In the end of the past century, the topic of cyborgs, cybernetics, and technological advancements for the human body and mind became a prominent idea that remains deeply seated in both scientific and novelist communities. Artificial intelligence (AI) seems to be Frankenstein’s monster of the new age. The topic itself interests me because I enjoy reading science fiction novels, such as Psychotrope by Lisa Smedman, and watch movies about AI, such as I, Robot by Alex Proyas and Upgrade by Leigh Whannell. There is also a top-rated video game called Detroit: Become Human that analyzes the relationship between humans and human-like AI. In my research, I would like to analyze the reasons behind this distrust.
There is a multitude of articles, videos, and forum topics that discuss moral and ethical dilemmas linked with the existence of a sentient cybernetic being. The article “A beginner’s guide to the AI Apocalypse: Killer robots” by Tristan Greene covers popular scenarios and discusses how androids with superhuman abilities are unlikely to ever exist as killing machines (Greene, 2018).
The second article, “14 streaming sci-fi movies about evil AI on Netflix, prime, and more” by Dan Auty, reveals archetypes of evil AIs (Auty, 2020). The last article by Brian Wallace is called “Artificial intelligence and science fiction: A swapped reality” and analyzes how modern-day AIs aid scientists and how they differ from what people often think of them (Wallace, 2019). These sources provide significant insight into the exigence of AIs as monstrosities.
There are several discourse communities linked with this topic. They include cyberneticists, science fiction novelists, programmers, and people who are interested in AI as a hobby. The existence of an actively developing community of creators who do not only fantasize about this topic but also attempt to bring it to life makes this research double-sided. While one side actively pursuits the creation of such an entity, others often discuss what harm can come from this endeavor.
References
Auty, D. (2020). 14 streaming sci-fi movies about evil AI on Netflix, prime, and more. GameSpot. Web.
Greene, T. (2020). A beginner’s guide to the AI Apocalypse: Killer robots. TNW | Neural. Web.
Wallace, B. (2019). Artificial intelligence and science fiction: A swapped reality. Dumb Little Man. Web.