Isaac

February 20, 2009 at 2:47 pm (Culture)
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Terminator 2

Terminator 2: Judgment Day

A future filled with fully automated autonomous robots may not be just the stuff of entertainment.  Read this, from the Times Online:

Military’s Killer Robots Must Learn Warrior Code
by Leo Lewis

Autonomous military robots that will fight future wars must be programmed to live by a strict warrior code or the world risks untold atrocities at their steely hands.

The stark warning – which includes discussion of a Terminator-style scenario in which robots turn on their human masters – is issued in a hefty report funded by and prepared for the US Navy’s high-tech and secretive Office of Naval Research.

The report, the first serious work of its kind on military robot ethics, envisages a fast-approaching era where robots are smart enough to make battlefield decisions that are at present the preserve of humans. Eventually, it notes, robots could come to display significant cognitive advantages over Homo sapiens soldiers.

“There is a common misconception that robots will do only what we have programmed them to do,” Patrick Lin, the chief compiler of the report, said. “Unfortunately, such a belief is sorely outdated, harking back to a time when . . . programs could be written and understood by a single person.” The reality, Dr Lin said, was that modern programs included millions of lines of code and were written by teams of programmers, none of whom knew the entire program: accordingly, no individual could accurately predict how the various portions of large programs would interact without extensive testing in the field – an option that may either be unavailable or deliberately sidestepped by the designers of fighting robots.

The solution, he suggests, is to mix rules-based programming with a period of “learning” the rights and wrongs of warfare.

A rich variety of scenarios outlining the ethical, legal, social and political issues posed as robot technology improves are covered in the report. How do we protect our robot armies against terrorist hackers or software malfunction? Who is to blame if a robot goes berserk in a crowd of civilians – the robot, its programmer or the US president? Should the robots have a “suicide switch” and should they be programmed to preserve their lives?

The report, compiled by the Ethics and Emerging Technology department of California State Polytechnic University and obtained by The Times, strongly warns the US military against complacency or shortcuts as military robot designers engage in the “rush to market” and the pace of advances in artificial intelligence is increased.

Any sense of haste among designers may have been heightened by a US congressional mandate that by 2010 a third of all operational “deep-strike” aircraft must be unmanned, and that by 2015 one third of all ground combat vehicles must be unmanned.

“A rush to market increases the risk for inadequate design or programming. Worse, without a sustained and significant effort to build in ethical controls in autonomous systems . . . there is little hope that the early generations of such systems and robots will be adequate, making mistakes that may cost human lives,” the report noted.

A simple ethical code along the lines of the “Three Laws of Robotics” postulated in 1950 by Isaac Asimov, the science fiction writer, will not be sufficient to ensure the ethical behaviour of autonomous military machines.

“We are going to need a code,” Dr Lin said. “These things are military, and they can’t be pacifists, so we have to think in terms of battlefield ethics. We are going to need a warrior code.”

__________

Robots in rebellion?  Unmanned warcraft?

What sort of a future are we in for? 

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Films

August 21, 2008 at 2:07 pm (Church, Culture, Entertainment, Opinions, Purpose, Theology, Thinking)
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Relevant listed, in their July/August 2008 issue, their list of the ten most spiritually significant films of the last decade. 

I can say that I am not surprised by the broadness of their choices, but I am surprised by the choices themselves.  This is how they introduce the films:

Film at it’s worst can be a pretty bleak medium.  With Hollywood churning out formulaic comedies, sappy dramas and brainless action, it can be hard to find the bright spots.  However, some films seem to transcend entertainment and speak to deep truths.  Here’s our look at the 10 most spiritually significant films of the last decade.

I want to share their choices with you, and ask if this is a complete list, or are there films which hold no place here.

These are in no particular order.

  • O Brother, Where Art Thou?  Chosen because the skepticism of the character, Everett, is replaced eventually in the film by a very real God.
  • The Big Kahuna.  Chosen because of the character Phil, and his lifestyle, which exemplifies Christ better than the character, Bob, who is a born-again Christian. 
  • American History X.  Chosen because it shows that “no one is beyond redemption.  Even long-seated hatred can be overcome.”
  • Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.  Chosen because they believe the film shows that pain does have a purpose.
  • American Beauty.  In their words, “It’s a story about the beauty of life, even when it seems mundane.  [It] shows us that the things for which we should be most grateful are often the things we overlook.”
  • Crash.  Chosen because it shows “the gritty reality of the hatred and prejudices that can live in all of us.  [The film] … defuses our preconceived notions by humanizing everyone involved.”
  • The Green Mile.  Chosen because, they believe, of these ten, it is the most overtly spiritual, and the story which never questions the intervention of God.
  • No Country for Old Men.  Chosen because they believe there is a hidden message in this film, one that says “good people must carry the spark of human kindness even when all around is dark.”
  • The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.  It is a true story, and it “gives us a look at what makes us human.  We are more than the sum of our parts.”
  • The Royal Tenenbaums.  The story shows that “any of us can change, even when we’ve spent our entire lives being selfish.”
    __________

There were an obvious two or three that I thought, maybe, should not have been chosen.  But nevertheless, it is their list. 

And though I’ve never used this as a forum, I’m a little curious.  Are there any films that should be worth a mention?  Or should some of these have never been considered? 

If you have some time, share your opinions.

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Truth

July 24, 2008 at 12:59 pm (Culture, Entertainment, Happiness, Opinions, Purpose, Theology, Thinking)
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I suppose it is my turn to add to the minutia of writings about The Dark Knight.

I will offer no movie review here, although I do think it was a great film.  There are some things in the movie that would have offered a bit more balance, but the film itself banks on the assumption that you know these characters very well.  So it doesn’t offer you much in the way of character development.  We are not given any new information about Bruce Wayne, and the movie only offered lies about the Joker’s true origin.  I will concede, though, that the Batman undergoes some serious reflection.  The movie may need the Joker, but the morality in constant question was done so by the Batman.  But I’ll not discuss that here. 

Because what fascinated me the most was the constant vibe of truth spoken by the Joker.  It seems, to me, that in most great films, the villains always offer the surest voices of truth.  Truth is the one weakness with which we are all familiar, because truth is scary – even scarier than a crazy man in smeared makeup.  We mask truth with our interests.  But truth … truth is pure and unashamed, and it is always the subject of exploitation by the bad guys. 

The Joker had no scruples.  He had no remorse.  He was violent and crazy, but never, not once, foolish.  Consider the scene with the mountain of money which he burned, and then made the statement, almost in an impatient tone, that “it’s not about the money … it’s about sending a message.”  And that was true, in his world.  With the bank robbery at the beginning of the movie, you understand that the Joker could steal any amount of money he wanted.  You can do things like that when you don’t mind all the killing.

But the most powerful scene, of any one character in this movie, comes with Harvey Dent in a hospital bed, and half of his face burned and gone.  The Joker is there, posing as a nurse, as someone who cares for the sick, and offers Dent the medicine he wants.  Truth. 

As the “white knight” of Gotham, unstained and virtuous, Dent watched all of his ideals wither with death and mayhem, and in that lone hospital bed, with half of his face the testament of what he believed to be his failures, he listened to the Joker.  And the Joker told him truth.

He told Dent that the plans people made, any and all plans, were futile.  That plans always fail.  And when plans do fail, people are sent into chaos, because people invested so much into their plans. 

Obviously, how these characters react to this one truth is evident, and the greater point of the film.  The Batman wants to remove his cowl, and those are his plans, but those plans fail when Dent, and Gotham, are sent into chaos.  Dent plans to change the city, but can’t, when he becomes victim to its very crime.  Rachel wants to be with the one she loves, and her plan is to leave one for the other, but can’t because of the unexpected choices made by those two men.  And the Joker wants to send the city into oblivion, but can’t because of the salvation and hope offered by the very citizens of Gotham.

Hence, the plot proves the point that the only real truth in life is the reality of failed plans.   

Maybe the Joker had no scruples.  But he did have truth.

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Otherworld

July 7, 2008 at 4:48 pm (Church, Culture, Entertainment, Happiness, Opinions, Purpose, Theology, Worship)
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There is something that bothers me about the death of a movie theater.

The place for movies, in my hometown, was the Twin Cinemas.  When new movies were released on Fridays, we were frantic as our school bus passed the building on its way to our neighborhood, and we would peer out of the windows to see which of the newest releases were showing on the marquee.  

My first date was in that theater, watching an Indiana Jones adventure, with the girl I would marry.  That perfect night was completed at the adjacent Pizza Hut.  Movie and dinner.  For cheap.  In a small hometown.  It was big stuff.  But it died, as a theater, some thirteen years ago.  The building is now home to a furniture-rental business. 

That building, now, reminds me of a shoe box you keep in your closet, filled and stuffed with cards and memories.  It is the building of special things for me, but it will never recapture what I felt there.  And it does not help that the exterior of the building looks scarcely different from its days as a theater. 

It was also the place of my one of my earliest memories as a child.  The line on opening night, in 1978, for Superman:  The Movie was a very long line, easily a thirty minute wait.  I was four-years-old when we stood in that line, and I can still remember the anticipation of wondering if tickets would still be available for us.  The Twin Cinemas was the only theater for a scattering of small towns in northeast Arkansas, and opening nights for any movie were extravaganzas. 
__________

I was one of the last patrons of a local movie theater, walking out of one of the very last shows.  Muvico, in downtown Memphis, as of today, has closed its doors, and though it failed to remain successful, it was, to me, the dream of downtown.  And it was one of the most beautiful, and majestic theaters I have ever seen.  A toy train circled the theater, and with twenty-two screens, and 4,800 seats, it was bigger than life, and the main attraction of a downtown complex that meant to offer places to play, to eat, to shop, to relax, and to be entertained.

It only lived and breathed, as a theater, for seven years, though.  It became victim to its own clientele, and underestimated the amount of control needed to operate such a gleaming attraction in a famously “dangerous” city.  In less than two years, it was garnishing unfavorable reviews in The Commercial Appeal, the Memphis newspaper, which spotlighted its less-than-fervent commitment to keep various behavior problems under control.  And the beauty and majesty of this theater was tainted, and never seemed to recover.  But it was not the fault of the building.  And, in spite of all of the negativity, it is still a place of great memories. 

Muvico is but one of a handful of theaters which fascinate me.  Here’s why.

I am, like most, inspired by the lofty ceilings of a movie theater, of its grand designs, and even, at times, swayed to buy concessions that cost way too much.  I enjoy all of this, more for the experience of being there, than watching the movie itself.  And that is probably where most of us are alike.  I would not call myself a connoisseur of films, for I do not know every trivial moment for every movie, or actor, or director.  What I do know, however, are personal experiences when watching various films.  I imagine most of you feel the same way. 

We walk away from bad movies, only to return to the same theater, and pay the outrageous ticket price, to watch another movie.  We do not walk into the theaters just to watch.  We go to be inspired – to walk into a place that takes us from the ordinary.  We watch images which are bigger than our eyes can hold.  We like the quiet anticipation in the darkened room, in the comfortable seats, amid whispers, and we feel a quickening of our pulse when the lights finally dim.  For me, that feeling has never entirely faded.

And it is that very reason that I am saddened by its closing.  That was a small place in a big world that provided a well-worn trail for people who are in desperate need of escape, and in desperate need to find something much bigger than their own lives.  We have transformed movie theaters into modern temples, places of worship of the otherworldly.  It is the church for people who both attend church, and those who do not.  It has a weekly attendance rate that is enviable, and a weekly offering that any church would love.  It is the place where people spend their money, their time, and their special occasions.  And though the fare is the pinnacle of secular worship and not always morally acceptable, it is hard to ingore the even and consistent theme of good, triumphant over evil.  It is difficult to ignore, then, the core and purpose of humanity, even in the most vile of movies.

The space which housed all of those screens will soon be transformed into what is believed to be a much more profitable enterprise.  And there are other theaters which serve similar purposes.  But none downtown.  None in the heart of a city in need of hope. 
__________

I did leave with some memorabilia, though, from Muvico.  I took some of our students last night to a double-feature.  And came home with a movie poster which hung in one of its frames. 

A poster for The Incredible Hulk.  The best movie of the summer.

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