Ash's Android

This week provided a lot of insight when it comes to technology and advancements made with Androids. Androids are becoming strangely realistic, and thus causing uneasiness in humans. Geminoid DK, the latest android project, is strikingly identical to a human and has even passed as a human to plenty of people. I learned that there is a point where too realistic of animations can bring on discomfort. Animation specialist are pushing to find out how to get past that point without causing discomfort, but without success.

 In "Be Right Back", a Netflix episode apart of the series "Black Mirror", the whole concept of androids is explored. Ash's life was cut short when he died out running errands. He left behind his wife, Martha, who struggled tremendously with the death of her husband. At his funeral, her friend Sarah introduced this idea that could keep Martha in touch with "Ash". Martha refused at first, but she found her self at her breaking point and decided to try it out. The phone calls and text messages turned into her eventually getting an android of him.
This satisfied her for a short period of time, but then she became frustrated because this Android was a misunderstood portrayal of her husband.

Even though Ash's Android resembled him identically, Martha felt that it was nothing like Ash and rightfully so. The android was based on what they could scramble up from his social media, which is not nearly enough to depict a person. Ash 2 essentially pushed her deeper in her grief instead of helping her.

This movie made me extremely uncomfortable, because It isn't completely impossible that this could be our new future. This movie also opened my eyes to how heavy technology is depended on. The devices, and in this case Ash, are being used for unimaginable reasons. Another thing that stuck out to me was allowing for her daughter to meet and interact with Ash. Not only that, but keeping him in a basement as well.