Robotics (65)
Find narratives by ethical themes or by technologies.
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- 3 min
- Kinolab
- 2019
Rachel, a fifteen year old fan of the pop star Ashley O, is gifted an Ashley Too doll for her birthday. Ashley Too is a robot who contains a synaptic snapshot of Ashley O, and thus emulates her personality and can carry on a conversation with the owner of the doll.
- Kinolab
- 2019
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- 3 min
- Kinolab
- 2019
Digital Duplicates and Friendship
Rachel, a fifteen year old fan of the pop star Ashley O, is gifted an Ashley Too doll for her birthday. Ashley Too is a robot who contains a synaptic snapshot of Ashley O, and thus emulates her personality and can carry on a conversation with the owner of the doll.
How can robots and devices such as the Ashley Too doll help children cope with grief or loneliness? How can it be ensured that children branch out in their connections beyond such robots? What are the issues present with modeling artificial companions after real-life public figures?
Black Mirror: Meeting Ashley Too-
- 14 min
- Kinolab
- 2019
Ashley O is a pop star who lives and works under the tyrannical direction of her aunt and producer, Catherine. After Ashley decides she wants to rebel against her contract, Catherine places her in a coma and scans her brain to help create a digital likeness of Ashley O and produce new music which the 3D holograph can perform, all under Catherine’s control. Meanwhile, siblings Rachel and Jack hack a robot based on a synaptic snapshot of Ashley O, allowing the virtual consciousness of Ashley O to be reborn in the robot and help plot to take down Catherine. Working together, they manage to thwart the grand debut of the edited holographic version of Ashley O.
- Kinolab
- 2019
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- 14 min
- Kinolab
- 2019
Celebrity Autonomy, Producer Tyranny, and Holographic Performances
Ashley O is a pop star who lives and works under the tyrannical direction of her aunt and producer, Catherine. After Ashley decides she wants to rebel against her contract, Catherine places her in a coma and scans her brain to help create a digital likeness of Ashley O and produce new music which the 3D holograph can perform, all under Catherine’s control. Meanwhile, siblings Rachel and Jack hack a robot based on a synaptic snapshot of Ashley O, allowing the virtual consciousness of Ashley O to be reborn in the robot and help plot to take down Catherine. Working together, they manage to thwart the grand debut of the edited holographic version of Ashley O.
How can celebrities keep their autonomy when producers can easily replicate them or their performances? How can musicians and other performers continue to keep a share of credit or profit when producers can easily co-opt their art? Should this technology be used to “extend the life” of musicians, allowing for holographic performances even after they pass away? What are the ethical questions raised with this concept? Should digital consciousnesses be fundamentally limited, especially when they are based on real people? How would this improperly shape the image of a celebrity, either before or after their death?
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- 7 min
- Kinolab
- 1968
Dr. Dave Bowman and Dr. Frank Poole are two astronauts on the mission Discovery to Jupiter. They are joined by HAL, an artificial intelligence machine named after the most recent iteration of his model, the HAL 9000 computer. HAL is seen as just another member of the crew based upon his ability to carry conversations with the other astronauts and his responsibilities for keeping the crew safe.
- Kinolab
- 1968
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- 7 min
- Kinolab
- 1968
HAL Part I: AI Camaraderie and Conversation
Dr. Dave Bowman and Dr. Frank Poole are two astronauts on the mission Discovery to Jupiter. They are joined by HAL, an artificial intelligence machine named after the most recent iteration of his model, the HAL 9000 computer. HAL is seen as just another member of the crew based upon his ability to carry conversations with the other astronauts and his responsibilities for keeping the crew safe.
Should humans count on AI entirely to help keep them safe in dangerous situations or environments? Do you agree with Dave’s assessment that one can “never tell” if an AI has real feelings? What counts as “real feelings”? Even if HAL’s human tendencies follow a line of programming, does this make them less real?
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- 12 min
- Kinolab
- 1968
See HAL Part I for further context. In this narrative, astronauts Dave and Frank begin to suspect that the AI which runs their ship, HAL, is malfunctioning and must be shut down. While they try to hide this conversation from HAL, he becomes aware of their plan anyway and attempts to protect himself so that the Discovery mission in space is not jeopardized. He does so by causing chaos on the ship, leveraging his connections to an internet of things to place the crew in danger. Eventually, Dave proceeds with his plan to shut HAL down, despite HAL’s protestations and desire to stay alive.
- Kinolab
- 1968
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- 12 min
- Kinolab
- 1968
HAL Part II: Vengeful AI, Digital Murder, and System Failures
See HAL Part I for further context. In this narrative, astronauts Dave and Frank begin to suspect that the AI which runs their ship, HAL, is malfunctioning and must be shut down. While they try to hide this conversation from HAL, he becomes aware of their plan anyway and attempts to protect himself so that the Discovery mission in space is not jeopardized. He does so by causing chaos on the ship, leveraging his connections to an internet of things to place the crew in danger. Eventually, Dave proceeds with his plan to shut HAL down, despite HAL’s protestations and desire to stay alive.
Can AI have lives of their own which humans should respect? Is it considered “murder” if a human deactivates an AI against their will, even if this “will” to live is programmed by another human? What are the ethical implications of removing the “high brain function” of an AI and leaving just the rote task programming? Is this a form of murder too? How can secrets be kept private from an AI, especially if people fail to understand all the capabilities of the machine?
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- 3 min
- Cyber Security News
- 2025
Tesla’s famous wall charger, which is installed in homes and businesses worldwide, gets hacked through the charging cable on the adapter. The adapter had a previously undocumented feature that allowed Tesla vehicles to update it through the charging cable, and hackers were able to exploit this vulnerability. After being able to execute arbitrary code on the device, hackers may gain access to the local network that the charger is connected to—among other things.
- Cyber Security News
- 2025
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- 3 min
- Cyber Security News
- 2025
Tesla Wall Connector Hacked in 18 Minute Attack
Tesla’s famous wall charger, which is installed in homes and businesses worldwide, gets hacked through the charging cable on the adapter. The adapter had a previously undocumented feature that allowed Tesla vehicles to update it through the charging cable, and hackers were able to exploit this vulnerability. After being able to execute arbitrary code on the device, hackers may gain access to the local network that the charger is connected to—among other things.
- What measures may be taken by Tesla (besides not documenting the feature altogether) to make the security on the wall adapter more robust?
- What responsibility does Tesla have in this situation towards its customers?
- What next steps should be taken to prevent this vulnerability from being exploited in Tesla wall adapters around the world?