Beep Beep Boop I Am A Robot
I’ve been watching two programmes recently about robots and specifically about the artificial intelligence of
robots: Humans on Channel 4 and Westworld
on HBO. 
Both are fascinating in their own ways and touch upon the nature of artificial intelligence and what happens when this intelligence is so good that it can mimic real life and real feeling.
I started watching the first season of Humans when it aired last year on Channel 4 and got into it very quickly. It has a slow pacing to start and relies on a lot of subtle clues that are delivered beautifully by the cast. Subtle facial gestures and looks to the other cast members. This isn’t surprising really when you learn from the credits that it is based on a Swedish TV show called Real Humans. The Scandies love that sort of thing!! The second season started recently and I have been impressed with it so far.
Humans is set in near future where robots, or synthetics, are used as a form of cheap and reliable labour. For example the main character is a housemaid / nanny. The twist is that the creator of the first synthetics made a few of them develop consciousness. Slowly they begin to develop consciousness and get to grips with who they are as they struggle with their purpose. I like the show because it brings up some interesting relationships between the human characters and the synthetics. Season two has started recently and continues with this theme. This time they are focusing more heavily not only on the main family from the first season but also the role of conscious synthetics in the wider world. For example if they can prove themselves to be conscious should they be afforded human rights? Interesting.
Westworld is a very similar but also a very different show. Some of the main questions that Humans struggle with are also played out in Westworld, only is full Hollywood Technicolor©. I have vague recollections of watching the 1973 film with Yul Baldy Brynner but don’t remember it too well to have this show spoiled. So far the premise is that a game park is available for high paying guests to live out their wildest dreams in a safe totally immersive world where nothing can harm them. Anything that they can think of…….. anything…….. can be done safely to the robots, or hosts.
The first few episodes shows this off as we are introduced to the main cast and how debased the park guests can get. As the episodes continue we quickly become aware that things aren’t what they seem. Some of the hosts are starting to show signs of consciousness and some are remembering acts that were done to them in the past. Couple this with the fact that we aren’t sure whether the humans outside the park are actually humans and we get a very strange but intriguing show.
This isn’t surprising when you think about who makes the show. Jonathan Nolan and JJ Abrams. It certainly has the feeling of watching Lost again. Although I hope it doesn’t drag on for 8 seasons where in the end we find out that it was that damned labrador’s dream.
