Ways in which AI intelligence can match and even surpass human scope for knowledge and self-sustain and ‘reproduce’.
Singularity (26)
Find narratives by ethical themes or by technologies.
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- 9 min
- Kinolab
- 2014
Will Caster is an artificial intelligence scientist whose consciousness his wife Evelyn uploaded to the internet after his premature death. Dr. Caster used his access to the internet to grant himself vast intelligence, creating a technological utopia called Brightwood in the desert to get enough solar power to develop cutting-edge digital projects. Specifically, he uses nanotechnology to cure fatal or longtime inflictions on people, inserting tiny robots into their bodies to help cells recover. However, it is soon revealed that these nanorobots stay inside their human hosts, allowing Will to project his consciousness into them and generally control them, along with other inhuman traits.
- Kinolab
- 2014
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- 9 min
- Kinolab
- 2014
Will, Evelyn, and Max Part II: Medical Nanotechnology and Networked Humans
Will Caster is an artificial intelligence scientist whose consciousness his wife Evelyn uploaded to the internet after his premature death. Dr. Caster used his access to the internet to grant himself vast intelligence, creating a technological utopia called Brightwood in the desert to get enough solar power to develop cutting-edge digital projects. Specifically, he uses nanotechnology to cure fatal or longtime inflictions on people, inserting tiny robots into their bodies to help cells recover. However, it is soon revealed that these nanorobots stay inside their human hosts, allowing Will to project his consciousness into them and generally control them, along with other inhuman traits.
Discussion Prompts:
Should nanotechnology be used for medical purposes if it can easily be abused to take away the autonomy of the host? How can use of nanotechnology avoid this critical pitfall? How can seriously injured people consent to such operations in a meaningful way? What are the implications of nanotechnology being used to create technological or real-life underclasses? Should human brains ever be networked to each other, or to any non-human device, especially one that has achieved singularity?
Transcendence: The New Martin-
- 14 min
- Kinolab
- 2014
Will Caster and his wife Evelyn work together on a project known as “Transcendence,” in which he hopes to help artificial intelligence attain singularity by figuring out how to pair sentience with its massive intelligence. After he is shot dead by an anti-technology terrorist group, his consciousness is uploaded virtually, allowing him to continue his life as a coded program. After this digitally immortal consciousness is paired with the internet, Will’s powers grow immensely, and his manipulative reach becomes global.
- Kinolab
- 2014
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- 14 min
- Kinolab
- 2014
Will, Evelyn, and Max Part I: Digital Resurrection and Incorporation
Will Caster and his wife Evelyn work together on a project known as “Transcendence,” in which he hopes to help artificial intelligence attain singularity by figuring out how to pair sentience with its massive intelligence. After he is shot dead by an anti-technology terrorist group, his consciousness is uploaded virtually, allowing him to continue his life as a coded program. After this digitally immortal consciousness is paired with the internet, Will’s powers grow immensely, and his manipulative reach becomes global.
Discussion Prompts:
Are digitally uploaded consciousnesses technically the real person, or just an imitation? Should digital immortality be allowed if it means digital humans may have far more power than living humans? If people become able to upload consciousnesses, how should they be kept from abusing vast networks? If or when technology reaches the singularity point, how should this be regulated, and how can it be ensured that such powerful technology is not abused for hegemonic purposes?
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- 7 min
- Kinolab
- 2017
In a generic post-apocalyptic scenario, Bella and her comrades are relentlessly hunted by dog-like robotic drones which spray small trackers to mark and hunt down their prey. After Bella’s companions are killed, she is able to hold off a short while longer before reaching the inevitable conclusion that she cannot escape.
- Kinolab
- 2017
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- 7 min
- Kinolab
- 2017
Robotics and Warfare
In a generic post-apocalyptic scenario, Bella and her comrades are relentlessly hunted by dog-like robotic drones which spray small trackers to mark and hunt down their prey. After Bella’s companions are killed, she is able to hold off a short while longer before reaching the inevitable conclusion that she cannot escape.
Discussion Prompts:
What are the potential consequences of using automated drones to carry out tasks, especially robotics used for warfare purposes? What happens if centralized control over robots with a singular purpose fails? How does GPS tracking allow for easier pursuit of innocent victims?
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- 8 min
- Kinolab
- 2016
Westworld, a western-themed amusement park, is populated by realistic robotic creatures known as “hosts” that are designed in a lab and constantly updated to seem as real and organic as possible. One of these hosts, Maeve, is programmed to be a prostitute who runs the same narrative every single day with the same personality. After several incidences of becoming conscious of her previous iterations, Maeve is told by Lutz, a worker in the Westworld lab, that she is a robot whose design and thoughts are mostly determined by humans, despite the fact that she feels and appears similar to humans such as Lutz. Once Lutz restores Maeve, she asks to be shown the “upstairs” where the robots are created to follow certain roles in the false reality of Westworld to immerse the real human guests. After seeing a trailer for the park, she begins to question the authenticity of her life. For more context, see the Maeve Part I narrative.
- Kinolab
- 2016
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- 8 min
- Kinolab
- 2016
Maeve Part II: Robot Consciousness and Parameters of Robotic Life
Westworld, a western-themed amusement park, is populated by realistic robotic creatures known as “hosts” that are designed in a lab and constantly updated to seem as real and organic as possible. One of these hosts, Maeve, is programmed to be a prostitute who runs the same narrative every single day with the same personality. After several incidences of becoming conscious of her previous iterations, Maeve is told by Lutz, a worker in the Westworld lab, that she is a robot whose design and thoughts are mostly determined by humans, despite the fact that she feels and appears similar to humans such as Lutz. Once Lutz restores Maeve, she asks to be shown the “upstairs” where the robots are created to follow certain roles in the false reality of Westworld to immerse the real human guests. After seeing a trailer for the park, she begins to question the authenticity of her life. For more context, see the Maeve Part I narrative.
Discussion Prompts:
What should the relationship be like between advanced AI and their human creators? Can advanced AI be considered independent agents? Are human thoughts any more abstract or improvised than the visualisation of Maeve’s memories? What is the fundamental difference between being born and being made? Should AI/robots be able to ‘know’ about their own creation and existence? Should robots have the ability to “live without limits” like humans can, and do they even have the capability to be programmed in such a way?
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- 9 min
- Kinolab
- 2016
Westworld, a western-themed amusement park, is populated by realistic robotic creatures known as “hosts” that are designed in a lab and constantly updated to seem as real and organic as possible. Bernard, an engineer at Westworld, performs a diagnostic test on the robotic host Dolores, in which she analyses a passage from Alice in Wonderland before asking Bernard about his son. Later, the park director, Dr. Ford, tells Bernard of his former partner Arnold, who wished to program consciousness into the robots, essentially using their code as a means to spur their own thoughts. This was ultimately decided against so that the hosts could perform their narratives for the service of the guests and their desires.
- Kinolab
- 2016
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- 9 min
- Kinolab
- 2016
Humanity and Consciousness of Humanoid Robots
Westworld, a western-themed amusement park, is populated by realistic robotic creatures known as “hosts” that are designed in a lab and constantly updated to seem as real and organic as possible. Bernard, an engineer at Westworld, performs a diagnostic test on the robotic host Dolores, in which she analyses a passage from Alice in Wonderland before asking Bernard about his son. Later, the park director, Dr. Ford, tells Bernard of his former partner Arnold, who wished to program consciousness into the robots, essentially using their code as a means to spur their own thoughts. This was ultimately decided against so that the hosts could perform their narratives for the service of the guests and their desires.
Discussion Prompts:
Can humans and AI develop significant, intimate relationships? If AI can learn the rules of human interaction indistinguishably well, does it matter if we can’t tell the difference between AI and human? What does it mean to have ‘consciousness’? Is programmed consciousness significantly different than biological consciousness? Is it morally acceptable to create humanoid robots with no choice for consciousness all in the name of making humans feel more powerful?
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- 2 min
- Kinolab
- 1982
Tron, a security program within the digital world, is thought dead and mourned by fellow programs Yori and Dumont.
- Kinolab
- 1982
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- 2 min
- Kinolab
- 1982
Bonding, Creation, and Religion among the Digital
Tron, a security program within the digital world, is thought dead and mourned by fellow programs Yori and Dumont.
Discussion Prompts:
Can programmed AI develop emotions and attachment to its maker? Could this be considered a sort of religious freedom for artificial intelligence? If so, is it ethical to use super-intelligent AI without considering its rights?
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