Unit 3: Robotics + Art

The birth of a Replicant in Bladerunner 2049

Display of more Replicants

After watching the lecture videos this week I was inspired to check out a few clips from Bladerunner 2049, the sequel to the original starring Harrison Ford. In the world created in the second Bladerunner, there are two separate categories: Humans and Replicants. Alike to humans in almost every way, replicants are still considered to be of a lower class then real humans because they are manmade. They are used as slave laborers and said to be soulless. The creator of the replicants, Wallace, laments that replicants cannot reproduce, as he can only make so many. If these sub-humans were able to procreate, it would provide an unlimited resource of workers for him and the rest of humanity. He cannot make the replicants at a fast enough pace all by himself.

The Ted-Talk by Hod Lipson explores a similar concept. He also wishes to see a world where robots can reproduce. Lipson thinks that we need to steer away from the concept of designing and manufacturing robots ourselves and rather let them evolve and learn on their own. The pieces for systems like those created by nature can be manufactured by man, we are just not able to put them together in a way that can adapt like a real living system. That is why he is conducting experiments to make them learn by themselves. Yes, his models are all very rudimentary but they could be the beginning of accelerated progress in Robotics. Like Wallace said, we just cannot advance fast enough on our own.

I find it fascinating how much a popular movie is similar to some actual struggles for advancements in the real world. Obviously, we are not anywhere close to having human replicants, nor are we trying to produce slave laborers with human-like consciousness, but we are trying to make robots that can think for themselves, a concept that has been displayed in science fiction for years.

Sources:Brooks, Rodney. “Robots Will Invade Our Lives.” TED: Ideas Worth Spreading, Ted Conferences LLC, Feb. 2003, www.ted.com/talks/rodney_brooks_on_robots.

Flint, H. (n.d.). Screen Rant: Movie News, Movie Reviews, Movie Trailers, TV News. Blade Runner 2049: Replicant Anatomy Explained | Screen Rant. Retrieved October 08, 2017, from http://screenrant.com/blade-runner-2049-different-replicants-explained/

Lipson, Hod. “Building ‘Self-Aware’ Robots.” TED: Ideas Worth Spreading, Ted Conferences, LLC, Mar. 2007, www.ted.com/talks/hod_lipson_builds_self_aware_robots.

Lipson, Hod, and Viktor Zykov. “Self Replication.” Creative Machines Lab - Columbia University, www.creativemachineslab.com/self-replication.html.

Lipson, Hod. “Hod Lipson.” Mechanical Engineering, Columbia University, me.columbia.edu/hod-lipson.

“Plot.” IMDb, IMDb.com, www.imdb.com/title/tt1856101/plotsummary?ref_=tt_stry_pl#synopsis.

"TED Talks about Robots and Robotics (Part 1) | Hizook." Hizook | Robotics News for Academics & Professionals. Hizook, 16 Jan 2018. Web. <http://www.hizook.com/blog/2012/01/16/ted-talks-about-robots-and-robotics-part-1>.

YouTube. (2018). The Future of Robotics and AI | Hod Lipson, Columbia University. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idFMzvFdGRA [Accessed 22 Apr. 2018].