Dave Myszewski
The science fiction genre has always been a beacon looked to for technological innovation and capability. More often than not it is the goal of the filmmaker or writer to tell a story rather than predict the future (with the exception of Arthur C. Clarke), but regardless of how “out there” a story might be, society and technology continuously pulls from science fiction to help mold the future. Cellular phones, for example, first appeared in the original Star Trek series of the 1960’s. Wireless technology was at the time nothing more than a pipe dream, but in today’s society a person is lost without a mobile phone. A common recurring theme among many science fiction films is artificial intelligence, either through computer technology or the cyborg. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968, Stanley Kubrick, Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, England) (1) and Blade Runner (Ridley Scott, The Ladd Company, Los Angeles, California) (2) provide a realistic view into the future of computer technology as a means to replace and simplify labor, but in the end threaten the superiority of the human.
2001: A Space Odyssey tells the story of an investigation into the mysterious discovery of a black monolith and its apparent focus on the Jupiter system. The shuttle crew, headed by Dave Bowman (Keir Dullea) and Frank Poole (Gary Lockwood), travel aboard the space shuttle Discovery to investigate the monolith and uncover its origin and intention. Aboard the Discovery is the super computer known as HAL-9000. Its job is to maintain the shuttle’s course and ensure the safety of the crew while maintaining the ship’s vitals. The HAL-9000 unit maintains a reputation of being the smartest computer currently in existence. HAL describes himself as being “fool proof and incapable of error.” He is demonstrably more intelligent than the crew, such as when he beats Frank Poole in a game of chess.
The film was made at a time when computer intelligence was vastly inferior to the technology of today; however, its vision of the future is surprisingly accurate. Since the 1980’s, computer technology and intelligence has been continuously and exponentially increasing. Computers have for many years been more intelligent than the human brain, and many people question the morals of such power. The film presents an over reliance on HAL to reach certain objectives and essentially provide life. Today, there are “smart houses” that rely on a central computer for vital support, such as plumbing and electricity. Such technology can definitely be useful when used in moderation; however, overreliance can lead to panic when said technology becomes unavailable. In 2
001, as HAL begins to malfunction and tries to eradicate the crew, Dave Bowman must take it upon himself to disable HAL to ensure his own survival. Obviously, such a scenario is a more extreme than those of the real world, but it demonstrates a sense of over reliance on technology. It seems as if Stanley Kubrick and co-writer Arthur C. Clarke’s pessimistic vision of our technological future has followed the path of the film, but should we moderate our use of technology and reduce it to co-reliance instead of sole-reliance, technology could affect our lives in a positive way.Blade Runner tells the story of Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) and his attempt to eliminate a race of cyborg’s known as Replicants. Once used for labor purposes, Replicants try to fight their pre-programmed four year lifespan, and the once beneficial cyborgs become a threat to humans do to their superior strength and ability.
Like with 2001, Blade Runner presented the accurate representation of humans’ over-reliance on superior technology. Humans became arrogant in their intention to create a race of physically powerful and intelligent cyborgs to be used only for labor, and paid for it with their struggle to eradicate them. The film presents artificial intelligence as a burden on society. What was once a beneficial piece of technology has become the ultimate threat to humanity.
The context of Blade Runner is representative of a time obsessed with the exponential boom of computer technology. The 1980’s exploited this surge of new technology, and the film attempts to depict this exploitation by showing how it could be a detriment to society. Robots and cyborgs aren’t a new concept, but only in the past few years have scientists been constructing artificially intelligent cyborgs with shockingly realistic human features. It seems as if the world is moving ever closer to the world depicted within Blade Runner, that being a world in which humanoid cyborgs are used as a means to make human life easier. This can be examined most easily within the factory setting, as robotic armatures and machinery have taken over human labor. Like 2001, Blade Runner suggests that moderation is the key to successful cohabitation of humans and technology.
Many films depict cyborgs and artificial intelligence as being solely beneficial to society, such as Robby the Robot in the 1956 film Forbidden Planet, or the cyborg Bishop from Aliens, released in 1986. We see these silicon based creatures, or hybrids of machine and organism as suggested by author Donna Harraway (4), tend to humans’ needs and desires or aid when needed. 2001: A Space Odyssey and Blade Runner, however, took this concept to the extreme, and showed the audience that these once beneficial technologies have backfired.
An issue for debate is whether this sudden shift is a result of conscious intelligence or computer
malfunction. HAL-9000, for example, “chose” to eliminate the crew because he saw them as a threat to the Jupiter mission. Earlier in the film, however, HAL exhibits an error in judgment when he wrongly detects a fault in the Discovery’s AE-35 antenna unit. This error, however, could have been used as a ruse to eliminate the crew. When applied to society, 2001 explains that we are over reliant on technology to run our lives. We sometimes forget that computer malfunction sometimes occurs, and when it does we are once again forced to fend for ourselves.The opening sequence of Blade Runner explains that the Replicants attempted to overthrow humans’ through revolt, and some took it upon themselves to attempt to extend their four year life span. It seems more likely that the Replicants consciously chose to overthrow the humans, which is a result of human greed to create a cyborg species intelligent enough to rationally problem solve. At the end of the film, as Roy Batty engages in conflict with Deckard, we hear this intelligence. For example, we see his taste for karma as he breaks Deckard’s fingers as punishment for kill
ing his close Replicant counterparts, and we also see compassion as he pulls Deckard up after hanging from the side of a building. Baty’s rationality, according to author Scott Bukatman, calls into question the boundary between human and replicant/cyborg (3). If the Replicant is intelligent enough to think rationally, at some point the boundary between computer and human intelligence is breached. As humans continue to build increasingly advanced and intelligent cyborgs we must be cautious of their intelligenc
e. Should they one day understand their superiority we may end up facing the same consequences as explored in Blade Runner.The films 2001: A Space Odyssey and Blade Runner both explore advancements in computer and artificial intelligence from a negative and cautionary standpoint due to humans’ tendency to exploit and over rely on such technology. These advancements can greatly benefit society, but as shown in 2001, computer malfunction can lead to disastrous consequences. Blade Runner has shown that human superiority can be challenged by cyborg and humanoid intelligence. Though they are negative in context and consequence, both films can be used as a template for how not to treat such powerful technology. These films explain that computer and cyborg technology can be a giant step in the ever advancement of human power and capability through technology if cautiously examined and used in moderation.
Works Cited
(1) 2001: A Space Odyssey. Dir. Stanley Kubrick. Perf Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood.
1968. DVD. Warner Brothers, 2007.
(2) Blade Runner. Dir. Ridle Scott. Perf Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young.
1982. DVD. Warner Home Video, 2007.
(3) Bukatman, Scott. “Replicants and Alien Life.” Blade Runner. BFI Modern Classics
Series. Ed. Rob White. London: British Film Institute, 1997. 64-91. (CR 53-66)
(4) Haraway, Donna. “A Cyborg Manifesto: Science, Technology, and Socialist-
Feminism in the LateTwentieth Century.” The Feminist and Visual Culture Reader.
Ed. Amelia Jones. London and New York: Routledge, 2003. 475-497. (CR 180-202)
