Why am I telling you this? It's because of the deep metaphysical questions that surround the relationships between guests and hosts in Westworld. You see, there are no limits to what you are permitted to do as a guest as long as you don't harm other actual humans. Guests may kill hosts in any way they wish. They may sexually assault them, brutally torture them, steal from them or humiliate them, destroy their homes or kill their pets. Nothing is off-limits.
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| A screebnshotfrom Ex Machina (2016) |
What would you do in such a situation? If you could do terrible things to human-like robots with no consequences, would you? Is it different from doing them to real people? Is it the same? What do you think most people would do and what does this say about the true nature of human beings? Would your personal ideology lead you to different conclusions? Would a socialist be more likely to act malevolently towards the robots or less? A modern liberal? A fascist?
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| An android from I, Robot (2004) |
LA Times article: 'Westworld' stars explain how the series confronts contemporary issues of human nature and the fembot
The question of artificial intelligence and sentience is a common theme in science-fiction. As our society moves closer and closer to being able to create a true A.I, consideration of potential consequences becomes increasingly important. Popular culture, always a medium for the exploration of issues important to the society of the time, also explored these issues. What is sentience? What rights would (or should) artificial beings have? In 1989, Star Trek examined the nature of sentience in the episode The Measure of a Man in which Data, an android character and crew member of the Enterprise, is threatened with dismantling by a scientist who wants to replicate him by learning how he works. Data refuses, and the conflict ends up in court where the question of whether he is property or a being with rights is debated. The final scene in the courtroom, in which Data's captain argues his case, is illustrative of the issues at hand.
Movies such as Blade Runner (1982), Ex Machina (2015), A.I.: Artificial Intelligence (2001), I, Robot (2004), the Terminator series of movies and television shows, as well as the upcoming Robopocalypse (among many others) investigate the nature of humanity and the responsibility that we have towards the increasingly human-like beings we are creating, not to mention the dangers that may accompany the creation of robots who are, in many, ways, superior to ourselves.
Consider the questions above when you comment on this: What do you think a typical person would do if put into the situation of being a guest at Westworld? Why, and how does this reflect your personal beliefs and values?
PS. This blog is not suggesting that you watch the show. It is very violent and contains nudity and sexual activity as well as a great deal of foul language. Certainly, it is meant for adults. But you do not need to watch the show to think about the important questions about the nature of humanity and the meaning of sentience that it raises.
If such a society existed, trying to determine what a typical person would do is extremely hard to anticipate. Human behavior is complex, multi-faceted and ever changing by outside influences and its’ environment. The West world is a place where each person can create their own reality, free from arrest and boundaries and may attempt to carry out what our society deems as unlawful. Temptation, deceit, selfishness, contempt, violence and aggression could run rampant. I believe a typical person might ‘throw caution to the wind’ and make decisions and experiment in ways that they might not do in regular society. However, my personal belief is in the inherent good of people and creating opportunities for social connectedness, caring for one another, social responsibilities, education, learning, and moral justice and empowerment. Just because a society has a potential for its members to disobey or dishonor or break the law, in my opinion, does not mean that the majority of the society would be tempted. Rather, influences in upbringing, social classes, life opportunities, spiritual or religious beliefs and morals would ensure that people would follow their current belief system regardless of the temptation.
ReplyDeleteAddison Gugenheimer
Excellent.
DeleteVery interesting. How do you reconcile your faith in humanity with the evidence of willing participation in totalitarian societies?
If a typical person were in the same situation as the guests in Westworld, they would definitely take advantage of the robots. As disturbing as it may sound, the robots are there for the guests entertainment. Humans like to feel dominant over others. The fact that the bodies of the robots are repaired and the memories are reset, in my opinion, encourages the guests to do what they want. Humans love being in control, and the theme park allows for it to happen. My personal beliefs are that humans are naturally competitive, which also makes them selfish. For the guests who are willing to spend $40 000 a day, shows that money could make someone happy. Being able to do something in what would be illegal, in a normal civilized world, and being allowed to get away with it, stirs up the feelings humans have of wanting to feel powerful and adventurous. Obviously some people are different than others, so that would result in some people not agreeing with the people who take advantage of the robots. Everyone is different, but also everyone wants to be the best at what they do, and some people will take it a step further to do what they need to do to succeed.
ReplyDeleteExcellent.
DeleteYour comment regarding the natural desire to be powerful is resonant. I think we can see that every day, whether in ourselves or others. Good work.
Chantel Sanche
ReplyDeleteSociety has been evolving to solve moral issues that people face. For example, laws and unions were created to benefit workers who were taken advantage of. The influences that changed the past reflect on people's ideologies today. In Westworld, people would most likely do things that they wouldn't normally in society due to the curiosity that laws were put in place to prohibit. I predict that people could do wrong things because they're would be no consequences although everyone reacts to situations differently depending on factors like family or living standards that shape them as a person. People could also respond to the fact that the robots seem too similar to reality to forget about the good intentions societies work towards. Guests of Westworld would go expecting to do things that do not reflect their ordinary lives but eventually realize that they can't forgive certain actions no matter who or what is being harmed. The life you already live should represent your true self. I believe that people should act according to what makes them happy while keeping a good conscience. Everyone with a self aware mind should be given the freedom to pursue they're own interests as long no other sentience is being harmed.
Excellent.
DeleteYour last sentence provides the key issue. What is sentience? Are the robots sentient? If so, it makes sense that we would want to avoid harming them. But, if not, what is different about damaging such creatures than destroying a piece of property one already owns, or someone else does that has given you permission to do so?
It is hard to predict how a typical person will act because humanity is complex. People’s actions will be affected by many factors like environment and mood. I think the people who hold huge wealth will more likely do whatever they want to the robots in the park. The West World makes many things illegal in the real world legal which makes the people get rid of the restriction of the civilized society and encourages them to act cruelly. The robots will be repaired and memory-wiped which also takes away most of possible potential guilt of the people. People can do whatever they want and have no consequences to take. The cruel side of humanity will be stimulated in the West World. Personally I believe that human are borned evil and selfish. The limits in the society and education make human human and stop human from doing terrible things. In the West World, the wealthy people do not like restrictions and their potential evil will not be controlled.
ReplyDeleteProficient.
DeleteDo you see this as universal? Would all people act this way? You seem not to at the beginning, when you note the complexity of human nature, then you end by suggesting that we are all the same.
Being a regular person in Westworld would be very tempting and sadly some people in our society would fail to hold themselves back from such “freedom” and maintain morality. Even the use of vocabulary such as “host” and “guest” allows onlookers to rationalize the atrocities committed in Westworld. Robots should not be categorized with other humans but should still have rights of their own although it could be quite different as they are quite different from humans such as their individual goals and purposes. However, to have the guests do such unspeakable horrors to other human-esque beings is saddening and makes me fear what people would do because “no one said not to”. My personal belief is all humans are evil and watch out for themselves however I feel that humans are still able to hold themselves accountable even when everyone’s backs are turned. I look at robots in these fictional settings as equals or even superior, however they are to be judged on a different spectrum from humans, not in a negative way. Is humanity’s ability to create Westworld “hosts” with realistic human behavior and sentience really a step forward or a step back from progress?
ReplyDeleteProficient.
DeleteYou make some interesting points, but some are confusing. What do you mean by being 'a regular person'? What kind of different rights should the robots have? Would these preclude being harmed by humans? Why?
This blog brings up the ultimate question of, are humans naturally good or evil? I believe that of people were given to opportunity to unleash their anger, hatred on these robots, they would 100% take the opportunity. Without laws or regulations to give them consequences, all humanity would go straight out the window.
ReplyDeleteSome may argue the complete opposite, that if given the opportunity to do something so horrible to another thing, human or not is completely immoral and that people are good and would turn this down. I think this new show will open our eyes to what humans can really be like, it may surprise us.
Satisfactory.
DeleteWhy do you believe people will act this way? Why do you reject the argument made by the others?
It would be extremely difficult to predict what anyone put in this situation would do because of the different values everyone has. It is true that the idea of there being no rules and guidelines to hold the guests back it could be very tempting for the guest to act in a different manner. This could be assumed because there is no fear of any consequences for committing these actions and also because of the curiosity or crowd mentality might get to the guest after being there for long enough. The curiosity of the guest could tempt the guest to act in a way they never imagined. For the some guests to know that the hosts are not human it will allow them to feel as if it is okay to act in a violent or ruthless manner and feel no guilt. My personal beliefs are that human beings are not entirely good or evil but that the people and situation around them can influence them. Values and beliefs of a person are influenced by their experiences and circumstances. In my opinion there are those people who won't even think about abusing the hosts but there will also be those guests who will get carried away with the power and control they have in this world.
ReplyDeleteExcellent.
DeleteThe point about peer pressure being a factor is interesting. Would you argue that a group of friends would therefore act better so that they wouldn't have to worry about what their friends would say about their violent and evil decisions?
Billy Beresnak
ReplyDeleteWhat do you think a typical person would do if put into the situation of being a guest at Westworld? Why, and how does this reflect your personal beliefs and values?
I have an immensely pragmatic outlook on humanity on its interactions with other species, that humanity cannot be defined as good, evil or "in the middle" because good or evil is what each individual interprets it to be. My "good vs. evil" differs from other's interpretation. Even if as a society we can come to an agreement as to what good and evil is, we could not hold that criteria to a person because people are nothing more or less than what they choose to reveal, I am not what I am to my parents, what I am to my parents is not what I am to my friends and what I am to my friends is not what I am to my teachers. Circling back, how I think a "typical" person would behave is with the sole goal of survival in mind. If this person was in the situation of a guest in Westernworld, I don't think immediately they would harm other individuals. If these other artificial individuals were to begin harming guests, these guests would slip into a survival mindset and then harm individuals. They would kill the artificial beings in fear of being harmed and sexually assault them to assert dominance. Without the rule of law and consequences, anything can happen and survival will be taken upon one's self.
I think that if an artificially intelligent being can have emotion and nerves that communicate pleasure and pain, then that being should have the rights of any other natural-born human.
I think my perspective on this illustrates my lack of confidence in natural human behaviour. People have no reason to help you unless they have an incentive to do so, people cannot be trusted.
Excellent.
DeleteVery interesting. The variety of human natures is a strong argument. You seem to define sentience as having "emotion and nerves that communicate pleasure and pain". Is that it? Is intelligence not necessary? The ability to think rationally? To be creative and think for oneself? To be self-aware? Perhaps your definition is too limiting. By your definition, mice and rats are sentient - should they receive all the rights of sentient beings?
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteManbir Dhaliwal
DeletePLEAS READ THIS ONE AS I HAVE ADDED ON TO MY IDEA AND FIXED MY MISTAKES.
This blog brings up the question of, are humans naturally good or evil? I believe that if people were given the opportunity to do whatever they would like, they would 100% take the advantage of the robots. This could mean killing the robot for their own pleasure or for little things like making the robots do your bidding. This is why Westworld was created, for humans to do whatever they would like to the robot without repercussions. Another reason is because the robots are there for the guest’s entertainment and Humans like to feel dominant over others. The reason I am saying this is because I believe that humans are natural evil and there would Anarchy if there were no regulations and laws to protect them. However, I also believe that humans should be rational in enough to hold themselves back for doing horrible and horrendous things to the robot. I hope that people will think of the robots as real people as they are designed and coded to think and act like a real person, and this will make the guest of Westworld think twice of doing some awful things to the robots because they are like humans in a way. But I think this will not be the case in Westworld.
Proficient.
DeleteIs 'thinking and acting' like humans the definition of sentience?
In the Westworld trailer, there was a very dark theme towards the idea of humans having no rules and no consequences for their actions. Humans are very complex creatures and are all different from each other in some way. I believe the typical person would defend themselves from harm but wouldn't be the one to instigate violence at first. However, at some point I believe the individual would cave in and start to realize the significance of being able to do whatever they want with no repercussions. I believe violence is not the answer and I value peacemaking and consensus as the solution. The problem that lies here is that the issue is within the individual and not those around him. The best reference that can be made to this TV drama is the Purge. In the Purge for 12 hours crime including murder is legal, a yearly tradition seen to allow individuals to cleanse themselves from their dark thoughts in the name of the founding fathers. By the individuals paying to go on with this they are using it as a way of cleansing themselves from their dark twisted thoughts. This idea is very unethical, in no manner should the killing of other life in a persons own power be seen as justified or right. Evidently it is made aware that the individuals seen as the ‘hosts’ are actually robots. Regardless of them being a robot or not the idea is still relatively the same. To kill with malicious intent can be distinctly seen as wrong doing. If I were put in this situation and be given the choice to be able to kill the human-like robots with no consequences, I would not kill the robots for my self benefit or arousal. My viewpoint would be that to kill one of them would only be seen as right as a self-defense mechanism if they had the intent to harm me. I believe the nature of human beings is to be violent. Humans are a part of the animal kingdom and are in the food chain, we are a lot more alike to that of wildlife then we so like to see. The robots may not realistically have rights in the sense they are machinery but in this case they are indistinguishable from that of a real life human. As much as I am against the idea I can see why it is appealing. If a person prone to violence takes it out on robots and not on actual human life there is a sense of relief that no one has been harmed. I believe the best type of person to be strongly for these ideas would be a capitalist. Capitalists who are pro-individual believe in a strong base of freedom and a society of very minimal government involvement. Who is responsible for the punishment of individuals in the wrong doing? The government. Capitalists also believe in the use of a hierarchy, degrading others and looking to themselves as being superior to those others. It is evident that a capitalist would be alongside this idea. Through all of this I believe that the tendency of human nature is to be violent and to be in the wrong doing when not supervised or without rules.
ReplyDeleteExcellent.
DeleteOutstanding discussion. I haven't seen the Purge, but I know the basis for the plot, and I agree that it deals with some similar themes. I'll have to check it out for sure. Your connection between the show and capitalism is very interesting and, I think, accurate. It's given me much food for thought as I watch the series!
I think people will do whatever actions they want towards the robots since there will no consequences behind it. However, the robots look exactly like humans so it is hard to tell who is who; so people may be cautious of whom they are interacting with. People that do take the opportunity to do things they are not supposed to do in the real world think it is ok to do so because the robots will just be reset and repaired. If a positive memory created by a guest was going to be erased just to be another blank character, what is the point of doing good things? This topic is surrounded by a negative issue for a reason since doing good does nothing. However, this brings up a point where the adventures created by the theme park could require you to kill something or someone like in other video games to drive the adventure forward, seeing that actions like that are normal in video games. In terms of it being a game, I think it is ok for other people to harm the robots, but this does not reflect my beliefs and values. I hope that people could realize the immoral things they have done against these robots; even though the main purpose of wiping the host’s mind is supposed to clear the negative actions of one’s doing. I think that people can have fun in Westworld without harming the hosts.
ReplyDeleteProficient.
DeleteSome good points here. You talk about morality, but does that apply to machines? Are you acting immorally if you smash a plate or rip a piece of paper? Isn't morality based upon your actions towards the living? And isn't it based upon the consequences of your actions? There are no consequences, either positive or negative, of mistreating the robots, so how is it immoral? Or is the truth none of these things? Fascinating discussion.
When put in the situation of being given the choice and freedom to do whatever one wishes, it is difficult to say what each person would do. Every individual has different morals and beliefs, meaning that some may take advantage of the freedom they are given through participating in the Westworld, but some may not act any different than if they were still in their normal world. This presents the question of whether humans are good or evil by nature. Some may believe that their personal beliefs and values would cause them to not take advantage of the freedom given, but when actually put in this situation it is unclear what temptations would overrule. Personally, I believe I would not take advantage of the opportunities provided because morally I do not agree with the situation. My point of view is that society needs rules for protection against those who would do as they please with the freedom given. Every individual is different and without someone to stop them, temptations may take over and cause them to do something they may not when society is not accepting of the sadistic nature. By human nature, each person cares about their own desires with less regard to the wishes of others, resulting in harm to those being taken advantage of. Overall, in a rule less society individuals may demonstrate their personal beliefs and values by acting in a different way than they would in the “real world”. Although the hosts are robots and in the Westworld for the guest’s entertainment, taking advantage of them only proves what could happen if our society had no rules to live by.
ReplyDeleteProficient.
DeleteInteresting. Your position evolves as you write. At the beginning, you suggest that people will act in different ways based on their unique values and beliefs, but you suggest later that our nature is evil and we will act thusly if given the opportunity when there are no consequences. Which is it?
In the increasingly technologically advanced society we live in today the issues presented in Westworld are gradually becoming more of a reality. Are humans inherently good or evil? Is it against society's moral code to abuse creatures that may resemble humans but cannot feel pain or emotional distress? These are only a few questions one must ask themselves as technology continues to grow and advance. I believe that because this issue of morality towards inanimate beings is so new to us and there is no established moral code, every person would have a different idea of acceptable treatment towards these computerized beings. If you believe that an AI is is exactly that, artificial intelligence, than why is mistreating a robot any different than mistreating a computer or an alarm clock? But if you believe that if a robot looks, speaks, and emotes like a human you should treat it like one, you may not believe this issue is so black and white. Many people would find it sickening to sexually and physically abuse something that looks human because it has been ingrained in us since birth that doing those things to a human are terrible crimes. This is not a question of the nature of humans, it is a question of where we draw the line of acceptable treatment. Once such a standard has been set then we would be able to more accurately judge the morality of one's actions towards these intelligent devices.
ReplyDeleteExcellent.
DeleteYou raise a valid point. But who is drawing that line? Society? Us, as individuals? Isn't the point of Westworld is that they are drawing the line for us in that they are saying that there are no rules. They don't hide that the hosts are robots, so we know they are machines. Thus our actions are knowingly taken against objects, not people.
It is hard to say how a person would act in this particular situation. I personally would not act any differently as I believe the things mentioned above that are now allowed for the guests to do are morally incorrect. Even though the hosts are robots the idea of committing these acts is atrocious. Just because the hosts are there for the guests entertainment does not mean the guest should be able to take advantage of them. This environment certainly demonstrates the differences in peoples morals and values and brings into question those of the human race in general. The show is clearly playing on the bad morals of much of human kind as people, being free to do so, are harming these robots. I believe a situation like this shows one's true colours so to speak as it allows one to do the things in which they truly desire. Though the typical person you see on the streets is not often a sadistic serial killer or sexual sadist there are certainly a fair number of people who fit these criteria. I believe it is people like these who will take full advantage of this rule less society. However, I believe an average person would continue to live as they do now as most people do not just follow the rules of law because they have to but also because they agree with them. In conclusion, the average person would follow their personal morals and beliefs causing them to act no differently in this situation. Contrastingly, people with inept moral compasses will likely abuse the ability to participate in actions they are otherwise unable to do.
ReplyDeleteExcellent.
DeleteYour position is different from most here in that you believe we are basically good. Westworld seems to argue the opposite. What evidence do you have that this is true?
The idea behind Westworld poses some very interesting questions about the nature of human beings. Are human beings inherently good or inherently evil? Ultimately, it is my belief that humans are naturally good. I believe in "Tabula rasa" and that our character or nature is a product of our total life experiences, but deep down I believe that there is a core of good and decency in the majority of us. I believe that the typical person, placed in the situation of being a guest at Westworld would likely be a thrill seeker. To pay $40 000 per day, they would posses an adventurous spirit and have an insatiable desire to try new things, such as interaction with robots and also to experience the bedlam of the Wild West. I am not naive enough to believe that there are not some individuals in our society who would maim, assault or kill simply for their own sadistic pleasure. However, I would like to think that the vast majority of our society would not engage in such barbaric activities.
ReplyDeleteProficient.
DeleteWhy do you believe this? Does the evidence of the world around us seem to support or reject this belief?
Joel Ramnath
ReplyDeleteI believe that humans are by nature evil. When left on their own, without laws, boundaries and consequences for their actions people would act much differently than in a society with law and order. As a result of an individual’s upbringing, religion and education each has a moral compass that either allows a person to cross the line or not and defines where that line begins and ends. If you were to conduct a survey on how randomly chosen people would react to a situation such as Westworld, you would probably get the same results, except for a few outliers. Which is you wouldn’t do anything horribly unjustified (i.e. commit murder, rape, etc), you might do petty crime and some less serious offences because there are no laws on Westworld and that’s in the back of your mind. Everything on Westworld looks and feels real, however, your moral compass will not allow you to cross the line. I think that the show over exaggerates what regular people would do in this situation. This feeds into another question, do the “hosts” have rights? I believe that we shouldn’t even be in this situation in the first place. I believe it is morally wrong for anyone to play “God” with another human being or in the case of Westworld, the artificial intelligence called “hosts”. Even though they do not have sentience, it doesn’t make it morally correct to murder them or sexually assault them, etc. Having these artificial intelligence objects looking like humans is also morally wrong, and once you kill one of the “hosts” what’s stopping you from killing an actual human being. You may be under the impression your brain knows the difference, but if you get into a situation like that in reality, your brain will go back and say it wasn’t bad killing one of the “hosts”, what’s the difference now? I, myself, have a “line” that I won’t cross. I wouldn’t cross that line in Westworld because then what’s stopping me from crossing that line in reality. If it gets to the point where you cannot tell the difference from reality, then it is quite easy to take tendencies and habits you picked up in an artificial world into real life. Most people have their lines that they won’t cross. Even though humans are naturally evil, you would have to be inside of Westworld for a while before getting seriously tested with extremely dark thoughts. Petty crime is one thing, murder is different. Your personal ideology would definitely affect your way of proceeding in Westworld. If you are a pacifist, then the odds of you doing unjustifiable acts of violence are very slim. However, if you define yourself as a Nazi or a racist and see a target group in Westworld the odds of you killing them are extremely high. You really can’t tell just from someone’s political ideologies whether or not they would support Westworld. Just because you are a modern liberal or a traditional liberal does not mean you support doing “x, y and z”. Political issues and social issues are two completely different things. Just because you are a capitalist doesn’t mean you want to go do evil things and only think about yourself. They may support the corporation that owns Westworld, and its profits but don’t necessarily agree with the concept. On the other end of the spectrum, you can’t assume that every socialist is peace-loving. In the end, a person’s response to being placed in a society like Westworld has little to do with their political ideologies and more to do with their personal moral compass.
Excellent.
DeleteThis is a wonderful analysis. I particularly like how you take a look at the bigger picture related to 'playing God' - it takes the issues to a much higher level. Well done.
Amaar Atwal
ReplyDeleteSee I feel this is a difficult question to answer because it's to hard to tell what a single individual would do, it depends on what type of person they are which is affected by many factors (the environment they grew up in, their upbringing, etc..). I feel the actions that you would take in this theme park would reflect the values and beliefs that you hold (since you have more freedom to do whatever you want with these robots). Even if you know these things aren’t actual human beings they still emote emotions and act similar to us and to what extent you do to them shows your true colours (even if you don’t act like that in real life). It's sort of fascinating see how an individual would act in this type of situation (it’s like a playground). I feel that a lot of people would abuse the robots in some type of way (either sexually or violently) which I feel is a disturbing realisation about how people can be when they are put in certain situations. But at the same I think that their still would be a small amount of people that wouldn’t abuse them due to their upbringing, I feel (in my opinion) that we are naturally born violent in some type of way which I feel also contributes to how someone would act. In this type of situation I think it would promote violence more than anything else. In conclusion it mainly comes down to the morals you grew up with that prevents us from craving our violent ways.
Excellent.
DeleteI agree - the issues are fascinating.
If the robots are as described and lacking self-awareness I don’t see anything wrong with destroying one for entertainment. A robot incapable of knowing what it is or what it's experiencing would be no different than that of a character in video game. They both represent human beings but they’re both not. Murdering computer controlled human like video game characters is largely accepted as being morally ok so why wouldn’t murdering a human like robot. However, if these robots were to become self-aware and capable of feelings my answer would change. If it was actually possible to hurt a robot and it to feel sadness and pain then it becomes much more like a human and much less like a computer program. If I knew that by hurting a robot I wasn’t just breaking it but that I was hurting it emotionally I would be much less inclined to hurt it. Even if there were no repercussions from a justice system the one consequence you would never be able to remove is living with the knowledge that you made a being, similar to a human, suffer for your own enjoyment and that’s why I would be unable to commit murder on a robot. Although if anyone were to get passed the idea of making a sentient being suffer then I have no doubt they would do it for enjoyment. Personal ideologies would affect how people perceive robot murder. If someone was a modern liberal they would be more accepting of the new human like robot and believe in equal treatment for robot and humans but someone who is incredibly right wing would be less accepting to the change in social norms and believe that robots shouldn’t have rights nor should they be considered human.
ReplyDeleteExcellent.
DeleteFinally, somebody who sees the equivalency to computer games! I was wondering when that would happen. To me, the problem would come with the fact that while one might intellectually be able to see the robots as machines (because you've been told that they are), your instincts would scream 'human!' and that is when your morals would kick in, showing who you really are. Which is stronger, your head or your heart?
The issues presented in Westworld pose interesting questions on the behaviour of human beings. Are human beings naturally good or evil? I believe that human beings are naturally good and learn to be evil when they’re exposed to it. Although with that said, it would be difficult to predict how an individual might act when encountering the “hosts” from the show. The 21st century has been all about technological advances and making robots more human-like is just one example. I personally wouldn’t feel the need to act malevolently towards robots because I simply consider them as machines built with a purpose just like a toaster oven. It knows not of any emotion or feelings. So why would human beings want to hurt robots? I recognize the fact that causing an object harm causes no guilt whatsoever, therefore making it easier for an individual to release their anger or hatred. Doing the same thing to a human being would pull on your conscience more as you might be able to empathize with what the other person may be experiencing such as pain.
ReplyDeleteProficient.
DeleteThis is an interesting look at the issues. I wonder if it is a question of a 'need' to act in an inhumane way towards the robots or a 'desire' to do so?
In my opinion, being a regular person going to a "amusement park" like westworld would be somewhat weird for me. Seeing that everything is so real, but is actually controlled by one person makes it feel like the guy who made it would be a guy that likes to control things. IN a general aspect, it would be that are humans truly good or truly evil? This tv show looks at the topic of having the human mind play tricks, because you would know the robots or "attractions" as just robots, but they look so realistic and can be just like us. My personal belief of this topic is that it is hard to distinguish the truth on the things you only see, and if you do not know the whole story, it could end up to be really disturbing. If you do not know that westworld is all make believe and think everything is real, and realize at the end that everything you thought was a lie, would change your perspective about the world we live in. Guests having ultimate control over the hosts in westworld may reveal what you see in a human, if they would abuse the control, over just do what you normally do. You can see the extent of morality of a person when visiting westworld, of what we truly are deep inside.
ReplyDeleteThis is Josh Cantos, I published accidentally on a different account and didn't save it on word
DeleteProficient.
DeleteGood job. You raise an interesting point. This discussion really only works if you are 100% sure that you are dealing with robots. If you are not, then it is true, you might as well be dealing with humans and nothing has really changed.
The nature of human beings has been long debated. Are we naturally good or bad? Does society help us to be better, or make us worse? The answer posed in Westworld is that humans are naturally bad. If given the opportunity, we will assault, exploit and harm others if given the chance to do so as long as there is no fear of repercussions. Although the purpose of Westworld is twisted (i.e. humans are allowed to hurt hosts in whatever way they wish, for entertainment), there is no real harm done as no humans are actually harmed. The Hosts, however life-like they are, are still robots. Designed to be utilized, not to be another race of species that have rights and freedoms. Individuals who subscribe to different ideologies would see them differently however. Individuals who are facist or communist would be more likely to abuse the robots as they are inclined to believe that their ethnicity, country or race is better than all the rest and they have the ability to abuse the Hosts because they, as the humans, are superior. Personally, I see them as just another technological advancement, like a phone. I would not however, act violently towards them, I have no need. I am not a malicious person and have no desire to cause anyone or anything pain. I do, however, believe that humans are naturally evil. We are naturally selfish and if given the chance to act without fear of consequences, will act maliciously. I think most people would want to know what it would feel like to be able to do anything without consequences, and they would willingly participate in this program.
ReplyDeleteProficient.
DeleteGood discussion. I would suggest that communists are not the same as fascists (at least theoretically) in the way you claim. They are not focused on nationalism or racism. To them, all nations and races are the same - what matters is your class. If the amusement park was based on class warfare, the communists would have a field day!
The connection that this source has to our social studies curriculum is the question as to are humans naturally evil, or naturally good? In my opinion they are naturally evil. In this instance I am sure that if this was reality there would be a bunch of people who would do any sick and disgusting thing they could do there because they do not have to fear the repercussions. In my personal belief and particular ideologies that I believe in is that there is no difference as to wether you do harm to another human being, or to a robot. Harm is harm, and as long as you are doing something negative to someone (or in this case something) else it is wrong. If I was put in this situation I would not do harm to a robot because my beliefs and ideologies teaches to put yourself in their shows, how would you feel if you were sexually assaulted, or your pet was killed, and the part that would hurt the most is that the person who committed these terrible mistakes would not even be punished, but it would all be forgotten as if it had never happened in the first place. To humans being able to commit these horrid dead and get away with it would be the primary reason most citizens do it. The fear of what might happen after and the repercussions is not worried about and therefore the citizens feel that being able to do this and get away with it is okay. The most capable group of citizens to do this would be the facists. In my opinion the most unreasonable and extremist group that resides in common society. Therefore this article would answer the major question and prove that humans are born evil, and are all selfish and unreasonable human beings that cannot live peacefully in a society where your actions are not held accountable to you for.
ReplyDeleteGurbir Mann
Proficient.
DeleteA bit of editing would have helped this! I wonder, this extreme attitude that equates human beings to 'things' that you suggest you have, where is the line for this? Do you refuse to kill an insect that is bothering you? Vermin that are destroying food in your home? Will you refrain from throwing obsolete electronics away because you know they will be dismantled ('torn apart')? How is this any different?