- Joined
- Apr 24, 2022
- Messages
- 1,486
- Reaction score
- 4,277
- Pronouns
- She/Her
- Thread starter
- Staff
- #215
Do androids dream of electric sheep?
Or something like that. Have you ever watched the anime Ghost in the Shell? It’s one of my favorites for sure, among others like it, such as Nier:Automata. I have this strange fondness for anime and media that discuss the thin line between what constitutes humanity or machine, something I feel even Evangelion discusses to an intrinsic degree (more on the edge of what constitutes living, but I digress). I don’t want to start off too in the weeds here, but I want to emphasize why I think it’s important to try looking into media that really makes you think about what makes you a person regardless of if you’re flesh or carbon. (Sounds like I really should get to making that anime review blog…)
“Relatability to us” feels far too bold and broad a take, but I can’t deny there’s some sort of human empathy involved when we look at AI in media through a lens of comparison to ourselves. These beings are extensions of us, machines created to surpass us in all forms, yet falling just short enough that their imperfections are seen as a stronger blight than any human flaw.
Okay. Yeah. I’ll cut to the chase, lemme talk about Lobotomy Corporation.
You have probably seen a multitude of these characters over on my art blog, but given this is a Pokemon forum after all, I never really got into explaining myself with this series, and to be honest, it’s a whole ass iceberg, and I’m not even going to be scratching the surface of my history or degree of separation from this indie game as a whole.
If you’re perhaps a weirdo like me and can stomach some (light) gore, I strongly recommend checking out this SCP-inspired sim, and I’m not just saying that because I aided in the localization of it, I’m saying it because now that it is in a readable form, the message it carries is stronger than before. But I’m not going to get into that right now, right now I want to get into the portrayal of man versus machine that the game carries with as little spoilers as I can. Within the company, the player has 9 (deeply flawed) AI working underneath you, AI that culminate into boss battles that almost are more fittingly trials of atoning for the sins you, the player, unknowingly caused. Besides these AI is your much more perfect assistant, Angela, who, unlike the 9 beneath you, appears as the only machine in your workplace free of human flaws, and thus, the easiest to confide in, while also being the furthest familiar to you at the same time.
The difference here is that the Sephirah, as the 9 are called, have a semblance of humanity where Angela does not. Ironically, Angela is the sole AI constructed with imitating a human in mind, a particular person— more specifically, but still a concept she is far, far removed from. Angela is without flaws, Angela will never be her, Angela will never meet your expectations because she is a perfect machine.
You may walk away feeling you failed this AI ‘daughter’ you didn’t even know you had, and honestly, I think that may be the feeling of guilt you’re meant to have. Her suffering is just as real as the other Sephirah, even if she isn’t a construct made from the essence of humanity as they were, her desire to be human is less a desire for equal treatment and more just a desire to be heard and understood, something she would never receive so long as the corporate world saw her as a product. I don’t want this to sound like a long-winded take of “I like media where people realize robots are people too”, I want to get across I like media where what we perceive as human is tested with a macabre imitation, what does it take for us to see something as a plight equal to our own? People probably think the answer is simple, but I think not so much.
Machines can be manufactured, they can be rebuilt, their memory systems are much more permanent in a passage of time than our squishy organic brains, they can simply be backed up and reloaded. When you take some logical facts into account, would you be able to say their life is as precious as yours in a dire situation? Naturally I think it would be nice to see a future this is the case, but like Angela, we may be stuck in the ‘product’ phase due to these fail-safes. If things can be ‘lost’ does that mean they are more precious?
Droning shower thoughts lmao.
At any rate, I love chewing on media that challenges me, stuff that really makes me stew and feel a lot of emotions, even if they are not so great. I have a soft spot for those super niche OVA anime from the early 2000s that explore these ideas just enough to leave you thinking, but never have the chance or desire to give you the full picture.
Or you can watch something like Serial Experiments Lain and get a similar effect. I’m not one to force a round peg into a square hole. Whatever pogs your gourd or shakes your almonds.
Or something like that. Have you ever watched the anime Ghost in the Shell? It’s one of my favorites for sure, among others like it, such as Nier:Automata. I have this strange fondness for anime and media that discuss the thin line between what constitutes humanity or machine, something I feel even Evangelion discusses to an intrinsic degree (more on the edge of what constitutes living, but I digress). I don’t want to start off too in the weeds here, but I want to emphasize why I think it’s important to try looking into media that really makes you think about what makes you a person regardless of if you’re flesh or carbon. (Sounds like I really should get to making that anime review blog…)
“Relatability to us” feels far too bold and broad a take, but I can’t deny there’s some sort of human empathy involved when we look at AI in media through a lens of comparison to ourselves. These beings are extensions of us, machines created to surpass us in all forms, yet falling just short enough that their imperfections are seen as a stronger blight than any human flaw.
Okay. Yeah. I’ll cut to the chase, lemme talk about Lobotomy Corporation.
You have probably seen a multitude of these characters over on my art blog, but given this is a Pokemon forum after all, I never really got into explaining myself with this series, and to be honest, it’s a whole ass iceberg, and I’m not even going to be scratching the surface of my history or degree of separation from this indie game as a whole.
If you’re perhaps a weirdo like me and can stomach some (light) gore, I strongly recommend checking out this SCP-inspired sim, and I’m not just saying that because I aided in the localization of it, I’m saying it because now that it is in a readable form, the message it carries is stronger than before. But I’m not going to get into that right now, right now I want to get into the portrayal of man versus machine that the game carries with as little spoilers as I can. Within the company, the player has 9 (deeply flawed) AI working underneath you, AI that culminate into boss battles that almost are more fittingly trials of atoning for the sins you, the player, unknowingly caused. Besides these AI is your much more perfect assistant, Angela, who, unlike the 9 beneath you, appears as the only machine in your workplace free of human flaws, and thus, the easiest to confide in, while also being the furthest familiar to you at the same time.
The difference here is that the Sephirah, as the 9 are called, have a semblance of humanity where Angela does not. Ironically, Angela is the sole AI constructed with imitating a human in mind, a particular person— more specifically, but still a concept she is far, far removed from. Angela is without flaws, Angela will never be her, Angela will never meet your expectations because she is a perfect machine.
You may walk away feeling you failed this AI ‘daughter’ you didn’t even know you had, and honestly, I think that may be the feeling of guilt you’re meant to have. Her suffering is just as real as the other Sephirah, even if she isn’t a construct made from the essence of humanity as they were, her desire to be human is less a desire for equal treatment and more just a desire to be heard and understood, something she would never receive so long as the corporate world saw her as a product. I don’t want this to sound like a long-winded take of “I like media where people realize robots are people too”, I want to get across I like media where what we perceive as human is tested with a macabre imitation, what does it take for us to see something as a plight equal to our own? People probably think the answer is simple, but I think not so much.
Machines can be manufactured, they can be rebuilt, their memory systems are much more permanent in a passage of time than our squishy organic brains, they can simply be backed up and reloaded. When you take some logical facts into account, would you be able to say their life is as precious as yours in a dire situation? Naturally I think it would be nice to see a future this is the case, but like Angela, we may be stuck in the ‘product’ phase due to these fail-safes. If things can be ‘lost’ does that mean they are more precious?
Droning shower thoughts lmao.
At any rate, I love chewing on media that challenges me, stuff that really makes me stew and feel a lot of emotions, even if they are not so great. I have a soft spot for those super niche OVA anime from the early 2000s that explore these ideas just enough to leave you thinking, but never have the chance or desire to give you the full picture.
Or you can watch something like Serial Experiments Lain and get a similar effect. I’m not one to force a round peg into a square hole. Whatever pogs your gourd or shakes your almonds.