Better than Us

I like the idea that different countires can contribute to the entertainment culture of the world by providing their takes on subjects such as Artificial Intelligence and Robotics. The first film i watched regarding this subject was with Will Smith-I Robot. It was on that fateful flight back from the US of A. In the show, there is a slight glitch in the system of an already well integrated Robot culture where these machines have taken their place in the hierarchy of developing as active assistance and companions. The glitch causes them to rebel and thw character of Will Smith is forced to go on the offensive. 

There have been quite a number of writers who have been responsible for the pursuit of these forms of development and good number of them are Russian…but many of you are more equipped to identify them than i am. 

Let me show you a few books from a champion of science education in Uganda and Africa (soon)-Solomon Benge of Fundibots. 

We have the same idea in areas such as space and the pursuit of new territories. For that we have Star Trek and Star Wars to thank. 

Whether those who have developed technologies after watching these shows are guilty of some sort of “theft” is an idea for another day. But the questions they raise and the ideas presented are worth exploring. 

This show is set in Russia in a time when it is profitable to create robots which help humans. Everything does not go as planned when this lucrative industry is overtaken by a new automaton with unexpected abilities. 

On one side you have activists who wish to restore order on another you have a company that wants to keep things as they are. Then you have a family caught in between and the robot they are starting to like (which is also dealing with complex questions of its own). There laws that are supposed to govern all robots-as created by Isaac Asimov (A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. A robot must obey orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law) also come into play as the ‘device’ begins to ask troubling questions about its own reality and being. 

There is an interesting conversation is the show when the lady of the owners of the robot try to convince it to dress in a more appropriate manner. The robot is designed to please those whom it is programed to meet and those with whom it makes first contact (which reminds me of what happens when some animals such as ducks and spiders are hatched and immediately ‘bond’ with humans or whatever creature they come across. The lady is slightly intimidated by the robot because it appears more attractive and has many more skills and abilities than she has. She is not really trying to help the robot but using its willingness to learn as a trap to confuse it. 

The Robot called Arisa then approaches the man (Georgy) and asks a very poignant quesiton What must a woman dress like to be loved? 

Do you know how many people are stuck and struggling with this question? How many so called humans depend on the words and affections of others? Do you know hoe many men are in gyms doing weights and women in Salons having their hair done out of a hope that they can be loved a little more. 

Even if the path towards the creation of humanoids is still fraught with a number of difficulties, how many of us are living in this robotic reality? I think this show explores this and many other subjects. But that’s just me. 

Here is a review of two other interesting shows you might enjoy 

https://intersectionawards.blogspot.com/2024/05/dune-i-and-ii.html

https://intersectionawards.blogspot.com/2024/05/the-peripheral.html

Robot and Frank

It's been months since I watched this movie. At first I was a little concerned for the actor for seeming to always get this end of the stick (cast directors seems to frequently pick him to play the role of crooks!). 

But the movie is well done and handles several broad themes from aging to robotics to artificial intelligence to ethics, to parenting. 

There are interesting suggestions about what a future library could look, Iike as well as some notes on the possibilities of what role robots might have in the future care of the aging. 

It is great to watch the relationship between a machine and an aging man and the idea behind what it means to be human. There is a sense in which this movie has borrowed greatly from I-Robot (which I watched on a flight back to Africa-after an extended stay in the U.S.A). 

The similarity lies in the idea that both machines seem to have an awakening. 

Although in this case, this robot leaves you rather wounded and convicted and perhaps a little affected about what you think and how you act. 

I was left rather troubled because in my view the line between robot and human has really gotten blurred. Read up of the definition of an automaton if you need a little more convincing. 

Robots and other machines are built to do those tasks which humans would rather not do or that are too risky for humans to do. This is the standard definition. Think about how many things we have often left to 'lesser' creatures or even to 'workers' who in some way we view as less important than ourselves. 

In short, this one takes the Intersection Award for A.I related projects that deal with the subject of change, transition and Radial Thinking. 

Change for helping to present some ideas on what it means to grow older, transition for attempting to show us how certain aspects of our lives are likely to affect the way in which we think and function and radical in the presentation of options (even if these have been explored extensively in Japan-as she grapples with an aging population).