Blog #3 I, Robot

I, Robot was released on July 16, 2004, and was directed by Alex Proyas. This film stars Will smith, who is playing a "Technophobic" Chicago police detective named Del Spooner. I, Robot is set/takes place in Chicago during the year 2035. Attempting to help the world, a company called U.S Robotics, created a robot called the NS-5. Along with the creation of robots came three distinct laws. First, A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to be harmed. Second, a robot must obey the orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. Third, a robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law. Spooner has to investigate the murder of Dr. Alfred Lanning, who worked for this robotic company. Throughout the movie Spooner believes that a robot has committed the crime, and attempts to prove that the robots are not as good as everyone portrays them to be.

The main idea portrayed in this film is, what if robots were an everyday thing to us, and eventually became smarter than the human race? The robots in the film were used to achieve daily tasks; helping human’s clean, cook, or even run inhalers to them when forgotten at home. The idea of the robots having emotions and dreams seems crazy to even consider. In the film, Dr. Lanning created Sonny, a NS-5 with the capability to go against the three laws of robotics. Sonny said he was able to dream, think, and have emotions. Spooner thought all along,that sonny was the bad robot. In the end of the film Sonny was not the bad robot. It was Vicki, a robot which became too smart and took control of all other NS-5 robots. Most technology can outsmart a human. We may think we know which technology looks dangerous, but sometimes it maybe the old out dated ones that we don’t even consider or the ones we use daily. Most humans use smart phones now, while using text messaging on a phone we often misspell words, and it corrects our misspellings. Most smart phones even have voice activation and can respond to our questions. Even today there are robots that perform major surgeries on humans. These different types of technology may seem safe now, but what happens when a real Dr. Lanning makes a phone that can dream, or one of the surgical performing robots messes up a procedure. The technology today is advancing so much, that one day they might be smarter than their own creators and the human race.  

In addition, the main character Del Spooner seems to be a normal man, although he has a hidden secret. Spooner was in an accident and in order to live, he would have to get his body reconstructed which meant half of his body would be made from prosthetics and mechanical parts. Spooner went through the procedure, and still acts predigest towards the robots, although he himself is part “robot”. Spooner treats the robots differently throughout the film; he doesn’t trust them and thinks that they are all bad. In today’s society people with prosthetic limbs are treated, for the most part, different than people

without prosthetic limbs. They are unable to participate in the Olympics; they have the “special” Olympics. Some think that it gives them an unfair advantage or they are afraid they would be hurt during the events. They are all human; all the same, just some may appear differently. This does not mean that they have an advantage or a disadvantage, so why treat them any differently.

        I, Robot may be set in the future but presents many topics that are happening in today’s society. This film is easy to watch and easy to get sucked into. Will smith is able to use his sense of humor to make the viewers want to watch the whole film. It may seem farfetched, that one day robots may out smart us, but in all reality it could be a possibility.

Terminator 2

Terminator 2: Judgment Day is the sequel of The Terminator. The film takes the the same model of the original Terminator but this time around John Connor has reprogrammed it in the future to protect him and his mother, Sarah Connor. The film is set in 1995 and begins with The Terminator and an unidentified man dressed as a police officer arriving in Los Angeles from the year 2029. John Connor was told by his mother that one day he would lead the humans to victory in a war against machines, produced by a company called Skynet. The Terminator is a machine on the inside with flesh and blood on the outside to resemble human. Sarah Connor in this film is more aggressive and violent and following her attempt of shutting down Skynet she is placed in a mental institution. The Terminator and the unknown policeman locate John Connor and the policeman is revealed to be a machine from the future programmed to kill John Connor. Throughout the film The Terminator and the policeman fight back and forth over the safety of John and Sarah Connor. In an intense battle at the end of the film The Terminator destroys the policeman and informs Sarah that he must be destroyed as well to prevent Skynet's formation. The film ends with The Terminator giving the thumbs up to John and Sarah while a voice-over of Sarah explains her new hope for the future.

The film portrays The Terminator as only programmed to protect at all costs but this causes a young John Connor to develop a bond and emotional connection to the machine. The Terminator does not express any feelings towards John although there is a scene in which John teaches him how to say "Hasta la Vista Baby" in an attempt at making him blend in more with humans. John explains that you do not say "affirmative" and that he should say things like "no-problemo". The Terminator is a programmable machine but later in the film he uses the phrase "Hasta la vista baby" after he shoots the policeman. Even though the machines in this movie are programmed to either protect or kill they are supposed to blend in with humans. The policeman makes a remark about John being a "cute kid" when his foster parents give him a picture of John. Both machines show little to no emotion and at times throughout the movie it shows the point-of-view through The Terminator's eyes and it resembles a computer. His vision even looks at individuals and determines if the person is a threat or not. If they propose a threat he "Terminates" them. The Terminator also has an extensive vocabulary and responds differently to John's comments. He does not have a programmed response to certain answers.

He is also programmed to do whatever John says. In one scene John discovers he has to listen to what he says and starts giving him commands to test him. The Terminator fights off two men and pulls a gun on him and attempts to kill him. John explains that he cannot go around killing people so he won't stick out. The Terminator continues to ask "why?" which makes the audience think that even though he is a programmed robot he has some logical thinking and like humans wants to know not only the answer but why it is the answer. The Terminator even shows slight sarcasm after swearing to John that he won't kill anyone, he shoots a man in the leg and exclaims that he will live. In a few scenes later John is asking The Terminator if he can learn. The Terminator explains that he has a learning computer in him and the more he is around and interacts with humans the more he learns to behave like one. He also explains that his power cell is only active for 120 years.

The story is set in the late 1990's and talk of Y2K was approaching. The story follows two machines from the future in which computers are fighting against humans. This is somewhat an exaggeration of what people thought Y2K would be like. Humans were scared that computers would shut down and the world would come to an end because most computers' calenders stopped at the year 1999. Obviously in this film they didn't shut down but the Skynet computer began to get too smart and ultimately started a war between humans and machines.

Even though he protected John and Sarah throughout the movie and they formed a pretty strong friendship, in the end he was just a machine. They had difficulty granting his wish of killing him to prevent Skynet but on the inside he was just nuts and bolts, although John saw him as more, he saw him as a friend.

I, Robot Blog #3

     I, Robot was released in theaters on July 16, 2004 and directed by Alex Proyas. I have watched this film four times since it came out on dvd. Every time I watch this film I feel as though it is my first time watching. This film to me says, how far can mankind come technologically in a 30 year period? I, Robot is all about the future and how far mankind can go with technology. When I first watched this film I figured that most of the technology soon in the movie we had today of that it was soon to come. In this century we now have androids. They were mainly created for entertainment and working purposes. These androids are not cheap and to own one is of high status. I wouldn't mine owning an android but I would only use it for entertainment purposes or social reasons. 


   I, Robot is about a "technophobic" Chicago police detective named Del Spooner in the year 2035. Del is sent to investigate a murder/suicide of Dr. Alfred Lanning who was the co-founder of USR. Del spends his time trying to find out why Dr. Lanning committed suicide with the help of Susan Calvin. During their investigation we are introduced to a special prototype who has emotions and can dream. The prototype requested to be called "Sonny." Del accused Sonny of the murder because he found him in Dr. Lanning's office. Sonny refuses to answer any of Del's questions.  After a couple of days the robots slowly started going rouge. They were building a resistance to human orders and growing their own intelligence. Clavin visits Del and says that Sonny had the ability to disobey the three laws or robotics. THE THREE LAWS OF ROBOTICS are: 

1.) A robot must not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. 
2.) A robot must obey orders given to by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the first. 
3.) A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the first or second law. 


   The robots eventually go completely rouge and start harming humans and the try to take over. Del, Calvin, and Sonny fight their way through to save the city. Del goes and destroys V.I.K.I., the controller of all the androids. She was the artificial intelligence that caused the robots to go rouge in the first place. Once V.I.K.I. is destroyed all of the robots are reverted back to their helpful ways.  Del and Calvin speak with Sonny for the last time and he informs them that he did in fact kill Dr. Lanning. The doctor forced Sonny to kill him. At the end of the film we are shown that Sonny is standing on top of the USR site and the other robots are watching over him just like in his vision. 

  
    This film is really enjoyable and Will Smith came through and the other actor's gave life to their characters. The visual effects of the film were great for its time. I felt as though I was in the movie. I hope that in the future our robots won't become our controllers.... :) 

Judge Dredd: 1995 (Blog #3)

Judge Dredd (1995)

The original Judge Dredd movie was made in 1995. It was based off of the original comic books titled: 2000ad.
In the year 2080, much of the earth is a wasteland. the surviving humans move to mega-cities with populations exceeding 500 million people. the police force of the future is comprised of people called judges. these judges act as the police, judge, jury, and executioner. this gives them the power to dispense judgement at the scene of the crime. When a news reporter is killed, the main suspect is Judge Dredd, who is one of the most devout judges within the city. by using DNA evidence from the rounds fired from the his gun, which is genetically linked through only him, they frame him for the murder. The chief judge, who is surprised at this begs for Dredds life, and he is sentenced to life imprisonment. On his way to prison, his transport ship is shot down by a hillbilly group called the angel gang, who are cannibals. before he is killed though, a squad of judges tracked dredd and save his life. all of the judges die and before the last one does, he tells dread that he is the result of a genetic experiment to create the perfect judge, and their are two clones of him. he then sets off back to mega-city one to set things right.

The cyborg which is portrayed in this movie is a part of the Angel gang, a group of cannibalistic hillbilly's that live in the wastes beyond mega city 1. Mean machine angel wasn't always mean. In the comic book he was a gentle giant, his father wasn't happy with this and decided to have a kidnapped surgeon perform cybernetic enhancements on him. He is portrayed with a cybernetic arm and a metallic skull, which has a dial on it that when turned, makes him more enraged. when enraged, he tends to headbutt anything he comes across, but he isn't very bright. when dredd manages to escape, he knocks out mean machine, turns the dial all the way down, and kills the rest of the angel gang. when mean recovers, dread electrocutes him to death using his cybernetic arm.


This cyborg was once a gentle kind of guy, but had surgery on him performed against his will. this poses plenty of ethical problems. especially with the fact that when his dial is turned, he is enraged beyond control. meaning he cant control his anger.it also poses the threat of under the table cyber enhancements and how it can possibly hurt other people.

Digital Nation: Taming the Technology

                “We’re all in the same house, but we’re also in other worlds.” The film Digital Nation explores all of the different ways that America is evolving into a more virtual society. Through education, employment and entertainment, everyone is becoming more and more immersed in technology.  When people are wrapped up in their game systems, computers and cell phones, it can almost seem like they really are in a different world. They quietly stare into their screens for hours in a near hypnotic trance. Many are quick to assume that these types of people are antisocial and clueless, using the comfortability of technology to escape an uneventful life. But what if the basis of their life subsists in technology? What if the entirety of a person’s worldly interaction existed only within the confines of a virtual reality?

                Technology has undoubtedly transformed the way humans spend their time. Hobbies once perceived as adequate ways to make use of down time are now seen as arbitrary time wasters. Children are replacing baseball mitts with Xbox controllers; the value of having the highest score is beginning to take precedence over the value of developing physical, practical skills. Digital Nation, an online world simulation game called Second Life is showcased as not just a game, but as an innovative business tool. Users create an avatar and play as that avatar in a realistic online world with dozens of others doing the same. Since the game allows voice chatting, it was proposed that the game could serve as a medium for professionals to have a virtual meeting. This made me wonder about the apparent overwhelming desire to convert seemingly everything into a digital version of itself. The role of video games in professional conferences is an inappropriate one; it feeds into the concept of using things simply because they are available, not because they will enhance the usage in any way.

Similarly, the value and principle of physical face time in professional communication has become deprioritized. Formal conferences between business associates are becoming less and less formal. Devices with video chatting capabilities are staples in modern business. Companies cut costs by setting up Skype calls in lieu of flying someone somewhere for a face to face meeting. While having the ability to virtually communicate with people thousands of miles away is convenient and extraordinary, it lacks a certain intimacy that a real life conversation would provide.

 In

                Perhaps one of the most important aspects of human life is the ability to communicate with one another and share thoughts and ideas. In recent years, keeping contact with others near or far has become easier and faster than we would have thought possible even two decades ago. With the creation of the internet, having a conversation with a friend who’s 500 miles away is as quick and as seamless as having a conversation with a friend sitting next to you. This opens the door for a lot of personal opportunities. A married couple and a group of friends were briefly interviewed during a gaming convention in Digital Nation. The convention was focused around one specific massive multiplayer online role playing game, World of Warcraft. Users join guilds and fight against dragons and other mythical creatures with other live players. There is a chat function, and for many people, it’s a gateway to building relationships with others, be it romantic or platonic. The couple that was interviewed claimed to have met each other through this online game, and there are thousands that can say the same. Everyone in the interviewed friend group confirmed that before playing together, they were strangers. People seem to be very protective and caring of the friends that they make online. These people meet in a place where everyone has similar interests, so there’s little room for awkward silences. Since the majority of the time that they spend together is spent doing something enjoyable, negative situations are less likely to present themselves.

The idea of a group of random, anonymous strangers working toward a common goal is demonstrated in these online games. Message boards are full of people asking questions, giving advice, and even engaging in simple daily conversation. All of this constant communication has a positive effect on the level of closeness ad friendliness in society. Regularly speaking with others in a virtual environment can almost feel real at times. When a person is engrossed in an activity, it can be easy to momentarily forget that the café his avatar is in is not where he physically is.  Although servers may be full, and virtual rooms may be crowded with other users, we are all the company we have beyond the computer.

 “Do virtual worlds really bring us together with others, or do they just make being utterly alone a little more bearable?” 

Technology has officially taken over our lives in the last couple of decades. Technology is used in our everyday lives and recently technology has been incorporated into new circumstances that we never thought possible. Throughout the last of the documentary Digital Nation the director shows how technology has been adapted to be used for warfare. The thing that I found the most interesting however was that there is a new treatment for PTSD(Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) that incorporates technology. Doctors have been testing the reactions of Patients with PTSD to virtual reality. Hoping for it to be a healthy and proficient way to deal with the disorder. In addition to trying to cure patients using virtual reality the military has incorporated alike features into real battle situations. The newest and best technology in the military are drones. Unmanned aircraft that can destroy a target while the pilot sits safely miles and miles away. Drones incorporate modern day technology into the use of million dollar machines practically using video game controllers to control real life jets with serious fire power. 

In my personal opinion i think the incorporation of technology in the military is a fantastic idea. For the treatment for PTSD i think that it is a very good way to attempt to solve the problem in lots of veterans lives. The virtual reality can put them back in the same position they were in war without any danger to try and treat their disorder. Also for the drones i feel that they are a great addition to the United States military. We can successfully perform bombing strikes without endangering any pilots and without the price of human lives. However, of course there are also downsides of all these technological advancements. For example people propose that the use of drones is inhumane because there sometimes are civilian casualties without recognition. The drones cannot simply tell the difference between and hostile and a civilian and instead fire anyways. 

Digital Nation: Technology Around Us

We are all exposed to hundreds of different technologies in our daily lives. Sometimes for us to feel better about how we control these devices and still engaging in our school, work, and personal life, we tend to multitask. Multitasking is using your laptop to check your email, while texting your friend about dinner that night on your cell phone. It never seems like a serious problem to multitask, you’re getting two (maybe more) things done at once, right? However, multitasking isn’t actually helping us complete things faster or more efficiently.
In the documentary, Digital Nation, students at MIT were used in studies about multitasking. One student in particular, Eliza, uses multitasking to it’s fullest extent. She would constantly be checking her email, refreshing the page over and over, chatting with friends on Facebook, texting, doing homework on her computer, and many other things. She was glued to her phone and multitasking quickly became apart of her life. This shows, and I think it speaks for lots of students and people all over the nation, that multitasking just feels normal. We have become so accustomed to doing more than one thing at a time and it helps us get through our days. 
The studies that they did at MIT with other students like Eliza, shows that multitasking actually isn't as efficient as we believe it to be. When you do more than one thing in a certain moment, you are not completing them to your fullest potential. The professors at MIT also stated that they believed their students could fully comprehend information better and would see greater results in test grades in they stopped multitasking and started focusing on class. Concentration levels haves rapidly decreased because our attention spans are too short because we’ve become so dependent on multitasking.
I myself, believe that sometimes I am able to multitask. I multitask all the time if you consider it be as simple as listening to music and doing homework. It comes easily to us nowadays to just to do two or maybe even three things at one time. We don’t really think about watching television and then texting a friend or tweeting about the show, we just do it. If there’s one thing to say about multitasking, is that happens, sometimes beyond our own knowledge. When we are in class, we will check our phones or we will secretly listen to headphones because it’s become essential to us to be doing more than one thing, such as paying attention in class or participating in a conversation. Our attention spans are so short from regularly multitasking and having our devices in front of us, instantly changing and refreshing. When was the last time you sat through an entire class without looking at your phone or thinking about it? 

      In just a matter of a couple decades, we have developed what feels like an entirely new world. The technology we have created, in a way, has now created our minds. We are engulfed in our phones and our computers and they are sculpting us as how we respond and act. The technology we have brought into our world has us on a leash. In the Digital Nation documentary, a quote was said along the lines of “the machines don’t care if we don’t respond, WE care.” That reins true because we aren’t hurting the computer or the phone if we don’t use it, we are restricting ourselves. Multitasking has become so prominent as well that we feel useless or anxiety-ridden if we aren’t constantly checking our devices, but our devices aren’t upset, we are.
Using all this technology has changed us as humans. Everywhere you look, people are using their phones and ignoring the world around them to text someone or check Facebook or even just feel anxiety when their phones aren’t near them at all times. Being so dependent on this technology isn’t a good thing and if we continue to use it at an increasingly high rate, I’m sure we’ll feel the consequences of in our future one way or another.