The Other 10%

In the same way that pictures never tell the whole story about events, places, or people, Ash 2 is not a full version of the original (human) Ash.  Although we live in a digital world where it seems like our entire lives are documented online, there is so much more to be learned about us.  Online records can tell us where we have been, what we have said, who we are friends with, what we look like, and maybe even how we move or speak. These same records can never document or prove the reason or motivation behind our choices.  I would argue that it is our values, our morals, and our ability to adapt, respond, and genuinely care about those around us that make us human.  

Of course we can observe that Ash 2 is capable of adapting to new stimuli, but he is not capable of really impactful change at an intellectual level.  He operates as a continuation of the original Ash at the time of his death.  Ash 2 makes decisions and speaks based on the online data the human Ash generated during his lifetime.  He is a continuation of the original Ash, but he operates without the whole story.  He may know, for example, that on December 15th, five years ago, Ash received a new car- but he won’t ever really know how Ash felt about that car’s color or special features.  Online records may document that human Ash was excited about his first kiss with Martha on May 12th, but robo-Ash likely won’t be capable of recreating that scenario or feeling the way that Ash 1 did at the time of their kiss.  He also won’t be able to hold Martha in the same way, or respond to her motions.  

As humans, we are capable of authentic connection with each other.  We can dream, we have hopes, we are designed to love and be loved.  We, in our limited time on Earth, are built for more than just going through the motions of “life”.  In our human societies we seem to acknowledge this in the creation of friend groups, and religions.  As a whole we recognize that there is more to life than just the actions we perform and words that we speak.  We recognize a need for morals and a desire to have a deeper connection with each other.  Perhaps it is possible for technology to document and recreate 90% of who we are and what we do, but it is the remaining 10% that makes a difference and often contains some of our imperfections.  The remaining 10% is how we create new ideas, what we use to conceptualize art, how we learn to love each other, and serve to without a reason.  That extra little bit makes being a human extraordinary.  It is that last 10% that will always set us apart and will cause imitations to be creepy.