I Now Pronounce you...Machine and Wife?

This short film brought up several different emotions. I sympathized for Martha after the loss of her lover, I empathized with her when she wanted to reestablish her connection with him, but began to loathe her even after she kept Ash around after knowing he was a crude copy of the man she once loved. After our class's discussion on Ash's ability of gaining self-awareness, I analyzed the film looking for signs that suggested his newly developed artificial intelligence. Dr. Johnson said the proof of his self-awareness was the morning after Martha asked him to stay outside for the night and asked to come inside because he felt ornamental just standing out in the yard. I disagree; I believe he was just saying what the algorithms told him what Ash would say in that situation. I don't think the bot ever developed self-awareness. Although sometimes he did things that Ash wouldn't, it was simply because his software didn't know how to react to the situation. For example, when the two of them stood by the cliff he was originally willing to jump if she commanded that. It was only when she said that Ash would never do something like that he began to break down and beg that she not ask him to jump. Humanity and self-awareness are the things that allow an individual to know exactly what they are as a person. It gives them dreams, desire, and passion to go out and explore life. No self-aware thing would be contempt with living in an attic for the rest of their life just waiting for the attention of his administrator. He is simply a very good at his task of replicating the person who used to be Ash. The next point worth addressing is how Martha went from treating Ash as a person to treating him more like an object. She was never able to fully treat it like a human being. She attempted to share her feelings and emotions with it, but once he messed up by saying something Ash wouldn't say, the illusion was shattered and Martha distanced herself from him and then taught him to correct the mistake. Although Ash 2's not the person he attempts to replicate, it reminds Martha enough of him that she still can't bring herself to cut the memory of Ash out of her life, no matter the cost. That was made obvious after she paid a boatload of money to "rebuild" him. This is the reason she kept him around for so many years, even if meant hiding him away in an attic until she or her daughter wanted to see him. She stopped seeing Ash as a human and forced him to live in an existence that only served a minute purpose.