Society's relationship with technology in contemporary science fiction films

.....humans interact with technology in increasingly sophisticated and meaningful ways, the ethical and philosophical questions posed by artificial intelligence start to become more pressing than ever before. The science fiction genre has promoted as ambivalent a relationship between humans and technology as scientists and futurists have. Both the potential benefits and drawbacks of artificial intelligence have been explored, asking human beings involved in the development of AI technology to consider the ramifications of their work. For example, Nick Bostrom has indicated the need for developers of artificially intelligent systems to work with cognitive scientists to mitigate risk by programming AI from the beginning to act only in the best interests of humans (Shead 1). However, the assumption that AI will somehow eventually need or want to compete with human beings with the potential to overcome or conquer human beings is just that: an assumption. It is a flawed assumption because it is based on the belief that AI will be as self-destructive and as sadistic as human beings. Human beings seem to be anthropomorphizing AI before AI really exists, and to be projecting human nature onto systems that are almost by definition potentially more advanced and as Bostrom would put it, "superintelligent" than their human counterparts (Shead 1). Artificial intelligence might in fact be the only hope for humanity.

Science fiction does present a somewhat optimistic view of artificial intelligence, showing that artificially intelligent systems can be more humane (or actually more human) than human beings themselves. For example, the replicants in Blade Runner act in ways that are more judicious than their human counterparts, who treat AI abusively. The filmmakers lead the audiences deliberately toward a sympathetic view of the replicants to show how their level of compassion and intelligence has surpassed that of the still animalistic human species. Human beings are animals; artificial intelligence is not. Therefore, the capabilities of artificial intelligence to surpass humanity should not be viewed as a bad thing but as a positive step. Artificial intelligence might help human beings overcome their animalistic natures, their poor judgment, their self-centeredness, and their base instincts for fight, flight, and dominance. If Stephen Hawking, Elon Musk, Bill Gates and Steve Wozniak all "expressed their concerns about where the technology was heading," with Professor Hawking harboring an especially "apocalyptic vision of a world where robots decide they don't need us any more," then it could be that humanity and non-human species will both be better off (Cellan-Jones 1). After all, could human beings get any worse than they already are? The film WALL-E, for instance, shows how humanity on its current self-destructive trajectory has completely eradicated life on earth and it actually took a non-human artificially intelligent system to offer hope for life's regeneration. The WALL-E vision, although Disney-fied, may be closer to reality than the pessimistic view offered by Hawking.

The one area of real ethical concern over artificial intelligence is not what AI might do to control humanity but what humanity might do to control AI and misuse its capabilities to further human aims. For example, Hawking has pointed out the potential for the "dehumanizing" effect of using robots to do things like take care of elderly -- something that is already being worked on in Japan (Cellan-Jones 1). Hawking's warning is not about AI -- it is about human beings. It is not AI that is the problem, it is the humans who misuse AI and could foreseeably abuse AI just as depicted in Blade Runner. Abuse of artificially intelligent beings is a clear potential outcome of AI, much more than the fear that AI will turn around and abuse humans. Abuse of other sentient beings is not logical, something that Spock from Star Trek would have agreed with, because it creates a cycle of violence and abuse. Human beings are already poised to exploit labor from AI rather than partner with AI in the most idealistic version of the human-machine interface. Moreover, the fact that robots are already being developed for the core purpose of caring for "disposable" people like the elderly or possibly also the disabled shows that human beings have little regard for life, and view other humans and AI -- not to mention animals -- as being disposable. The human position is unethical, and to project human lack of ethics onto AI is irresponsible and disrespectful of the potential for AI to actually be the thought leaders of the future.

Artificial intelligence stands poised to far surpass the stunted intelligence and emotional growth of human beings, as suggested by Spike Jonze's in the 2013 film Her. In Her, the operating system named Samantha achieves individuality and a level of consciousness that transcends time and space. She is essentially an enlightened being, disembodied, able to be one with all and to love unconditionally. Her effect on Theodore's life is transformative, showing that AI can promote social and emotional healing and growth in human beings. The optimistic vision of AI shown in Her parallels that in Blade Runner, although the latter offers a far bleaker look at the future. The difference is that the human beings in Blade Runner are depicted as being no more intelligent than they are in contemporary life; they are still self-destructive and sadistic. In WALL-E, the human beings are not as much sadistic as they are simply stupid, unable to make higher order decisions that can promote critical thinking and good judgment. Only the robot can conduct the highest order thinking and judgment. When Hawking states, "I believe there is no deep difference between what can be achieved by a biological brain and what can be achieved by a computer. It therefore follows that computers can, in theory, emulate human intelligence -- and exceed it," the scientist's vision does actually come close to capturing the spirit of the more optimistic science fiction films (Cellan-Jones 1). To emulate and exceed human intelligence is a positive thing for all life. Samantha and her fellow OSs in Her are the idealized thought leaders of the future, the beings that can light a pathway forward for human beings to achieve their highest potential. The filmmaker wanted to show the potential in AI for awakening the best, not the worst, in humanity by showing that even when Samantha leaves him, Theodore has learned how to become more emotionally accessible and engaged with other human beings.

Interestingly, Steve Wozniak has "reversed his thinking" on artificial intelligence, having initially been as pessimistic a thinker as Hawking. Yet Wozniak also reached his new conclusion based on faulty information, having said, "Moore's Law isn't going to make those machines smart enough to think really the way a human does," (Shead 1). In fact, the principle of Moore's Law does suggest exponential growth in AI as the systems own intelligence starts to reinforce itself to create opportunities for machine learning. Wozniak also believes that AI "can't be as intuitive and say what will I do next and what is an approach that might get me there," (Shead 1). There is actually no reason to believe that an artificially intelligent system cannot be intuitive or predict what a human being might say or do next -- human beings are actually quite easy to predict using what some might call "intuition" but what others might call observations of non-verbal communication, or observations of past behavioral patterns. The artificially intelligent systems depicted in Blade Runner, Wall-E, and Her all have an intuitive sense that they use to develop emotionally intelligent communication and relationship with each other and with human beings. Similarly, the artificially intelligent systems show evidence of progress and learning that substantiate Moore's Law and contradict what Wozniak believes.

Raymond Kurzweil has long been a proponent of singularity, an optimistic view of human-technological interface. His views are explicated in the 2009 film Transcendent Man, in which Kurzweil initiates a dialogue with sceptics as well to argue that singularity will ultimately benefit humanity based on the Law of Accelerating Returns -- which can be considered a counterpart to Moore's Law. Singularity shows how human beings can be enhanced through interface with technology and that it is already happening in biotechnology. It is in fact nanotechnology and biotechnology that AI offers the greatest promise -- the promise to control human bodies, eradicate disease, and even conquer the aging process itself. To recognize the nature of human consciousness and transcend the body is another possible outcome, similar to what is depicted in the film Her. When yogis and bodhisattvas meditate, their goal is transcendence and in fact, singularity -- even though that transcendence is not framed as human-technology interface. The same principle of self-mastery and overcoming human nature remains the most important issue in human progress. Humanity is a problematic species that needs all the help it can get; if that help comes from a superior intelligence embedded in artificial systems, then that future offers greater potential for healing and progress than the current human trajectory.

Kurzweil's concept of transhumanism is the promise of artificial intelligence: the ability to finally reach human potential ironically by becoming both more and less human. Humans are more human when they become more humane and capitalize on the strengths of the human mind and emotional system to feel compassion. However, humans also need to become less human: by ceasing to even consider as Hawking does the capabilities of developing "autonomous weapons, economic disruption and machines that developed a will of their own, in conflict with humanity,' (Cellan-Jones 1). If artificial intelligence is truly intelligent, then it would not evolve the human-like capacity for wanton destruction and exploitation. There is no reason to believe that artificial intelligence will be like humans in these negative ways, and if that were the case, it would only be because AI would be limited. If AI is unlimited, capable of self-propelled growth as depicted in Her, then even if there is a conflict between humans and AI, AI should naturally win based on Darwinian principles: AI would have proved itself to be fitter than human beings ever were, exhibiting all the best qualities of human life such as the ability to think creatively and critically and avoiding the tendency to view every problem in terms of a combat for limited resources or an opportunity for exploitation.

The notion that AI will potentially take over the world and that human beings will be forced to cede their power to AI is a largely baseless concern primarily because human beings are highly intelligent animals and artificially intelligent life is simply that -- intelligence that is potentially disembodied and not a slave to base instincts that reside in the reptilian brain. Human beings would benefit from uploading consciousness into technology to overcome the limitations of the body, which only brings about steady decay, disease, and death. Similarly, human beings are limited by psychological problems and neuroses that come in the way of helping individuals and groups of people to reach their highest potential. Artificially intelligent beings do, however, need to be recognized as advanced beings and not as slaves to the human race -- a far bigger ethical problem or threat than the view held by Hawking and Gates. Finally, relying on human beings to program AI as Wozniak suggests might not be enough to safeguard against problems that might evolve because a human being can easily reprogram the same AI system for wanton destruction. Therefore, an ideal situation would be for artificially intelligent systems to create their own future, paralleling the concept of superintelligence, singularity, and transhumanism.

Works Cited

Cellan-Jones, Rory. "Stephen Hawking - will AI kill or save humankind?" Oct 20, 2016. BBC News. Retrieved online: http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-37713629

Jonze, Spike. Her. [Feature Film], 2013.

Ptolemy, Barry. Transcendent Man. [Feature Film], 2009.

Scott, Ridley. Blade Runner. [Feature Film]. 1982.

Shead, Sam. "Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak dismisses AI concerns raised by Stephen Hawking and Nick Bostrom." Business Insider. Retrieved online: http://www.businessinsider.com/steve-wozniak-ai-2016-10

Stanton, Andrew. WALL-E. [Feature Film], 2008.