinolab
- 2019
Technological Superhighways and Monopolistic Control
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 clip, Meredith must seek help from the leader of a developing country without the Feed network, because the Feed has become hacked and is bringing down infrastructure with it.
How integrated should our advanced technology be into our daily lives and basic amenities? Does it pose risks if the tech is hacked? What risks exist with technology monopolization, besides economic inequality? Should nearly all service be reliant on a small number of platforms with highly centralized control? Is the developing country of COM better off now because it never had the technology to begin with, and is therefore uncorrupted now?
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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. Tom, the son of the Feed’s creator Lawrence, realizes that his best friend Max is a robot of sorts, posing as a human. In reality, the body in the tub is a host which contains the digital consciousness of Max, formerly uploaded to a cloud through his feed and then downloaded into this new body. The new version of Max debates with Tom about why he should be considered a true human being.
- Kinolab
- 2019
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- 3 min
- Kinolab
- 2019
Digital Cloning
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. Tom, the son of the Feed’s creator Lawrence, realizes that his best friend Max is a robot of sorts, posing as a human. In reality, the body in the tub is a host which contains the digital consciousness of Max, formerly uploaded to a cloud through his feed and then downloaded into this new body. The new version of Max debates with Tom about why he should be considered a true human being.
If having brain-computer interfaces collect millions of data points from each person, including memories, means that the life of each person can be extended if they die prematurely, is this worth the cost? Is this a true “life”? Whose viewpoint do you agree with more in this narrative?
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- 2 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. Tom, the son of the Feed’s creator Lawrence, realizes that his father had deleted some of his childhood memories from the device in his brain, thus Tom has lost all access to them. For further insights into technology and the nature of parent-child relationships, see the narratives “Marie and Sara Parts I and II.”
- Kinolab
- 2019
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- 2 min
- Kinolab
- 2019
Personal Control over Memories
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. Tom, the son of the Feed’s creator Lawrence, realizes that his father had deleted some of his childhood memories from the device in his brain, thus Tom has lost all access to them. For further insights into technology and the nature of parent-child relationships, see the narratives “Marie and Sara Parts I and II.”
What rights do parents have over the minds and bodies of their children? Should parents ever be able to alter the memories of their children, even if this is supposedly for their own good? What are the consequences of the externalisation of memory through digital technology? How should children be able to give consent for alterations to technological implants?
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- 1 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. Eric is able to use Biometrics to keep Evelyn and Max hostage and get high-level access to the Feed hub. This highlights an example of how computerized security systems might not be able to pick up on hostage situations or forced activity. The Biometrics can recognize their faces, but is unable to pick up on the ‘distress’ visible on Max and Evelyn’s faces that indicate they are in trouble.
- Kinolab
- 2019
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- 1 min
- Kinolab
- 2019
Limitations of Biometrics
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. Eric is able to use Biometrics to keep Evelyn and Max hostage and get high-level access to the Feed hub. This highlights an example of how computerized security systems might not be able to pick up on hostage situations or forced activity. The Biometrics can recognize their faces, but is unable to pick up on the ‘distress’ visible on Max and Evelyn’s faces that indicate they are in trouble.
Should biometrics be totally trusted with security measures? What sorts of shortfalls of this approach are demonstrated in this narrative?