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Arguing about Robots
Artificial intelligence is becoming a reality of the twenty-first century. More and more robots are being developed by artificial intelligence experts, for the sake of easing the life of human beings and contributing to technological advancements. The subject is also being discussed in the movies, in order to make the public aware of the changes the society would face due to the presence of artificially intelligent robots in the workforce. Ex Machina is one of such movies which depicts the development and testing of Ava, an artificially intelligent robot. The movie depicts the struggle of Ava to survive and become a part of the human world. Ava may have ensured her survival by killing her creator, however, she has not achieved human-like consciousness, as she does not refrain from manipulating others for her benefit.
Robots are becoming a part of the human society, however, most of the human beings are still concerned about the position, as well as the consciousness of the robots, as they think that robots would indulge in a war of survival with the human beings. The fear is not wrong because of the fact that artificially intelligent devices are already trying to gain the most important position in society and fighting for their status. One of the most important example in this regard is presented through the movie Ex Machina, in which Ava thinks it is unfair that she is controlled by someone else. It is evident from the following encounter between Ava and Caleb, “Caleb: [talking about ending the project] it’s not up to me... Ava: Why is it up to anyone? Do you have people who test you and might switch you off (Garland)?”
Human beings have developed the robot for their own benefits. However, it seems that the robots are trying to claim their right to human society. The robots think that they are equal and even superior to human beings due to their intelligence and they should not be controlled by human beings (Lee, 1). In the case of Ava, she manipulates Caleb against Nathan, in order to ensure that she lives according to her will and choice and not according to that of Nathan. She says to Caleb,
“Ava: Caleb, you're wrong. Caleb: Wrong about what? Ava: Nathan. Caleb: In what way? Ava: He isn't your friend. Caleb: Excuse me? I'm sorry, Ava, I don't understand. Ava: You shouldn't trust him. You shouldn't trust anything he says. (Garland)”
The manipulation of Ava to fulfill her purpose reveals the fact that artificial intelligence is capable of molding situations according to their benefits, which can lead them to control human beings as well. They do not have the consciousness like the human beings that they have to serve the orders of their superiors while staying loyal to them and ensuring their progress. The artificially intelligent devices just want to prove their superiority over the human being and want to experiment with their survival on their own, instead of being controlled by others. The concept of singularity states that the increase in the number of artificially intelligent devices hints the fact that they would be able to construct devices like themselves on their own, which would be a greater threat for the survival and dominant position of human beings in the society. Vinge has mentioned in his article,
“And it is very likely that IA is a much easier road to the achievement of super humanity than pure AI. In humans, the hardest development problems have already been solved. Building up from within ourselves ought to be easier than figuring out what we really are and then building machines that are all of that (Vinge, 9).”
The film also reveals the efforts and struggle of the artificially intelligent devices to now more and more about human beings. They are programmed in the way that they can use logic, reasoning, and formulas to solve the equations and reach the conclusions. However, they cannot explore human beings, just by looking at them and have to indulge in detailed conversations, in order to know more about them. Ava also wanted to learn more about Caleb, so that she could use the knowledge for her benefit. She said to Caleb
“Ava: Do you want to be my friend? Caleb: Of course. Ava: Will it be possible? Caleb: Why would it not be? Ava: Our conversations are one-sided. You ask circumspect questions and study my responses. Caleb: Yes. Ava: You learn about me and I learn nothing about you. That's not a foundation on which friendships are based. (Garland).”
The artificially intelligent devices do not have human consciousness and they are not able to achieve it because of the fact that they do not think about serving the purpose of their creation by helping the human being in their technological endeavors. They constantly try to get out of the control of human beings and live the lives they want, like human beings. They do not feel any sense of attachment or responsibility towards their creators, as the human beings feel towards their parents, and are ready to deceive or manipulate them any time, in order to become able to rule over them (Cadwalladr, 1).
Artificial intelligence is the reality of modern society, however, it is also a threat to the existence of humanity. The artificially intelligent devices do not have the consciousness like human beings and think they are entitled to the right of living their lives according to their will. They do not acknowledge the fact that they are entitled to serve the purpose of their existence, and just want to control the human society because they think that they are more intelligent and capable than human beings to manage and prosper the human society and world.
Works Cited
Cadwalladr, Carole. "Are the robots about to rise? Google’s new director of engineering thinks so." The Guardian 22 (2014).
Garland, Alex. Ex machina. Faber & Faber, 2015.
Lee, Kai-Fu. "The real threat of artificial intelligence." The New York Times 24 (2017).
Vinge, Vernor. "Technological singularity." VISION-21 Symposium sponsored by NASA Lewis Research Center and the Ohio Aerospace Institute. 1993.
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