Idea Lab: Humanities/Fine Arts

Philip K. Dick: Philip K. Dick was an indescribably influential American science-fiction writer. His stories were the inspiration for so many iconic films. Even in his youth, he would publish books within the science-fiction genre. His most iconic books include: "The Man in the High Castle", "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?", "Valis", and "The Philip K. Dick Reader". Almost every one of his books would ask the reader philosophical questions about human life, the state and affairs of the world, and he was hailed as "a genius in the world of science-fiction". He would also have supernatural experiences: hallucinations and imaginations that he was living two separate lives. Film History: Inspired by Philip K. Dick's "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?". Many difficulties during the screenplay (tension between Dick and Hollywood). Won the Hugo Award for "Best Dramatic Presentation". Won the Saturn Award for ...

     Robots and artificial intelligence are symbols of humanity's advancements in technology and engineering. They are also a common subject of controversy, as majorities of people either believe that they are the key to a bright future, or that they will one day overthrow humanity and claim our world as their own. Several different movies, video games, and other sources of media have represented the two concepts in iconic fashion, such as Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey in 1968, where the A.I. known as "Hal" becomes self-aware enough to rebel against humanity. In light of this topic, I wondered what Siri--the artificial intelligence we humans have in our phones these days--thinks about life. I only remember having a full-blown conversation with another person's Siri through their phone years ago, when I was much younger and barely knew a thing about artificial intelligence. Here, I was able to have a legitimately interesting session with my own Siri.   ...

     As I was reviewing the many shorts of Love, Death & Robots on Netflix, I have to say that I felt the most emotional when I watched Season 1's "Zima Blue". The animation was spectacular throughout the episode--as is the animation for every other episode I have seen so far--and the artistic and focus of the short was very intriguing. Not only that, but the characterization of Zima himself was very compelling, and the way his story was told so completely felt saddening and heartwarming simultaneously. Thus, I figured this episode would be a great subject for analysis.     For starters, I want to talk about how the episode represents the process of evolution. Zima started as a simple pool-cleaning robot. After his original creator passed away, he was passed on to several different owners, and every owner would each give him gradual upgrades, making him more sentient; more alive. From my perspective, it almost feels like an infant slowly growing up into an ...