Genesis, part un...

Sheila(on the phone): So Tim, what about that new thai restaurant at Columbus? Wanna head there this evening?

Tim: Tonight? Well ya, I've been wanting to go there for...

Tim is interrupted.

Cathy: Tim, I thought we'd go for a movie tonight! Its the premier of 'Sex and the City'! We could...
Tim: Cathy cmon, we can do that later...

(Her voice turning ever so whiney)
Cathy: WHyyyyyyyy, lets go for the movie! I've been planning this for...

Sheila sighs.

Tim: I cannot handle tis right now! Cathy will you please 'SHUT UP'!
Cathy goes cold and motionless.

Sheila: Cmon Tim, why do you treat her that way?
Tim: She's just so whiny and girly!

Sheila: But isn't that what you wanted? Why do you treat her that way?
Tim: Sheila, whats the damn difference? She's a machine!

Sheila: Tim!

No, Tim was not speaking metaphorically. Its the year 2157. Skin jobs, or 'live machines' now 'live' amongst us. Anyone who wishes to 'own' one has to pass a licensing exam. It entails going through a three week 'live machine user and ethics course' called Genesis. It trains people with respect to dealing with live machines; what can be said to them, what should NOT be said to them, how should they be treated, how to deal with a hostile or malfunctioning live machine - just some of the reading and learning material given to prospective live machine owners at Genesis. Once they passed the exam, they were free to buy live machines, ones that would be customized to their needs. One could not only decide the sex and age of the live machine, but also its characteristics. These characteristics could also be modified later, for a price of course. Upgrades or changegrades. One needs to be atleast 18, to be able to write the Genesis exam.

Long before the new Battlestar Galactica, ever since the Matrix, I had imagined Tim to be having such conversations. Its only a matter of time now. That time could be 200 years or 500 years but nevertheless, it will happen. If it doesnt, the reasons would hardly be technological, perhaps political or philosophical, but not technological for sure. We have always wanted to defy nature and I don't see why we would do any different in this realm. Unfortunately, I might not be there to witness it, but I think this blog would be. (I trust Google!)

But what happens then? What are the issues we might encounter? I am not referring to machines taking over the world and such; I speak of the social ramifications of including them in our day to day lives. Perhaps we would stop wanting to hang out with real people. Real people are flacky, capricious, hard to deal with. Live machines provide almost the same deal, except they might agree with you. They could be switched off with keywords. Tim chose 'Shut Up'. Would goverments enforce rules to force 'human' social involement? Would it be considered dangerous and unlawful to spend more time with live machines than humans? It sounds too 'sci fi ish', but think about it. Why not?

What happens when a live machine commits a 'crime'? Would the owner be held responsible? Would the manufacturing company be held responsible? Or perhaps there would be a 'trial' or 'image download' to determine if the live machine committed the crime on someone's insistence. I think thats a huge can of worms and live machines would come with not just warranty but also 'risk factor'. Imagine QA for that!


Sheila, Tim and Amit at Wild Ginger (the new thai restaurant?)

Amit: This coconut curry is really tasty!
Tim: You should try the penang here...

(A poker faced Sheila, turning red)
Sheila: I am still bumbed about how you treated Cathy this morning. Did you learn nothing at Genesis??
Tim: We're still on that? Am I crazy here or is she not a machine anymore?? She'll be fine. She doesnt feel anything.

Amit: How can you say that?
Tim: What do you mean? She's programmed to say all those things. She doesnt feel pain or get hurt!

Amit: But she doesn't know that she cant! You could shut her off but if you're rude to her, I don't see how she would 'feel' any different from you and me.
Tim: This makes no sense. She has no mind.

Sheila: Amit is right. She is designed to have neurons, except they are not organic. Pain is a also simulated in her, just like any other emotion. And you are subjecting her to it. This is live machine rights violation!

I think the most interesting aspect of this technological marvel would be the eventual discussion and deliberation on live machine rights violation. The debate of whether or not they can 'feel'. And while strictly biologically, we might say no, perhaps there would be advocacy to change the very definition of 'feel'. Perhaps everything cannot really be compared to human biology. This debate might eventually lead us to abandon this luxury once and for all.

...to be continued

(p.s. She's a model at SVA; the closest to 'stoic' I could find...)

Labels...revisited

Identifiers? Barometers? A stranglehold? What purpose do labels serve exactly? Why is it that most people are obsessed or particular about labels? 'GF', 'husband', 'wife', 'date', 'fling', 'friend'...

Is it for security? Or perhaps, liberty; liberty to be able to indulge without fear...and conversely, could it be for protection; used in order to firmly "draw the line"? But does it also not restrict the possibilities? It does seem to typecast the relationship and force it to behave a certain way...a way that might sometimes be out of character. Does it not apply pressure on the relationship? Do labels really protect relationships from disintegration? Or are we just too afraid of a label-less relationship?

Shouldn't bonds between individuals be independent of labels? Or is it that we want to predetermine the behaviors of the many labels that one wishes in life and then find people to slot them into each? There might be certain merits to it too but what is the trade off? Are we losing more than we stand to gain?

What about children? They know not about labels. Do they not feel a need for security, protection, etc? How do they get by without labels? When a child calls out "maa", is s/he really looking for a "mother" or is it looking for that particular unique person who makes him/er feel secure? Do they not feel all the emotions we do? I wonder how they feel when they are in "love" how unadulterated! They "feel" at the lowest most basic level. Perhaps they not know what might hurt them, yet would they feel more alive and free? Why can't we be like that??

(p.s. i wish i could find this couple and give them this snap...fortuitously, i happened to be sitting behind them a few yards, and my telephoto was able to freeze a beautiful moment!)

Fact is stranger than Fiction?

Quite the cliché.

But could it be true? Could the labrynth of life suddenly expose us to events we thought could only happen in a badly written script? Are we all victims of the "this cannot happen/happen to me" syndrome? Art is said to imitate life; it does have that creative licence to go that extra mile and while we might get deeply involved in it, we are still very aware that it is 'fiction'.

But what happens when life starts imitating art, incidentally...