The Hindrance of Artificial Intelligence

In the episode of Black Mirrors titled "Be Right Back," it brings to light the invention of artificial intelligence. In a futuristic world, yet a very plausible future, a woman, Martha, loses her boyfriend, Ash, to a fatal car accident. At the funeral, Martha learns from a friend that she can still communicate with Ash even though he is dead. She eventually finds out that she is pregnant and decides to take part in the program to communicate with Ash. Martha progresses to the next level of the program which, in a way, brings Ash back to life through the embodiment of all digital traces left of him into a robot that looks like him.

This image serves as an example of the robots' resemblance to humanity.

           I believe that the first mistake made in the creation of the robot that mirrored Ash's appearance and calculates his words/actions is the assumption that you can recreate a person based solely on their digital footprint. We, as humans, tend to not be exactly like our social media selves. There was a strong possibility that the Ash that was created from the digital footprint could, in essence, not have been Ash at all. Martha could have gotten a completely different person than she intended. She could have found herself in a home alone with creation that was entirely foreign to her.

           I also think that artificial intelligence is a very dangerous thing. I don't find it dangerous because it's a human look-alike that's machine, or because of the strength the robot can be given, or because of its wide-ranged ability to gather information. The part that is alarming to me is a creation that reflects the image of a human that is capable of portraying emotions at the control of its own will. The manipulation of emotions in that sense makes it easy to manipulate born humans, which is dangerous if such robots are to interact with humans in the real world without their knowledge.

           In conclusion, I believe artificial intelligence is a revolutionary creation and represents an exponential development in how far humans have come with technology; however, it is dangerous and requires strict controlling to avoid corruption, misuse, and the manipulation of the human race as a whole.