Ex Machina

Ex Machina was a really weird movie. I always felt like the Nathan was going to kill Caleb at the last day of the Turing test. I thought the location where the movie took place was very odd because it was a building in the middle of nowhere. I also thought that a person falling in love with a machine was very strange. The movie was really just about an AI named Ava trying to escape her creator by using the feeling love against humans. Her creator named Nathan Bateman was trying to enhance his AI but upgrading Ava would erase her. In order to upgrade Ava he used a person from his company named Caleb Smith to do a special AI test called the Turing test. Caleb bonded with Ava and fell in love over the week of the testing. I found it interesting that Ava betrayed Caleb at the end when she locked him in the security room and left for the helicopter that was supposed to pick up Caleb at the end of the Turing test. I know that Ava wanted to see the world but she doesn’t really have any place to go. The only place she can stay is the house she was being held in. In the end, this movie portrays the fear of artificial intelligence. In the movie Nathan keeps Ava locked in one room which shows he is afraid of her. Also Nathan is stabbed to death by his AI helper and Ava. Caleb is locked in the security room and will eventually starve to death which in my opinion comes from the idea of artificial intelligence taking over the world.

Transcendence

The movie Transcendence is a crazy movie! I enjoyed the idea of artificial intelligence taking over the world with nanotechnology and healing it. It was also crazy to see one of the main characters, Will played by Johnny Depp have his consciences downloaded into a supercomputer to create an artificial intelligence. The idea of nanotechnology was fascinating! If that technology existed today we could heal the planet, people, get rid of pollution. We could also make any object with nanotechnology even though the materials for the object is not correct. Nanotechnology can do this because it can form into any material needed to create an object. Also nanotechnology could regenerate skin faster than the human body. Also it can regrow limbs. But we would have to find a way to control the nanotechnology without artificial intelligence so it does not take over the world. In the movie the A.I uses the nanotechnology to take over the world and control the humans that have the nanotech inside their bodies. Also the nanotechnology can allow humans to have advanced abilities like super strength and speed. The movie shows this when a construction worker is lifting up solar panels that would take a mini crane to lift up. I like the idea of having nanotechnology but I would not want an A.I controlling it. The movie ends after Will’s wife injects herself with a virus that will kill her artificial intelligent husband when he uploads her to the system. After the A.I dies everything but humans that has nanotechnology inside their bodies dies. The reason why everything died but humans is because everything but humans were dependent on nanotechnology.

Response to Group Four's Questions

The four types of body rhetoric are “embodied argumentation, street theater, rhetorical style and the vibe as bodily emanation” (145, Gandio). Embodied argumentation uses body language to make an argument. People have certain hand movements or position themselves in a confident way during a big protest. Street theatre is a political performance like a protest or rally. Protests and rallies today are used to communicate to the government in order to make certain things legal or illegal. Rhetorical style describes how communicative gestures look to others and the feelings they reveal. For example if I only hold up my first two fingers in an antiwar rally it will look like the peace sign and will reveal my feelings toward war. The vibe is energy that comes off our bodies when promoting or contesting political agendas. The energy given off someone promoting or contesting political agendas could possibly influence the people around them to join. Bodily argumentation is made up of four ways that use embodied argumentation to expand the realm of rhetoric. Embodied argumentation is a call to action that allows people to do what they are saying and resist the government. Embodied argumentation also allows people to understand non-verbal rhetoric. Another embodied argumentation that expands the realm of rhetoric is using body language anywhere to express their views, ideas and political standings. The last embodied argumentation is crafting body communication into a very good argument. The process in order to perfect body language to make an argument takes time and practice. Without these four ways, nobody can be influencing and support their position. The five steps to cultivating style is for a person to observe their own style, observe other people’s style, to reflect on those styles, experiment with different styles, take chances with different stylistic choices and apply them to their style. If someone is able to compare their style to other people’s style then they can experiment with different styles. This allows them to be unique and take risks with different styles of clothing people would not normally wear. An individual body argument is a person using their body to make an argument. People will usually paint their bodies with certain colors and write words on their body to express how they feel. For example my friend wrote Kobe don’t go on his stomach in purple and yellow. He tried to get on the big screen during the Lakers verse Celtics game. A couple of random people yelled at him that Kobe sucks and he yelled back his thoughts. A collective body argument is “protests and actions, which might include: sanctioned rallies, marches, and demonstrations; direct actions; silent die-ins; snake marches; street festivals; both militant and peaceful confrontations; a few people on a street corner or a million people across the globe” (151, Gandio). Usually collective body argument is made up of more than one person attempting to communicate their message to the public.

Response to Group Three's questions

Language is a form of communication from one human being to another. Language is connected to social media through slang and emojis. Of course people talk to each other with English, Spanish, and French over the internet but slang and emojis is the virtual world’s universal language. Certain words, facial expressions and feelings can be expressed through slang such as “lol” which is laugh out loud and an emoji such as “J” expresses my happiness. Unfortunately slang and emojis can be used by social media to influence people. Some news social media pages will use slang to make something seem cool to internet users and influence people to do or say weird things. For example when the ALS ice bucket challenge was introduced, social media hyped it up so much that people who did not even know what ALS was were taking part in the challenge. 

             The five guide lines to language and communication are to be clear, accessible, proactive, respectful and interesting. My generation follows these guidelines very well on the internet. People are able to be clear with what they want to share because of grammar check. Grammar check allows people to check their spelling and grammar before posting a blog, tweet, and comment. Due to smart phones equipped with social media applications, people are always accessible to anything social. Most people in my generation check their social media, emails and texts frequently which makes them proactive. Even though people act tougher when they are behind a computer screen, most people are respectful over the internet. My generation has been continuously interesting because of Instagram. Instagram allows people to post pictures on the internet. Usually the pictures people post are vacation photos or a very interesting photograph. Due to social media websites being a part of my generation’s daily life, these guidelines are followed non-intentional. 

              Big Brother from the book 1984 by George Orwell told his people through the thought police, "War is peace; Freedom is slavery; ignorance is strength" to influence them to believe what he wanted them to believe. Big Brother wanted his people to believe the opposite of war, slavery and ignorance so that he could influence them to do whatever he wanted them to do. Social media today will use certain words to influence people to believe in whatever they want people to believe in. Big news companies usually use this tactic when telling a biased story. Big news companies will try and influence people to think what they want people to think just like Big Brother. During the elections in the United States it is very easy to tell who each news company is voting for. Each news company is always biased when it comes to their candidate. They will only capture the good side to the candidate they are voting for. Whenever news companies cover the candidate they are not voting for they only tell the bad side of that candidate. The biased news coverage is propaganda that influences people’s votes.

Response to Group Two's questions

On social media websites people seem confident and speak freely about whatever they want. Most of those people will type mean comments or try to influence the public on what they think is right. I call those people keyboard warriors. Keyboard warriors may be confident behind a computer screen but in real life they could be the quietest people on the planet. Keyboard warriors in real life may be perceived as the quiet and nervous person. Social media allows people to comment anonymously on other people’s webpage or profile. This allows people to step out of their comfort zone and say things that they normally would never dare to say in real life. Keyboard warriors in my opinion are a great example of separation between the way we express ourselves through social media and real life. Another example of separation would be the way we write and have a conversation with each other on social media platforms and real life. On the internet people tend to use slag words to minimize the letters they have to type. For example when someone wants to express laughter they use the slag term lol which stands for laugh out loud. In real life a person would just laugh to express laughter. Also when people talk to each other in real life nobody uses internet slag to communicate. Internet slag like lol is only used for chatting with another person on social media platforms.

             Social media uses the four rhetorical approaches to spread news which are argumentation, invitation, persuasion and storytelling. When social media presents a controversial topic it allows people to comment what they think and provide evidence creating an argument. Once two or more people have taken different claims people will use reason to explain their claim with evidence they have given. Also when controversial topics are posted people do not always use argumentation to tell their thoughts on the topic. People use invitation which allows people to comment their opinions and position on whatever the topic is. Invitation is used to clarify intentions. People also use the art of persuasion to change people’s views. People who try and persuade others use their logic and emotions against them. Using other people’s emotions against them could possibly manipulate them into joining what you believe in. Logic is used to make someone understand the persuader’s position. Sometimes when social media posts a news article on something heroic people start to tell stories. The stories people tell are fake but it allows people to give meaning to whatever they are talking about. People envision themselves as a certain character and they usually end up saving the day.

             When I was in high school my English teacher made the class do a presentation that had to be presented to both of her English classes. My presentation was about how climate change effects the earth. Each class asked me different questions about climate change. I realized I had to think about how to respond to each question because each audience was different. My English class was easy going on me and did not really care on what kind of answer I gave them. However, the other English class I presented to asked me very hard questions and even if I gave them a correct answer the students continued to go in depth with what they wanted to know. I realized that I had to tell them everything about what they were asking instead of a strait forward answer. This situation was very challenging and forced me to analyze the audience and respond with an answer satisfying the student who asked the question.

Bicentennial Man

Bicentennial man is about an android named Andrew who was programmed just to help out around his owner’s house. After realizing that Andrew is not just another household appliance the owner Richard Martin started to teach him the human ways. Once Andrew developed his own thoughts and feelings he began on a journey to understand his artificial intelligence kind by searching for other robots just like him. Andrew unexpectedly finds his maker’s son Rupert Burns by following a female robot walking home from the market. Rupert introduces himself to Andrew and they both team up to create enhanced upgrades for robots and humans. Throughout Andrew’s life, he has to fight for his rights and prove society wrong that he is capable of being human. Also in the beginning of his life people give Andrew different reactions when they encounter him. This movie covers those reactions very well. When Andrew was first powered on, Richard Martin was happy to have help around the house, his wife Mrs. Martin was creeped out, Richard’s daughter Grace was upset to see the robot in her house, and Grace’s sister Little Miss was confused on what Andrew was and why her father bought him. After having the android Andrew for a while, Mrs. Martin started to enjoy having an extra hand around the house. Andrew became Little Miss’s best friend for her entire life, and Grace attempted to kill Andrew by ordering him to jump out of her bedroom window. In my opinion the Martin’s reactions to the robot would be similar to those reactions of people who meet an artificial intelligent robot today. Also robots like Andrew would not be accepted in society and would not be free. During Andrew’s lifetime he realizes that he is not really free and asks Mr. Martin to be free. After Mr. Martin allowed Andrew to be free Andrew was forced to leave the Martin’s household. Although Andrew was free he was not accepted in society. Even years later when Andrew received artificial human skin and the ability to feel and love he still was not declared a human being by the government. Andrew was angered that he was not accepted as a human being and could not marry the love of his life who is a human. Andrew changed himself into a complete human being with the help of Rupert Burns in order to prove to the government that he is capable of being human. Years later Andrew and Rupert’s artificial organ technology was being used for replacing bad organs in humans. Andrew attempted again to be recognized as a human being. Eventually he was declared as a human being but unfortunately died before the announcement was made. After watching this movie I realize that if artificial intelligent robots existed today they would have to fight for their rights. Even they can be caring towards humans and the technology they can create could possibly save lives, artificial intelligent robots will never be accepted in society. Artificial intelligent robots will be seen as a machine that helps its owner in whatever it was ordered to do.

Response to group one questions.

Today technology has become very powerful in our society. It helps people interact with each other from a long distance. It can also give answers to whatever question a person looks up. I believe that we have become very dependent on technology and that a new social norm can be created by using the internet. In my opinion there is already pieces of a social norm on the internet that includes all the social media websites. If the social media websites combined into one giant server then every aspect needed to create a social norm would be met. People would express their feelings by tweeting and would show off on Instagram. People also would chat and share photos through the Facebook portion of the super website. Eventually communicating online would become so normal to people that talking to someone in person would seem outdated and odd. The dangerous part about an inclusive society online is the news coverage from the media. The media always makes a story look more interesting then it seems and sometimes even makes people look good or bad. Also the media can influence people by covering videos that go viral. In my experience I have witnessed some of my friends say jokes or dance a certain way due to a video that went viral on some social media website. Also during the presidential elections I have witnessed the media only cover one candidate and make them look good which influences people’s decision on who to vote for. The media only wants people to think what they want them to think. They can make a certain drug that helps a lot of medical patients get better quick seem very bad and dangerous. In order to combat the media’s false claims and biased reports people have to vocalize their opinion. The way to vocalize an opinion in a virtual social norm is to become an activist and get active with the community. An activist can utilize technology by overcoming the challenge of getting their opinion out to the world of what is actually true or not. Also since posting online can be anonymous, activists no longer have to face the challenge of being arrested just for vocalizing the truth about certain things our government uses the media to hide. Also social media can aid activists in overcoming the challenge of contacting other activists around the world that fight for the same thing they fight for. Technology has also allowed activists to influence and recruit other people across the world.  Finally activists can use technology to create blogs and post their opinions and let the world know what type of social norm they can create with the help of a large amount of people.