Film Clip (143)
Find narratives by ethical themes or by technologies.
FILTERreset filters-
- 10 min
- Kinolab
- 2017
In the year 2049, humanoid robots known as “replicants” work as slave laborers in various space colonies for humankind. “Blade Runners,” like K shown here, are specialized police officers who are tasked with tracking down and killing escaped robots. Throughout the years, models have been getting more advanced and human-like, which is one of the reasons K, a newest model of replicant, is tasked to kill the farmer, an older model. The ultimate goal of corporate villain CEO Niander Wallace is to create replicants which can reproduce exactly has humans can, essentially becoming an infinite resource of human labor. He sees the newest “Angel” model as being the key to this.
- Kinolab
- 2017
Robot Expendability and Labor
In the year 2049, humanoid robots known as “replicants” work as slave laborers in various space colonies for humankind. “Blade Runners,” like K shown here, are specialized police officers who are tasked with tracking down and killing escaped robots. Throughout the years, models have been getting more advanced and human-like, which is one of the reasons K, a newest model of replicant, is tasked to kill the farmer, an older model. The ultimate goal of corporate villain CEO Niander Wallace is to create replicants which can reproduce exactly has humans can, essentially becoming an infinite resource of human labor. He sees the newest “Angel” model as being the key to this.
If robots are created to essentially live human lives, can they simply be destroyed once their model is outdated and something newer comes along? Are AI entitled to compensation and reward for any labor they complete, especially if they experience sensations in a way similar to humans? If AI are minding their own business and not harming anyone, do they need to be eliminated? Who can prevent corporations from using humanoid robots as unpaid laborers, and how? Should robots ever be forced to destroy their own kind?
-
- 7 min
- Kinolab
- 2008
Under threat of eviction, Luz must find a quick way to make some money to pay rent. Thankfully, through the company TruNode, she can digitize her memories and sell them on the internet for anyone who may wish to access and stream them. While this seems convenient, the downsides are shown when the repository of her memories are used to help ruthless drone pilot Rudy Ramirez hunt down an innocent laborer who is a supposedly dangerous criminal. After Luz reveals this means of making money to Memo, the aforementioned innocent laborer, he is less than enthused with the system.
- Kinolab
- 2008
Selling Digitized Memories
Under threat of eviction, Luz must find a quick way to make some money to pay rent. Thankfully, through the company TruNode, she can digitize her memories and sell them on the internet for anyone who may wish to access and stream them. While this seems convenient, the downsides are shown when the repository of her memories are used to help ruthless drone pilot Rudy Ramirez hunt down an innocent laborer who is a supposedly dangerous criminal. After Luz reveals this means of making money to Memo, the aforementioned innocent laborer, he is less than enthused with the system.
How can the high cost of very personal data and digital memories be both empowering in the right circumstances and disempowering in the wrong ones? What if people were able to sell all of their personal data, as is shown here? Is the complete digitization of memory a positive concept or a negative one? How can data or memory be purchased for nefarious purposes? How can people be unintentionally harmed by this system? Can the emotions of memories ever be paired well with a digital interface?
-
- 4 min
- Kinolab
- 2017
K is an android who works with the LAPD to track down and destroy escaped older models of “replicants,” or humanoid robots, in a world where androids work as laborers without compensation. In this clip, we meet K’s virtual wife, Joi. Although she is not ‘real,’ it seems like she has real human feelings and presents like a human woman who provides K company and can complete tasks such as making him dinner.
- Kinolab
- 2017
Robot Relationships and Marriage
K is an android who works with the LAPD to track down and destroy escaped older models of “replicants,” or humanoid robots, in a world where androids work as laborers without compensation. In this clip, we meet K’s virtual wife, Joi. Although she is not ‘real,’ it seems like she has real human feelings and presents like a human woman who provides K company and can complete tasks such as making him dinner.
What problems arise from using robotic companions to fulfill gendered tasks? How might this alter perceptions of real people? Consider how Joi is “typecast” as a 50s housewife, and can alter her appearance on command. How could virtual or AI female assistants and robots perpetuate harmful gender norms? Can robots truly love each other, or is this only accomplishable through specific coding? If humans are to give robots a full range of emotions and autonomy to live independently, are humans then responsible for providing them with companions? Would it be more or less uncomfortable if a real human owned and used the Joi holograph, and why?
-
- 4 min
- Kinolab
- 2017
Luv, a corporate enforcer who is following the android police officer K, tracks his location after he crashes in a landfill and is attacked by a large mob of humans. She then uses drone technology to deploy explosive weapons to save K’s life.
- Kinolab
- 2017
Drone Warfare
Luv, a corporate enforcer who is following the android police officer K, tracks his location after he crashes in a landfill and is attacked by a large mob of humans. She then uses drone technology to deploy explosive weapons to save K’s life.
How can drone technology be used for distant interventions, both for military and personal protection purposes? Is it ethical to use drone tech to kill or injure other people, even if they are criminals or causing harm? Moreover, how can drone tech be used to spy on and follow people without their consent? How does using drone to fight desensitize drivers to the damage which they cause? What broader metaphor is being set up in this narrative, considering the position of Luv, the drone’s controller?
-
- 7 min
- Kinolab
- 2017
In his hunt for a missing android child, the robot police officer K visits Dr. Ana Stelline to determine if a memory of his own from his childhood is real or fabricated. Dr. Stelline is in the business of creating false memories to implant into robot’s heads in order to make them seem more believably human. She argues that having memories to lean on as one experiences the world is a cornerstone of the human experience.
- Kinolab
- 2017
Fabricated Memories and Believability
In his hunt for a missing android child, the robot police officer K visits Dr. Ana Stelline to determine if a memory of his own from his childhood is real or fabricated. Dr. Stelline is in the business of creating false memories to implant into robot’s heads in order to make them seem more believably human. She argues that having memories to lean on as one experiences the world is a cornerstone of the human experience.
Do you agree with Dr. Stelline’s assessment in this narrative? Does achieving singularity through fabricated memories truly make AI any more human, or would they still be nothing more than replicants? Conversely, what are the issues raised by uploading authentic human memories into a robot? How does that affect agency and identity of real humans, on small and large scales? What makes us human, if not our memories and consciousness, and if AI have that as well, do they achieve personhood? How do digital technologies already abstract the concept of memory, and can that be extended any further or not?
-
- 11 min
- Kinolab
- 2017
Rick Deckard was a former “Blade Runner,” or specialized police officer who would track down and kill humanoid robots, or “replicants,” which were meant to be submissive laborers in space colonies. K is one such of these robots, working in the same business. After finding out that Deckard had a relationship and child with Rachael, one of the first ever robots with the capability to mirror organic human reproduction, K tracks him down in an attempt to find the child. Deckard reveals that he was estranged from the child, abandoning them in an act of love to avoid trackers from finding them. Eventually, K deduces the identity of the child, and takes Deckard to meet her.
- Kinolab
- 2017
Android Children and Human Parents
Rick Deckard was a former “Blade Runner,” or specialized police officer who would track down and kill humanoid robots, or “replicants,” which were meant to be submissive laborers in space colonies. K is one such of these robots, working in the same business. After finding out that Deckard had a relationship and child with Rachael, one of the first ever robots with the capability to mirror organic human reproduction, K tracks him down in an attempt to find the child. Deckard reveals that he was estranged from the child, abandoning them in an act of love to avoid trackers from finding them. Eventually, K deduces the identity of the child, and takes Deckard to meet her.
Should robots be able to reproduce just as humans can? How can their rights to their own children then be ensured, especially in the sense that the parent may “belong” to someone else? What if a humanoid robot does not receive the same degree of love from a human parent on the basis of being a robot? Should robot reproduction ever become possible if it potentially means creating a new class of humanoid beings who will experience oppression and a need to fight for rights, respect, and love?