In Black Mirror we witnessed an episode that fired up our imagination to its limit, mostly because we consider the science behind the episode to be in the relative future. Martha and Ash were a somewhat generic married couple until the day that Ash died in the tragic car accident. On the day of the funeral, one of Martha’s friends told her that she could diminish her pain and suffering through the use of some new software. The software collects all the data that a person ever published online. The sources online include social media, and mostly public information, but then a more personal source which includes emails. At first Martha’s reaction to the suggestion was very negative (to say the least), but only within a couple of days of dealing with the grief of her husband’s death, she found out she was pregnant and succumbed to the temptation of speaking to her husband again. Her decision to use the software led her to live a life along the boundary of the real and digital world. The software goes through three upgrades, from a kind of chatbot, to a voice chatbot, to a full-blown faux body with Ash’s memories and behavioral patterns. At first, Martha welcomed the new Ash, who was much like the old Ash. As time went by however, Martha began to realize the lack of details that were unique to Ash that the new Ash lacked. She comes to face reality once again, Ash is never coming back, and nothing can replace him.
I found it very intriguing that Martha missed the negative aspects of Ash’s personality which would cause arguments and tension in the relationship, which speaks to the fact that positive without negative is not really positive any more. It is evident through the show, but through common sense as well, that when one has complete control over another’s free will, then a relationship cannot exist. I’ve come to a conclusion, both after watching the show and after thinking on my own, that we will never be able to create a conscious creature. It seems that divine intervention is the only way consciousness will ever be recreated, in the case that it would be.
Peace,
Duka