World of Tomorrow: Humanity in the OuternetMain Menu"We mustn't linger. It is easy to get lost in memories"- Looking at Archives in World of TomorrowAn intro to the director, and archive work in World of Tomorrow"I was very proud of my sadness because it means that I am more alive.": Humanity in the OuternetDefining Humanity in the Outernet"Now is the Envy of All the Dead" : Teaching Humanity in the Digital AgeElizabeth Connord04120b7260872020b5742615e3fd8ffd57272f8Tannis Weavere65961abb006529a8a8cb47ad858d29abf9a88bbAustin Rogersf6032d00a05cd49d2ba108fdc3cb4239144a3b2e
Robots Running from the Dark
12016-04-17T17:15:20-07:00Tannis Weavere65961abb006529a8a8cb47ad858d29abf9a88bb91441Screenshot from World of Tomorrowplain2016-04-17T17:15:20-07:00Tannis Weavere65961abb006529a8a8cb47ad858d29abf9a88bb
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12016-04-20T16:37:23-07:00Tannis Weavere65961abb006529a8a8cb47ad858d29abf9a88bbRobot Running for the DarkTannis Weaver2plain2016-04-20T16:42:57-07:00Tannis Weavere65961abb006529a8a8cb47ad858d29abf9a88bb
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1media/Screen Shot 2016-04-17 at 6.13.23 PM.png2016-04-15T19:16:21-07:00"I programmed them to fear death"38Exploring the Robot Experienceimage_header2016-04-24T16:39:23-07:00The robots on the moon in World of Tomorrow raise a lot of questions about humanity in the future that Emily III existed in. Emily programmed the robots to fear the dark to keep them in the sun. She programmed them to fear death. The fact that this fear could be programmed into a robot suggests that the machines in this film have some form of artificial intelligence (A.I.).
In the episode “Rude Bot Rise” from the podcast Flash Forward, Rose Eveleth defines and discusses the reality of conscious A.I. To begin, Eveleth talks to computer scientist Charles Isbell about the different definitions of A.I. The three different definitions that Isbell provides vary based on the groups of people discussing the concept. Damien Williams furthers the discussion of defining A.I. by bringing up the problematic use of the word "artificial." By using the word artificial, we automatically strip the possibility of humanity from technology that possesses that A.I. The robots on the moon, for example, are programmed to fear something without the consideration of the ethics of such an action. They are forced to leave in constant fear.
Most importantly, the A.I. that we see in media is not an accurate portrayal of what A.I. would be like in real life. Science fiction writer Ted Chiang discusses his concept of the spectrum of consciousness. As the technology evolved, A.I. would likely become more and more conscious. As the consciousness increased, people would have to start thinking more about how to ethically treat the A.I. Emily programs the robots to do what she required without considering the morality of forcing a conscious being to live in fear. The consciousness of the robots is further exhibited when they send depressed poems back to Earth. Fear and depression are emotions connected to humanity and people; however, in the world of World of Tomorrow, Emily rarely references her own emotions. At this point in the movie, Emily talks more about the emotions felt by the robots than her own.
The interaction between Emily and the robots illustrate the complicated humanity in the Outernet. Emily does not seem to feel emotions in the expected way. Emotions are often associated with humans and humanity. What does that mean for the existence of humanity in the Outernet.