Be Right Back

In the Black Mirror episode "Be Right Back", the controversy of androids with built-in artificial intelligence is examined as it may be an issue in the near future. The episode revolves around Martha, whose boyfriend, Ash, has passed away in an accident. As she is grieving a friend of hers recommends signing up for a service to "assist" with the process. This service is an artificial intelligence that goes through the social media and text messages of a deceased person and learns their mannerisms in an attempt to imitate that person as if he or she was still alive. Martha is hesitant at first, but when she learns that she is pregnant, she gives in and begins to talk with the artificial intelligence. She then upgrades the service from just a voice on a phone to an android that resembles Ash almost perfectly. This is where her discomfort with the service begins because this is when the android begins to not imitate Ash very well; he responds in ways Ash wouldn't. For example when Martha argues with the android, the android does not argue back as Ash would. This proves that the android simply does not have the same emotional qualities as a real person does. The android only had a glimpse into Ash's personality through social media, but does not have information to the personal details of Ash, like the mole on his shoulder. The android can only come close to resembling a human being but cannot be a human being as the android also depended its actions and emotions on it's administrator, Martha. In the end, Martha lives life while hiding the android in the attic since she was not able to grieve properly.