Throughout the film Transcendence,
Dr. Will Caster asks questions similar to those we’ve asked in class. In the beginning of the film while he is
alive as a human, he asks if there is a soul.
If so, where does the soul reside?
These questions incited anger in some because he was undermining the
Judeo-Christian idea of God. His killer
accuses Will of creating his own god; to which he replies “Isn’t that what man
has always done?” Will is murdered, and
there are attacks among A.I. labs across the country. His consciousness is uploaded into a system
to be stored and later becomes a 2.0 version of him. Later, Joseph Tagger (Morgan Freeman) asks
this projection of Will to prove that he’s aware. Rather than do so, Will asks Joseph to prove he is aware. It is human nature to question the realness, consciousness, or awareness of other existences, but perhaps we should question what we know or thoughtlessly assume about our own existence.
Artificial intelligence and technological advancements that
suggest different forms of human life contradict religious ideologies that
claim humans are made by a god. There
are debates over the moral conditions surrounding artificial intelligence, but some disagree with creating beings or intelligence to any extent altogether. In The Most Human
Human, computer program Deep Blue’s chess victory caused Garry Kasparov to
have self-doubt and question his human identity. The thought of artificial intelligence or computer programming outshining human thought and strategy scares many. For example, most religions embrace a traditional point of view that does not leave room for advancement; therefore, some religious people do not support the idea of manmade programs or programs being smarter than man.
When Holy texts were written, technology was rocks and spears. No one in history could have accurately predicted the technology we have today; we cannot entirely predict the technology that will come. Religion must have some flexibility because the world is ever-changing. There will continuously be controversy between technological advancements and religion, but ultimately, religion will have to adjust to rapidly changing technology, because further advancements are inevitable.
I agree with your point that religion has to adapt to advancements in technology. The same concept applies to biology, business, and many other fields where progress and growth play a role. The former methods, views, models, etc. are forced to either adapt or die. Although a development in artificial intelligence technology as great as being able to upload your consciousness to a system seems like a phenomenal way to beat death, it serves as a direct conflict with growth. The user may be able to continue to grow individually. However, the overall growth of the human race would be stunted. Without the previous generation either greatly adapting or dying, the newer generation does not have the opportunity to grow, develop, and make the changes they see necessary. A generation that pursues eternal life will maintain their power and control and ultimately rob the following generations of their ability to live, develop, and grow.
ReplyDeleteI also watched this movie and found that if was interesting hearing about how we create a god. I had never thought of it in that manner, but to try and solve the questions that we have with answers that are reachable. You are correct on the part about history not knowing what our lives of today would consist of. That is the same for us in today's time, we do not know what the future people in a 100 years will look like. I personally don't think that things like a human taking over the internet and creating a new body from nano mites is going to occur in the next decade or two, but there is no definite answer that any of us can say at this point and time
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