Networking, Capital, and Cloud Computing (60)
Find narratives by ethical themes or by technologies.
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- 14 min
- Kinolab
- 2017
Single mother Marie pays to have Arkangel, a brain-computer interface, installed into her daughter Sara. With this implant, Marie is able to not only track Sara’s location at all times, but can also access a feed of the audiovisual data which Sara is experiencing at any moment. After avoiding the system for a long time, Marie brings her Arkangel tablet back out to track and surveil Sara during her teenage years, going so far as to intervene in her love and social lives after watching the feed during intimate and private moments for Sara. Once Sara finds out, she revolts. For further reading, see the narrative “On TikTok, Teens Meme the Safety App Ruining Their Summer”
- Kinolab
- 2017
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- 14 min
- Kinolab
- 2017
Marie and Sara Part II: Helicopter Parenting and Young Adult Independence
Single mother Marie pays to have Arkangel, a brain-computer interface, installed into her daughter Sara. With this implant, Marie is able to not only track Sara’s location at all times, but can also access a feed of the audiovisual data which Sara is experiencing at any moment. After avoiding the system for a long time, Marie brings her Arkangel tablet back out to track and surveil Sara during her teenage years, going so far as to intervene in her love and social lives after watching the feed during intimate and private moments for Sara. Once Sara finds out, she revolts. For further reading, see the narrative “On TikTok, Teens Meme the Safety App Ruining Their Summer”
How do technologies that allow parents to surveil and track teenagers prevent these young adults from self-exploration and actualization? Is it possible to design location tracking services that allow for safety without diminishing privacy or autonomy? What would this look like? In what ways do digital technologies make the teenage experience more and less free than it was before the digital age?
Black Mirror : Marie Snoops on Sara-
- 6 min
- Kinolab
- 2011
After a mysterious global outbreak of an unknown virus, several health organizations, including the CDC, get to work figuring out the origins of the virus and how to defeat it. They begin by digitally analysing the genome of one strain of the virus to understand how it infects the human body and how to vaccinate against it. They then use surveillance cameras to track the movements of Beth, one of the first known cases of the virus. At the end of the film, an omniscient point of view reveals how Beth originally got the virus.
- Kinolab
- 2011
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- 6 min
- Kinolab
- 2011
Digital Analysis of Composition and Spread of Viruses
After a mysterious global outbreak of an unknown virus, several health organizations, including the CDC, get to work figuring out the origins of the virus and how to defeat it. They begin by digitally analysing the genome of one strain of the virus to understand how it infects the human body and how to vaccinate against it. They then use surveillance cameras to track the movements of Beth, one of the first known cases of the virus. At the end of the film, an omniscient point of view reveals how Beth originally got the virus.
On a macrocosmic scale, have digital technologies made humans better in terms of warding off viruses? Does being able to get genomic data about viruses more quickly always equate to quick eradication of a disease? Are global pandemics large enough emergencies to potentially violate the privacy of those who spread them through means such as surveillance programs? What about the spread of viruses is impossible for even digital technologies to capture?
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- 14 min
- Kinolab
- 2014
Will Caster and his wife Evelyn work together on a project known as “Transcendence,” in which he hopes to help artificial intelligence attain singularity by figuring out how to pair sentience with its massive intelligence. After he is shot dead by an anti-technology terrorist group, his consciousness is uploaded virtually, allowing him to continue his life as a coded program. After this digitally immortal consciousness is paired with the internet, Will’s powers grow immensely, and his manipulative reach becomes global.
- Kinolab
- 2014
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- 14 min
- Kinolab
- 2014
Will, Evelyn, and Max Part I: Digital Resurrection and Incorporation
Will Caster and his wife Evelyn work together on a project known as “Transcendence,” in which he hopes to help artificial intelligence attain singularity by figuring out how to pair sentience with its massive intelligence. After he is shot dead by an anti-technology terrorist group, his consciousness is uploaded virtually, allowing him to continue his life as a coded program. After this digitally immortal consciousness is paired with the internet, Will’s powers grow immensely, and his manipulative reach becomes global.
Are digitally uploaded consciousnesses technically the real person, or just an imitation? Should digital immortality be allowed if it means digital humans may have far more power than living humans? If people become able to upload consciousnesses, how should they be kept from abusing vast networks? If or when technology reaches the singularity point, how should this be regulated, and how can it be ensured that such powerful technology is not abused for hegemonic purposes?
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- 9 min
- Kinolab
- 2014
Will Caster is an artificial intelligence scientist whose consciousness his wife Evelyn uploaded to the internet after his premature death. Dr. Caster used his access to the internet to grant himself vast intelligence, creating a technological utopia called Brightwood in the desert to get enough solar power to develop cutting-edge digital projects. Specifically, he uses nanotechnology to cure fatal or longtime inflictions on people, inserting tiny robots into their bodies to help cells recover. However, it is soon revealed that these nanorobots stay inside their human hosts, allowing Will to project his consciousness into them and generally control them, along with other inhuman traits.
- Kinolab
- 2014
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- 9 min
- Kinolab
- 2014
Will, Evelyn, and Max Part II: Medical Nanotechnology and Networked Humans
Will Caster is an artificial intelligence scientist whose consciousness his wife Evelyn uploaded to the internet after his premature death. Dr. Caster used his access to the internet to grant himself vast intelligence, creating a technological utopia called Brightwood in the desert to get enough solar power to develop cutting-edge digital projects. Specifically, he uses nanotechnology to cure fatal or longtime inflictions on people, inserting tiny robots into their bodies to help cells recover. However, it is soon revealed that these nanorobots stay inside their human hosts, allowing Will to project his consciousness into them and generally control them, along with other inhuman traits.
Should nanotechnology be used for medical purposes if it can easily be abused to take away the autonomy of the host? How can use of nanotechnology avoid this critical pitfall? How can seriously injured people consent to such operations in a meaningful way? What are the implications of nanotechnology being used to create technological or real-life underclasses? Should human brains ever be networked to each other, or to any non-human device, especially one that has achieved singularity?
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- 7 min
- Kinolab
- 1968
Dr. Dave Bowman and Dr. Frank Poole are two astronauts on the mission Discovery to Jupiter. They are joined by HAL, an artificial intelligence machine named after the most recent iteration of his model, the HAL 9000 computer. HAL is seen as just another member of the crew based upon his ability to carry conversations with the other astronauts and his responsibilities for keeping the crew safe.
- Kinolab
- 1968
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- 7 min
- Kinolab
- 1968
HAL Part I: AI Camaraderie and Conversation
Dr. Dave Bowman and Dr. Frank Poole are two astronauts on the mission Discovery to Jupiter. They are joined by HAL, an artificial intelligence machine named after the most recent iteration of his model, the HAL 9000 computer. HAL is seen as just another member of the crew based upon his ability to carry conversations with the other astronauts and his responsibilities for keeping the crew safe.
Should humans count on AI entirely to help keep them safe in dangerous situations or environments? Do you agree with Dave’s assessment that one can “never tell” if an AI has real feelings? What counts as “real feelings”? Even if HAL’s human tendencies follow a line of programming, does this make them less real?
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- 10 min
- Computers in Human Behavior
- 2021
The authors propose cyberthanatology as a framework to understand how digital technologies mediate experiences of death and mourning. They argue that online platforms have transformed traditional practices by enabling new forms of memorialization, such as virtual cemeteries and online grief communities. The paper emphasizes that these digital practices are not merely extensions of physical rituals but constitute new cultural forms that influence how societies perceive and cope with death.
- Computers in Human Behavior
- 2021
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- 10 min
- Computers in Human Behavior
- 2021
Cyberthanathology: Death and beyond in the digital age.
The authors propose cyberthanatology as a framework to understand how digital technologies mediate experiences of death and mourning. They argue that online platforms have transformed traditional practices by enabling new forms of memorialization, such as virtual cemeteries and online grief communities. The paper emphasizes that these digital practices are not merely extensions of physical rituals but constitute new cultural forms that influence how societies perceive and cope with death.
- What is cyberthanatology, and how does it differ from traditional thanatology?
- How can regulations address the challenges posed by digital inequality in memorialization practices?