Imagine
you have lost a member of your family, or your beloved partner
without saying goodbye. Imagine if someone tells you that you can
talk with that person again. What would you do? The episode “Be
Right Back” really shows that sadness can lead people to do stuff
they would never imagine doing.
The protagonist of the episode, Martha, has to deal with a situation like this. Her beloved partner has died in a car accident. One of her friend suggests to her, while they were at the funeral, to sign her up for something that would help her be able to talk with him again. Of course, Martha refuses. However, a couple days later she receives an email from her deceased fiance. We all use social media, taking pictures, recording videos, as Ash was doing in his life. After Ash's death, Martha found out she was pregnant. She wanted to talk to him one more time so she signed up to this app that takes all the dead person's information from social media and creates a computer stimulation, and she starts chatting with him.
The protagonist of the episode, Martha, has to deal with a situation like this. Her beloved partner has died in a car accident. One of her friend suggests to her, while they were at the funeral, to sign her up for something that would help her be able to talk with him again. Of course, Martha refuses. However, a couple days later she receives an email from her deceased fiance. We all use social media, taking pictures, recording videos, as Ash was doing in his life. After Ash's death, Martha found out she was pregnant. She wanted to talk to him one more time so she signed up to this app that takes all the dead person's information from social media and creates a computer stimulation, and she starts chatting with him.
I
believe if that happened to my life, my mind would be confused. I
would completely think that somebody, who really knows my fiance (his
jokes for example), is behind it all and was chatting with me just
because he or she thinks that would make me feel better.
Later, Martha wants to try an upgrade of this software, which gives her the opportunity to talk with Ash on the phone. Soon, he announces to her that he does not have to be just a voice on the phone and he explains that the company provides an artificial copy of his body, which is expensive. Personally, I believe that people would give everything just to see the person they lost one more time. Surely, Martha cannot refuse this deal. She receives a clone and she activates it. Ash is there standing in front of her, talking to her with his voice, exactly like him. If I was in her spot, I would probably start going crazy. “Is this real? Is he alive? Am I alive? Am I dreaming?" These are some questions that I would probably ask to myself.
Really soon Martha discovers that 'fake' Ash is not like the real Ash. He only follows her calls. She realizes that he is not enough of the real Ash and she cannot stand him anymore but she cannot get rid of him. She kept Ash hidden in the attic. The attic was a place where the pictures of loved ones go when they die. She raised her daughter and let her visit Ash during the weekends.
Personally, I would probably have stayed in the stage of chatting, but only for one time just because I would like to say goodbye to that person. I think that would be the best option for me because I like to get over with situations like that and keep only beautiful memories in my mind.
The fact that the clone does not have emotions, personality, or will are the reasons people think that fake Ash is creepy and he is not an actual human being. But if you think opposite, there are people in this world that might have had an accident with brain injuries which lead them to live like machines, without emotions and without will, exactly like the fake Ash. So, are these people human beings?
Later, Martha wants to try an upgrade of this software, which gives her the opportunity to talk with Ash on the phone. Soon, he announces to her that he does not have to be just a voice on the phone and he explains that the company provides an artificial copy of his body, which is expensive. Personally, I believe that people would give everything just to see the person they lost one more time. Surely, Martha cannot refuse this deal. She receives a clone and she activates it. Ash is there standing in front of her, talking to her with his voice, exactly like him. If I was in her spot, I would probably start going crazy. “Is this real? Is he alive? Am I alive? Am I dreaming?" These are some questions that I would probably ask to myself.
Really soon Martha discovers that 'fake' Ash is not like the real Ash. He only follows her calls. She realizes that he is not enough of the real Ash and she cannot stand him anymore but she cannot get rid of him. She kept Ash hidden in the attic. The attic was a place where the pictures of loved ones go when they die. She raised her daughter and let her visit Ash during the weekends.
Personally, I would probably have stayed in the stage of chatting, but only for one time just because I would like to say goodbye to that person. I think that would be the best option for me because I like to get over with situations like that and keep only beautiful memories in my mind.
The fact that the clone does not have emotions, personality, or will are the reasons people think that fake Ash is creepy and he is not an actual human being. But if you think opposite, there are people in this world that might have had an accident with brain injuries which lead them to live like machines, without emotions and without will, exactly like the fake Ash. So, are these people human beings?
2 comments:
I enjoyed reading your blog and I do believe that people dealing with grief are very vulnerable and desperate and depending on the dependance of the relationship with the person that had died that different people would react differently. Most would not go to the limits of a replica I it was merely an acquaintance. If it were a casual friend they may text. A close friend they might call. Dealing with the grief of losing grief a long term spouse I do believe in their grief they would resort to replicas.
If someone is brain dead, he has no consciousness. I think that's the biggest difference between human being and robots. On the other hand, if the robot has it's own brain and can do what he wants, they will be the biggest threaten to human's surviving in the world.
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