Human Control of Technology (68)
Find narratives by ethical themes or by technologies.
FILTERreset filters-
- 13 min
- Kinolab
- 2020
George Almore is an engineer working with a company which hopes to achieve singularity with robots, making their artificial intelligence one step above real humans. In doing this, he works with three prototypes: J1, J2, and J3, each one more advanced than the last. Simultaneously, he plans to upload his dead wife’s consciousness into the J3 robot in order to extend her life. The narrative begins with him explaining his goal to J3 as he has this robot go through taste and emotion tests. Eventually, J3 has evolved into a humanoid robot who takes on the traits of George’s wife, leaving the earlier two versions, who all have a sibling-like bond with each other, feeling neglected.
- Kinolab
- 2020
-
- 13 min
- Kinolab
- 2020
Prototypes, Evolution, and Replacement with Robots
George Almore is an engineer working with a company which hopes to achieve singularity with robots, making their artificial intelligence one step above real humans. In doing this, he works with three prototypes: J1, J2, and J3, each one more advanced than the last. Simultaneously, he plans to upload his dead wife’s consciousness into the J3 robot in order to extend her life. The narrative begins with him explaining his goal to J3 as he has this robot go through taste and emotion tests. Eventually, J3 has evolved into a humanoid robot who takes on the traits of George’s wife, leaving the earlier two versions, who all have a sibling-like bond with each other, feeling neglected.
Are taste and emotion examples of necessary elements of creating advanced AI? If so, why? What good does having these abilities serve in terms of the AI’s relationship to the human world? Is it right to transfer consciousness or elements of consciousness from a deceased person into one or several AI? In the AI, how much is too much similarity to a pre-existing person? Can total similarity ever be achieved, and how? Can advanced AI feel negative human emotions and face mental health problems such as depression? Is it ethical to program AI to feel such emotions, knowing the risks associated with them, including bonding with former or flawed prototypes of itself? If an AI kills itself, does the onus fall on the machine or the human creator?
Archive: Test Runs-
- 10 min
- Kinolab
- 2017
In the year 2049, humanoid robots known as “replicants” work as slave laborers in various space colonies for humankind. “Blade Runners,” like K shown here, are specialized police officers who are tasked with tracking down and killing escaped robots. Throughout the years, models have been getting more advanced and human-like, which is one of the reasons K, a newest model of replicant, is tasked to kill the farmer, an older model. The ultimate goal of corporate villain CEO Niander Wallace is to create replicants which can reproduce exactly has humans can, essentially becoming an infinite resource of human labor. He sees the newest “Angel” model as being the key to this.
- Kinolab
- 2017
-
- 10 min
- Kinolab
- 2017
Robot Expendability and Labor
In the year 2049, humanoid robots known as “replicants” work as slave laborers in various space colonies for humankind. “Blade Runners,” like K shown here, are specialized police officers who are tasked with tracking down and killing escaped robots. Throughout the years, models have been getting more advanced and human-like, which is one of the reasons K, a newest model of replicant, is tasked to kill the farmer, an older model. The ultimate goal of corporate villain CEO Niander Wallace is to create replicants which can reproduce exactly has humans can, essentially becoming an infinite resource of human labor. He sees the newest “Angel” model as being the key to this.
If robots are created to essentially live human lives, can they simply be destroyed once their model is outdated and something newer comes along? Are AI entitled to compensation and reward for any labor they complete, especially if they experience sensations in a way similar to humans? If AI are minding their own business and not harming anyone, do they need to be eliminated? Who can prevent corporations from using humanoid robots as unpaid laborers, and how? Should robots ever be forced to destroy their own kind?
-
- 4 min
- Kinolab
- 2017
K is an android who works with the LAPD to track down and destroy escaped older models of “replicants,” or humanoid robots, in a world where androids work as laborers without compensation. In this clip, we meet K’s virtual wife, Joi. Although she is not ‘real,’ it seems like she has real human feelings and presents like a human woman who provides K company and can complete tasks such as making him dinner.
- Kinolab
- 2017
-
- 4 min
- Kinolab
- 2017
Robot Relationships and Marriage
K is an android who works with the LAPD to track down and destroy escaped older models of “replicants,” or humanoid robots, in a world where androids work as laborers without compensation. In this clip, we meet K’s virtual wife, Joi. Although she is not ‘real,’ it seems like she has real human feelings and presents like a human woman who provides K company and can complete tasks such as making him dinner.
What problems arise from using robotic companions to fulfill gendered tasks? How might this alter perceptions of real people? Consider how Joi is “typecast” as a 50s housewife, and can alter her appearance on command. How could virtual or AI female assistants and robots perpetuate harmful gender norms? Can robots truly love each other, or is this only accomplishable through specific coding? If humans are to give robots a full range of emotions and autonomy to live independently, are humans then responsible for providing them with companions? Would it be more or less uncomfortable if a real human owned and used the Joi holograph, and why?
-
- 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
-
- 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?
-
- 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
-
- 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?
-
- 4 min
- Kinolab
- 2001
“Gigolo Joe” is an android sex worker in an imagined future in which “Mechas,” or humanoid robots, have risen to prominence after a climate disaster. He performs his duties without hiding the fact that he is an android.
- Kinolab
- 2001
-
- 4 min
- Kinolab
- 2001
Robots and Sex Work
“Gigolo Joe” is an android sex worker in an imagined future in which “Mechas,” or humanoid robots, have risen to prominence after a climate disaster. He performs his duties without hiding the fact that he is an android.
Could robots eventually replace sex workers? What are the ethical and economic implications of this? How will machines be able to perfect seduction?