In the show Be Right Back, Martha needed to cope with the loss of her partner, Ash. At the funeral service her friend, Sarah, approaches her and tells her she knows of a way for her to get over her grieving quickly. Sarah introduced her to this software that could let her talk to Ash through all his information online, emails, texts, and social media. I feel like this is still an acceptable way of coping, it isn't "too much". After a while, I noticed she started getting really attached to the software. For example, the scene where she was on the phone with him and dropped her phone and broke it. She completely freaked out and immediately went to go buy a new phone. When she got her new phone, she rushed to turn it on and anxiously apologized to the "Ash software". I thought that was the point where she should have stopped using it. Instead, she made the situation deeper. When the android came into the picture I thought that was crossing the line. She thought the android could somehow replace Ash. although it did seem like Martha enjoyed his company, she soon realized he was nothing but a robot mimicking Ash. The robot was just a file of his actions but he did not hold any sentimental factors or memories. When the robotic ash picked up a picture that was on the fireplace, he said it was funny because he has files of ash telling people it was a funny occurrence, but he doesn't realize that ash actually thinks it was funny. I feel like this could not only be dangerous for Martha's mental health but also dangerous for humanity. Pretending to have "ash" there is not going to help her get over her grieving and the more he is around the more she is going to realize how different he is from Ash and make her miss Ash more. The reason I think having an android around could be dangerous is that he does not come programmed, he is learning every day. Along with good things he could learn bad things. You never know when the day that this robot will turn on you and try to harm you can come. Obviously, people can do this too but we don't know to what extent robots can go to and the amount of power they can actually have. The best decision Martha made after buying the android was locking it up in the attic and not being around it so often.
3 comments:
Interesting response! I do agree that there are potential problems with AI technology and advancement in Androids, however is this not the case with all technology? Take computers for instance, when they and the Internet were designed I'm sure they had not thought about the dangers of hacking and cyber bullying. And sure things like this do happen, however the technology isn't really designed to just do that. I think the benefits of most technology outweigh the potential problems. In this episode we really only saw one example of how an AI android could be used, and even then the main character just happened to be someone that would overuse the technology, just like some people become addicted to their phones and tv.
I completely agree with you that it was a good thing that she put Ash 2 in the attic. I think that when she first started communicating with Ash 2, it was okay. I saw it as a way of her trying to grieve, escpecially after she found out she was pregnant. However, when she brought the actual look alike of Ash, I feel like she crossed a line and it became too much. It wasn't a healthy way of grieving anymore.
I agree with you in the part where you are saying that the robot doesn’t come already programmed so it’s learning everyday. I see an AI in this way as a child. A child learns everyday. I feel as though because a robot will be like an advanced or gifted child in the beginning, there should be a “connection” that would ensure that the robot would turn on its “parent”.
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