Mixed Reality (25)
Find narratives by ethical themes or by technologies.
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- 7 min
- Kinolab
- 2017
In his hunt for a missing android child, the robot police officer K visits Dr. Ana Stelline to determine if a memory of his own from his childhood is real or fabricated. Dr. Stelline is in the business of creating false memories to implant into robot’s heads in order to make them seem more believably human. She argues that having memories to lean on as one experiences the world is a cornerstone of the human experience.
- Kinolab
- 2017
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- 7 min
- Kinolab
- 2017
Fabricated Memories and Believability
In his hunt for a missing android child, the robot police officer K visits Dr. Ana Stelline to determine if a memory of his own from his childhood is real or fabricated. Dr. Stelline is in the business of creating false memories to implant into robot’s heads in order to make them seem more believably human. She argues that having memories to lean on as one experiences the world is a cornerstone of the human experience.
Do you agree with Dr. Stelline’s assessment in this narrative? Does achieving singularity through fabricated memories truly make AI any more human, or would they still be nothing more than replicants? Conversely, what are the issues raised by uploading authentic human memories into a robot? How does that affect agency and identity of real humans, on small and large scales? What makes us human, if not our memories and consciousness, and if AI have that as well, do they achieve personhood? How do digital technologies already abstract the concept of memory, and can that be extended any further or not?
Blade Runner 2049: Ana Stelline-
- 8 min
- Kinolab
- 1982
Main Control Program, an Artificial Intelligence presence, has self-developed beyond the imagination of its creators and sets its sights on hacking global governments, including the pentagon. It believes that with its growing intelligence, it can rule better than any human can, and forces the hand of Dillinger, a human, to help move its hacking beyond corporations. Meanwhile, a team of hackers attempt to break into the mainframe of this system. When the rebel hacker Flynn attempts to hack into the mainframe of the MCP, he is drawn into the digital world of the computer which is under the dominion of the MCP. Sark, one of the digital beings who serves the MCP, is tasked with killing Flynn.
- Kinolab
- 1982
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- 8 min
- Kinolab
- 1982
Digital Hegemony in the Real and Virtual Worlds
Main Control Program, an Artificial Intelligence presence, has self-developed beyond the imagination of its creators and sets its sights on hacking global governments, including the pentagon. It believes that with its growing intelligence, it can rule better than any human can, and forces the hand of Dillinger, a human, to help move its hacking beyond corporations. Meanwhile, a team of hackers attempt to break into the mainframe of this system. When the rebel hacker Flynn attempts to hack into the mainframe of the MCP, he is drawn into the digital world of the computer which is under the dominion of the MCP. Sark, one of the digital beings who serves the MCP, is tasked with killing Flynn.
Is human anxiety over the potential for super-powered AI justified? Would things truly be better if machines and artificial intelligence made authoritative decisions as global actors and rulers?
What could be the implications of ‘teleporting’ into digital space in terms of alienation from the real world? For now, it seems that humans are in charge of computers in the “real” world; if humans were to enter a digital world, who would be in charge? Do AI beings owe subservience to humans for their creation, given their increasing intelligence?
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- 8 min
- Kinolab
- 2016
Eleanor Shellstrop, a deceased selfish woman, ended up in the utopic afterlife The Good Place by mistake after her death. She spins an elaborate web of lies to ensure that she is not sent to be tortured in The Bad Place. In this narrative, she attempts to prevent Michael, the ruler of The Good Place, from being sent to the torture chambers by murdering Janet, the robotic assistant of the good place. However, Eleanor and her companions have a harder time murdering Janet than they had prepared for thanks to her quite realistic begging for her life.
- Kinolab
- 2016
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- 8 min
- Kinolab
- 2016
Murder of Robots and Honesty
Eleanor Shellstrop, a deceased selfish woman, ended up in the utopic afterlife The Good Place by mistake after her death. She spins an elaborate web of lies to ensure that she is not sent to be tortured in The Bad Place. In this narrative, she attempts to prevent Michael, the ruler of The Good Place, from being sent to the torture chambers by murdering Janet, the robotic assistant of the good place. However, Eleanor and her companions have a harder time murdering Janet than they had prepared for thanks to her quite realistic begging for her life.
How can robots be programmed to manipulate emotional responses from humans? Is the act committed in this narrative “murder”? Is there ever any such thing as a victimless lie? How has true honesty become harder in the digital age? Is it ethical to decommission older versions of humanoid robots as newer ones come along? Is this evolution in its own right?
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- 10 min
- Kinolab
- 2018
This narrative provides two different case studies of remote-controlled vehicles in the story of T’Challa’s attempts to properly rule his country, Wakanda. T’Challa, also known as the superhero Black Panther, makes use of this technology to put a stop to criminals who threaten his people and his power. In the first clip, T’Challa and his companions track down Ulysses Klaue, a notorious criminal who formerly stole from Wakanda, down the streets of Busan, Korea. In the second clip, agent Everett Ross makes use of the technology to pilot a drone, which he uses to shoot down autonomous drones carrying weapons from Wakanda to the rest of the world.
- Kinolab
- 2018
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- 10 min
- Kinolab
- 2018
Remote Controlled Driving of Vehicles
This narrative provides two different case studies of remote-controlled vehicles in the story of T’Challa’s attempts to properly rule his country, Wakanda. T’Challa, also known as the superhero Black Panther, makes use of this technology to put a stop to criminals who threaten his people and his power. In the first clip, T’Challa and his companions track down Ulysses Klaue, a notorious criminal who formerly stole from Wakanda, down the streets of Busan, Korea. In the second clip, agent Everett Ross makes use of the technology to pilot a drone, which he uses to shoot down autonomous drones carrying weapons from Wakanda to the rest of the world.
When operating vehicles remotely, how is it easy for the driver to become desensitized to the surroundings of the vehicle? Might entertainment technology such as violent video games play a role in such desensitization? What phenomena of a street or other driving environment may or may not be abstracted into a digital map of the vehicle’s surroundings?
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- 13 min
- Kinolab
- 2013
In this episode, Victoria wakes up with no memory of who she is in a post-apocalyptic scenario. She is chased and hunted by weapon-toting masked people, and gets no help from the bystanders who record her horrific struggle for survival on their smartphones. Eventually, it is revealed that this scenario is an engineered reality. While the digital technologies present here are limited, this narrative stands as an effective metaphor to study the phenomenon of “cancel culture” and other ways in which digital technologies alienate the humanity of others.
- Kinolab
- 2013
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- 13 min
- Kinolab
- 2013
Fascination and Desensitization through Digital Technologies
In this episode, Victoria wakes up with no memory of who she is in a post-apocalyptic scenario. She is chased and hunted by weapon-toting masked people, and gets no help from the bystanders who record her horrific struggle for survival on their smartphones. Eventually, it is revealed that this scenario is an engineered reality. While the digital technologies present here are limited, this narrative stands as an effective metaphor to study the phenomenon of “cancel culture” and other ways in which digital technologies alienate the humanity of others.
Do smartphones and their recording capabilities make people less sensitive to events or phenomena which they capture? How do digital news channels or platforms sensationalize bad people, especially criminals or other wrong-doers, and inspire collective hatred? How can digital technologies be designed to be more empathetic? Why is it so easy to criticize others over digital channels?
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- 12 min
- Kinolab
- 2011
In this episode, Bing Madsen is one of many citizens who provide power to the digital world through spending each day on a stationery bike, which earns him “merits” to spend on both leisure activities and necessities. These laborers, along with all other classes, are constantly surrounded by screens in which their digital avatars can participate in virtual activities like biking on a road or being in a “live” studio audience. The reality competition show “Hot Shot” is one program streamed on these screens. In this narrative, Bing’s friend Abi auditions for the show as a singer, but is instead coerced by the mass audience into signing as a pornstar for one of the judge’s companies.
- Kinolab
- 2011
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- 12 min
- Kinolab
- 2011
Digital Media and the Commodification of Women’s Bodies
In this episode, Bing Madsen is one of many citizens who provide power to the digital world through spending each day on a stationery bike, which earns him “merits” to spend on both leisure activities and necessities. These laborers, along with all other classes, are constantly surrounded by screens in which their digital avatars can participate in virtual activities like biking on a road or being in a “live” studio audience. The reality competition show “Hot Shot” is one program streamed on these screens. In this narrative, Bing’s friend Abi auditions for the show as a singer, but is instead coerced by the mass audience into signing as a pornstar for one of the judge’s companies.
In what ways have digital technologies made sexual harassment worse, and how can this be solved? How does being digitally separated from others make people less empathetic and push them to engage in mob mentality? How do digital technologies like social networks sometimes deprive people of autonomy over their bodies? How can users of digital technologies ensure that any sexually explicit content they produce remains in their ownership and control? What problems arise from the pornography industry experiencing such growth in the digital age?