This trailer for an upcoming movie, Transcendence, was unusual enough that it caught my attention a few days ago. Seeing that no one had yet posted this in the forum, here it is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCTen3-B8GU
In short, this movie is about how an AI researcher got fatally wounded by anti-tech extremists and uploaded his mind to save himself. This turns into a trigger for a hard singularity. The movie stars Johnny Depp and Morgan Freeman. And it is set to be released in April this year.
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Finally, a movie about the Singularity...
Thu, 2014-01-09 01:04
#1
Alasnuyo
Finally, a movie about the Singularity...
Thu, 2014-01-09 17:50
#2
lets adapt
Thanks for sharing this as I
Thanks for sharing this as I had no idea this even existed. I wonder if it will be more of a dialogue about what constitutes consciousness/self versus sci-fi horror and thinly veiled messages about 'the soul of man'. I think I can guess which.
Sat, 2014-01-11 18:33
#3
Steel Accord
Except for one thing
By the look of the trailer. It looks like a disaster movie.
How is transhumanism ever supposed to gain ground if every film made about the subject matter portrays it as dangerous and evil?!
—
Your passion is power. Focus it.
Your body is a tool. Hone it.
Transhummanity is a pantheon. Exalt it!
Tue, 2014-01-14 18:17
#4
Smokeskin
AI is potentially very
AI is potentially very dangerous and by most accounts the most serious existential threat facing humanity. If a movie like this can raise awareness about the risk, that's great.
Wed, 2014-01-15 02:48
#5
Patrick Northedgers
The movie is bad approach!
I will assume that everyone who read this thread has watched the trailer, thus - no spoiler tags when referring to the trailer.
Alasnuyo - movie looks promising as a movie, but it is hardly about a singularity-as-defines, ie. change in society that fundamentally changes it; one person uploading is not singularity; universal ability to upload (like in EP) would be.
Steel Accord - it looks like disaster movie and most likely is. This sells, because this is what people can undestand and what they fear. This was the same with H+ series, which I hoped would be a vision of transhuman future... only to be same old disaster stuff. [b]A movie or series about transhuman world would be incomprehensible to general public[/b], thus a poor investment.
Smokeskin - we are talking about 21st century reality, where technological and social progress is our only hope of surviving (aside depopulation, which is not really an option). Such movies - and portraying technology as evil in general - is causing people to fear progress, and cause them to treat any advancement towards transhumanity as "loss of humanity". They drive us towards Jovian Republic instead of Argonaut culture.
Long story short: this is another disaster movie, which I see as detrimential to social acceptance of transhumanism. I might change my mind when I see it, but this is my opinion based on the trailer.
—
"Normal" does not exist anymore. I consider it a good symptom, though.
Wed, 2014-01-15 03:18
#6
Smokeskin
Patrick Northedgers wrote:
I must say thay I have a VERY hard time seeing technological progress stopped. Who cares if people think that Ritalin undermines human dignity or whatever the neo-luddites are going on about these days? Are they stopping research? Stopping products going to market? No. The only thing I've seen that ever stopped anything even a bit was religion, and since christianity doesn't have any relevant dogma against anything but the the whole a-fetus-is-a-person thing, that's unlikely to be a problem.
On the other hand, there are very real concerns that there is a high risk that AI could wipe out humanity (really wiping us out, this is not some "ooh sea levels will rise 1 meter how will we cope" threat). As it is, there is a lot of interest in making smarter and faster computers and we have a good grasp of how we do that. Building Friendly AI however, few see it as any real need and there is hardly an outline of how to solve the problem.
Bottom line is - all of the god things about transhumanism are more or less going to take care of themselves. But getting people into an AI alarmost state, that's very much needed.
Sat, 2014-01-18 08:55
#7
Steel Accord
Agreement
I would say that "The Culture" and even Eclipse Phase itself are pretty good examples of at least attempting to depict narrative in a transhuman world.
Your totally right about it selling and people being only further driven toward a bio-con viewpoint. It reminds me of what the Nostalgia Critic once said.
"You ever think people may not know what they want?! That by feeding them the same crap, that's all they'll ever know, so they'll keep asking for the same crap?!"
Mainstream disaster movies, Call of Duty knockoffs, . . . . porn. They all have their place, but they're only bad when other art and the views it offers is off handedly dismissed.
—
Your passion is power. Focus it.
Your body is a tool. Hone it.
Transhummanity is a pantheon. Exalt it!