The Android Consciousness

Today I was playing some music, yes I cheat by listening to it on youtube, and a commercial for a new movie appeared. I usually skip right over them when I can, but this one in particular caught my attention immediately. After having some of the discussions in class I was engrossed in the concept of this movie and will probably see it soon after its release. Check it out!

We debated the concept of what it means to be human a few times in class. This idea of blurred lines between the androids and humans was cut short (or at least I believe) by its ability to recognize that it is "alive". 

The artificial intelligent "being's" (AI) ability to question what it would be like to be "alive" captivated me. Here in a few lines, artists have captured the concept of an AI's consciousness. It will be interesting to see how artists predict/portray how the interaction between an AI and human would be like. 

While the AI is not necessarily in android form here, the movie will catch the eye of many people's attention. Why?  Because of fear. Fear of the blurred lines between the human consciousness and that of an AI's. We discussed the idea that we as humans like to put things in "boxes" or categories. I believe one of the largest fears is derived from the religious aspect. A large portion of the world believe's (not saying anything about correctness here) that the consciousness or soul is from a higher power and that our bodies are merely a "carrier" for lack of better term. The ability for us, imperfect beings unlike an omniscient God, to make something with a conscious makes a higher power appear less incredible. I'm not saying that any of the religious ideologies are wrong or that this is the only derivation of the fear, but idea of "playing God" is a scary (and dangerous) concept.