I’d be lying if I said I’m not holding out hope for immortality. Modern science has, for the first time in human history, brought the goal to within reach. Whether that means being frozen until your body can be repaired, nanotech fixing DNA decay and biological problems in real time, uploading our consciousness into an artificial structure, or some bonkers yet unimagined technology, remains to be seen but the potential is there. At least Ray Kurzweil thinks so, and I’m inclined to side with him, whether because of a solid argument or wishful thinking, probably a combination of both.
“Transcendence” a new flick by Wally Pfister (cinematographer on “Inception” and the Dark Knight movies)and starring Jonny Depp explores just that idea.
Science fiction has the honored role of exploring these types of frontier ideas and asking what the possible consequences might be. I hope that Kurzweil is right and the singularity offers the sort of utopian world full of bio-mech trans-humans that he imagines. It sounds amazing.
But it might make for a relatively lame blockbuster.
It’s much more exciting to imagine what might go horribly wrong once human beings create intelligences grander than our own. What if we could create an artificial system with the calculatory and processing power of modern computing, and the intelligence and awareness of a human being? What would that intelligence be capable of? Surely it could create even more sophisticated tech, incorporate that tech into itself and continue the process indefinitely.
That’s the idea, infinite intelligence, infinite technology, eternal life, all at the whim of an aware personality. What if it wasn’t benevolent?
We’ve seen movies and read stories like this before. Hell, Michael Chrichton made an entire career out of wondering how we could horribly screw ourselves with our own curiosity and ambition.
“Yeah, yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could that they didn’t stop to think if they should.”
“Jurassic Park,” “The Matrix,” “Terminator,” they all ask the question- ‘If we do this, what could go horribly wrong?’ and usually, it’s a lot!
“Lawnmower Man” explored the idea of humanity enhanced by technology and did it will enough that it scared the pants off an adolescent me (some say those pants are still running). Perhaps it’s time to revisit this idea. It looms ahead of us now, the day we’ll have to deal with this problem, and while movies don’t usually solve world problems, it wouldn’t hurt us to start thinking about it.
“Transcendence” hits theaters April 17, 2014 and hopefully hits reality shortly thereafter.
I can’t wait to become a cyborg.