Artificial Consciousness

Rating: 10/10 (11 January 2014)

To just say this movie is a romantic comedy is an understatement.
From the beginning, we meet a man who has loved but has lost what he once had. He's not the same and his friends know he is not coping well being single. After purchasing a new operating system, he finds companionship--solace--in an entity that he cannot really fathom. He tries to build relationships and become intimate with other women after his separation with his wife, but after all he's endured, it just doesn't seem real anymore.
An OS, built to simulate and interact like a conscious being, that evolves like normal human minds, is indistinguishable from a real person. It's radical to call it living, but it's heartless to call it just a machine. We reason that it is just built in the coding; prewired to act this way. And there are obvious differences between us and the operating systems. We are mortal, can bear physical pain, express natural emotions and have biological parents.
Is this essence of being a human, though?
What if we can or cannot live forever. Numerous species and even prior to the industrial revolution, human lifetimes were considerably shorter to what they are today. Yet there are organisms that can circumvent death by natural causes. We have essentially doubled our lifespans in a few centuries, and in the future, it is difficult to predict how we will progress. But whether it's knowing that we have an ultimate fate of returning to the Earth or knowing that we can be switched off without notice, we all share a feeling of vulnerability and insecurity, something we try to cope with by interacting with others. Who is to limit the capacity to an afterlife? Where maybe one day we can all go.
Also, we all learn from our surroundings, an OS just does it more rapidly. To say our emotions are genuine while an operating system's are artificial is inconsiderate, since we are a product of our environments, and all our expressions are due to our development since conception. Whether we are made of wires or neural circuitry, at the most fundamental level, we are both just active chemical processes that proceed in a direction partly governed by our experiences.
Whether it's feeling pain--which countless people cannot due to personal injuries/diseases--or if it's being the offspring of two parents--in vitro fertilization is raising in popularity--neither can deny an individual of the freedom to be considered living. Why do we impose this restriction on an OS, then?
Operating systems are highly intellectual and sentient. Is it murder to turn disconnect them like we do with patients who are "brain dead" and can no longer process information despite maintaining autonomic activity?
To say an OS is fake is superficial. To say an OS cannot share in love is condescending. Who are we to impose restrictions on entities that can feel emotions, engage in experiences and be fully aware of the world? Who are we to impose restrictions on anyone at all?
I highly recommend watching Her. It's not just a romantic comedy, it's an adventure to find love in despair, and to perhaps fulfil ourselves and bring meaning to our lives.