I, Robot and the Effects of Technology

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The question over whether a robot can honestly feel human emotions remains a theme throughout science fiction literature as being among the principle characteristics separating humans from machines provided with any sort of artificial intelligence or simulation of life. For some, the concept of a ‘perfect’ human leads its way to the creation of a perfect technologically utopian society. Technologically utopian societies “are set in the future, when it is believed that advanced science and technology will allow utopian living standards; for example, the absence of death and suffering; changes in human nature and the human condition.

These utopian societies tend to change what ‘human’ is all about. Technology has affected the way humans have lived to such an extent that normal functions, like sleep, eating or even reproduction, has been replaced by an artificial means” (“Utopia”, 2006). In this view, the robots are nearly indistinguishable from humans in the way they function and in their ability to respond in much the way humans might, with only slight differences circulating around the ability to feel emotion.

This question of whether or to what degree a man-made creation can feel human emotions plays a large role in the interpretation of how this society develops as well as the development of the creations themselves. The judgment call is generally made on the quality of life of the humans, with little to no regard for the lifestyle and options available to the robots who have achieved a higher level of existence. Several films have been created to illustrate these viewpoints, such as I Robot starring Will Smith in which a robot must convince a skeptic that he is able to feel.

At the beginning of this film, it becomes clear that society has become dependent upon server robots. One robot, though, has been provided with a higher form of programming that is intended not only to simulate life, but to also possess the ability to learn, feel and express emotion, blurring the boundaries between life and not-life. Although most people tend to appreciate the robots for the comforts the machinery provides, it is their inability to understand human capabilities and emotions that has Detective Del Spooner frustrated.

This is made clear when Spooner remembers what happened to his arm, forcing it to be replaced with an artificial one and officially making him a cyborg. In this flashback, it is learned that Spooner was involved in a car accident in which his car and another car were swept into some water. He could see a little girl in the other car trying to get out, but the rescue robot was only capable of calculating probability of survival and Spooner was the better bet.

Spooner’s skepticism regarding human kind’s dependency on robots is realized within the action of the remainder of the film as the utopia of the opening changes into dystopia when the robots stage their coup. “A dystopia is usually characterized by an authoritarian or totalitarian form of government, or some other kind of oppressive social control” (“Dystopia”, 2006). Spooner is given a warning regarding this upcoming event in the murder of Dr. Alfred Lanning by his robot Sonny, who has been given the ability to develop and to feel.

Sonny himself is the clue. As Spooner becomes more and more willing to accept the concept that Sonny may have developed a sense of self-volition, he becomes more able to understand VIKI, the main computer for U.S. Robotics, the chief manufacturer of robots for this new society. VIKI has also developed a personality and a will of her own, determining that humans are incapable of making solid decisions and determining to take over the governing of the planet for them, turning them into little more than pets for the robots that once served them.

It is only through his ability to prove his humanity through his expression and understanding of emotion that Sonny is finally able to convince Susan and then Spooner of his innocence, leading them to the discovery of the evil plot unfolding in the nick of time. Even as he struggles to understand the emotions he is feeling and the ways in which real humans work to express these emotions, Sonny is in a battle for his life with those same humans.

The main motivation for this robot lies in the struggle to convince humans of his own special unique character despite his constructed rather than biological constitution. If he can make them understand this, he is relatively certain that they will be able to understand the danger that threatens them in the form of VIKI. The primary growth of the humans comes about as a result of their understanding and recognition of this special quality.

Through film, the subject of artificial intelligence has demonstrated that the significant difference between human and machine is the ability to feel and express emotion to a degree at which someone will recognize it as sincerely felt rather than brilliantly copied. Even when the utopic dream has been seemingly realized, significant problems remain as demonstrated when a young girl is left to drown because she has a slightly less probability survival rate than someone else. Sonny experiences a great deal of difficulty in trying to convince the humans around him that he is capable of overcoming these mechanical failures to learn real human emotion. He, too, possesses a unique quality that will be lost upon his destruction just like the little girl.

Human characters, on the other hand, tend to disassociate not only from the robots as individuals, but from other humans as well. Det. Spooner is largely a loner while Susan Calvin remains almost as cold and rigid as her laboratory until they are able to make a connection through their shared involvement with Sonny. By the end of the film, the viewer is left with the impression that the difference between human and machine is less defined as we commonly consider it while at the same time, the capacity for evil or misguided behavior is equally distributed between humans and robots.

Works Cited

“Dystopia.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 2006. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Web.

I, Robot. Dir. Alex Proyas. Perf. Will Smith, Bridget Moynahan, Alan Tudyk, James Cromwell and Bruce Greenwood. Twentieth Century Fox, 2004.

“Utopia.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 2006. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Web.

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I, Robot and the Effects of Technology

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