Humans

      The series, Humans, has recently been brought to the United States from Great Britain. It now currently airs on AMC. If you haven't heard of this show, I recommend you look into it. In brief, it explores the idea of machines that have a sense of emotion. The machines in the show are referred to "synths," which is short for synthetics. The major issue of the show is that many people are troubled with where the line must be drawn between humans and machines and how that can affect one's daily life. We see this conflict time and time again in TV series and even movies, like "I, Robot."

      The reason I am writing about this show is because I think it brings up a very common issue about where the line must be drawn when it comes to advancements in technology. In the first episode of the series, a man decides to purchase a synth to fill the empty void he was feeling when his wife had gone away for a long period of time. The synth took over the daily tasks of cleaning the house, handling errands and taking care of his children. When the wife came back, she felt as if she had been replaced by an actual person. There was no clear distinction between the wife and the synth because of how life-like the synth had become to the family. Where is the line drawn between what a synth should be able to accomplish and how emotionally involved could it get before it seems more like a human rather than a man-made machine? I think it is an interesting question because our society naturally wants to improve our technology and come up with new products that make our lives easier and once we create that product, we are already in the process of creating an even better product. We continuously expect more and I think we expect that our improving technology is anything but a bad thing.

     There are always negative consequences to this. In the show, the wife felt cast off and not needed because a machine was brought to perform her "motherly duties." This affects the wife emotionally and it affects the family as well because it's not clear who they will trust more. This relates to our modern day technology as well. When do we depend on ourselves and when do we depend on the technology available to us? It is like saying if Google is available to us, why should we solve a math problem if we can find it on the Internet? I know it's a stretch from the show, but when it's all said and done I believe it's all the same.