...But What If Ash 2 Becomes the Norm?

It was hard for me to properly immerse myself in Black Mirror's "Be Right Back". As early as the first scene, I expected Ash to die due to his phone addiction (frankly, I expected it to happen in the first driving scene). As someone who follows technology of my own volition (with artificial intelligence and deep learning as two main points of interest), I suspected the episode was about to focus on an AI (Artificial Intelligence) as I watched Sarah talk to Martha about still talking to "him" (with "him" being Sarah's late husband) after his death through the emails. When the email version of Ash said there was "another level", I expected to see an android version of Ash. Though I foresaw these developments (thus lessening the intended impact), I think the episode still did well in exploring the effects of the uncanny valley. However, as we went through our discussions, I always had one question in the back of my mind that seemed to be looked over: if this technology were to become truly accepted, would it trivialize the value of life?

What first inspired the question was the final scene of the episode, where they show Martha coming home with her young, perhaps nearly-teenage daughter. Through the hair styling and makeup work, it seemed that they intentionally made Martha appear to be older than in the earlier scenes before her daughter's birth. What struck me was how, when her daughter went upstairs, Ash 2 looked exactly as he had before, with no visible signs of aging. At first, my questioning revolved more around my belief of moving on from a loved one's death being an important part of the grieving process, while Ash 2 serves a physical manifestation of the concept of refusing to let go of a memory (thus, it never ages). However, as I thought more about this and heard more of of my classmates' thoughts, I realized it's not that simple.

The most disturbing thought I had in this process centered on today's society and culture. While I am but one person, and I could perceive things incorrectly, it seems to me that our culture greatly promotes youth - the energy, the physical appearance, the idea of an untapped future, etc. - and fighting the aging process. If this Ash scenario became culturally accepted - where an android-type figure such as Ash 2 becomes accepted and, importantly, valued as a human being - would this state become more desirable than our biological form? Looking even beyond the idea of being able to "keep" a deceased loved one, what if people actively preferred this form? Objectively, it could make life easier. An Ash 2 would not have to worry with things like nutrition, sleep, exercise, illness, or any of the physical things that can have a negative impact on their daily functioning. As a binary computer, I doubt there would be any true emotional complications. Also as a computer, I don't foresee there being mental illnesses present. Where is the line drawn? Especially in our increasingly competitive society, do we reach a point where appreciation for the natural order of things pales in comparison to the opportunities this may afford?

To be clear, I sincerely hope the above scenario does not come to pass. Even if it did, as presented there would have to be at least some value in life because, to be as blunt as possible, there would have to be enough time for people to upload enough information for this technology to properly function. Even before this would happen, our society would have to overcome the uncanny valley represented so well in the episode. However, I think it is possible that we could become desensitized to an Ash 2, or even completely oblivious to its differences. While it is possible that it was a product of the child's acting, it seemed Martha's daughter did not view Ash 2 any differently than her actual mother. If we have future generations being exposed to this at an early age, thus thinking nothing of it, will the uncanny valley disappear? Furthermore, as technology continues to rapidly advance, with humankind growing increasingly dependent upon it, how far will we go? I do not think the state of preferring the form of an Ash 2 is entirely impossible, and that thought greatly worries me.