Artificial Intelligence, Religion, and Progress

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. 

Beyond the Normal or Physical Level

The idea of an artificial intelligence, AI, or singularity has always interested scientist. This is what the whole book of The Most Human, Human was about. In Transcendence at the beginning of the movie, Max says that "Technology collided with man".  This is the constant struggle that we find in movies such as Terminator where the technology and man have this war for who is in control, the creator or the created. What differs in this movie is that the creator is the created.

"Man has always tried to create a God" says Will Caster. This is thought of to be creating something that can help explain to us the un-explainable which we do not understand. This is a paradox. What we create only knows the sum of information that we know. If at this moment there is no person who is able to explain it, then how do we expect a program that is created by a person who does not know to know. What both the movies Her and Transcendence have in common is that they have artificial intelligence in them that has no strings on them. Samantha and Will are connected to the internet and have unlimited information that can be accessed all simultaneously.

A principle that i noticed in the film that is not stated is 'patience'. Doctor Evelyn does not have patience and is constantly trying to get things done to help her husband. Also, the extremist is impatient when demanding that Max upload the virus when he is incapable. This is a virtue that is not held by many in today's society it seems. We always want the newest thing right when it comes out and are willing to pay more even when the device that we have is working perfectly. Will, on the other hand, has patience. Even though he does not have a body, working with PINN, will creates new technology and helps people and know exactly when to let people in on the secret and when not to. He even allows a video of his healed person to be uploaded online when he has the capability to take it down.

Until the last part of the film I was tricked. It seemed like PINN was in control the whole time just using the voice and face of Will to get what it wanted. When asked by the Doctor, "Can you prove you're self aware"? Will responds "Can you?", which is the same response that PINN said when asked before Professor Will Caster died. This gave the illusion that Will was never in the picture. It is only later that we see that Will has always been the system and is accomplishing what his wife always wanted because his life's goal is complete.

People fear what they don't understand. This has always been the case throughout time and is a main reason for many conflicts that have occurred. Hopefully whatever intelligence that we create will be smart enough like Will and care about the world and our welfare.