The Obvious Machine

In Black Mirror's "Be Right Back", the idea of using an artificial intelligence with the access to one's entire online data and a human-based cybernetic body to mimic the character and personality of a deceased loved one and its effects on the mind of the buyer is quite an interesting topic. With the Uncanny Valley in mind, this practice of technology found in the film brings much discomfort and awkwardness not only to the main character, Martha, but also to the viewers of the film. At first, Martha got use to this new beta program with ease, but once it reached to a certain extent (that being activating an android with the online memories of her lover, Ash), she could not handle it much longer. Knowing what her Ash looked and acted like before versus the appearance of this new machine only adds onto the discomfort and distrust. If one were to place both the original Ash and the copy Ash next to one another, most people would be able to tell which is human and which isn't.

Obvious differences such as copy Ash's extremely pale skin, hyper-artificial red hair, his slow and indifferent tone, are all examples. Even more specific details like copy Ash's missing body moles, and altered gaps in place of missing pieces of personality traits, such as his submissiveness and greater performance in sex, add onto it. Of course, if one were to see the android before ever lying eyes on the original person, it would be difficult to tell if the copy was human or not (which would not be considered a simulation anyways, the real one must also be shown); but the point being that in comparing the real person with the machine by close observation on movement, appearance, and mood/tone can reveal the identity of the impostor. It is this Uncanny Valley system that's hard wired into our brains that not only establishes this odd and uneasy feeling towards the falsehoods of non-biological objects attempting to act real and living, but it also give humans and sometimes other animals the ability to pinpoint these pretenders. But with the further advancement of technology, there very well may be no way to tell the difference between man and machine. Technology is advancing faster than anyone can imagine. With science fiction opening doors of imagination and curiosity, and modern sciences improving constantly, a future with machines like this is bound to come about. And beyond that future, that future's future, a perfect machine may exist; and with it, all the consequences and controversies that trail along it.