Week 3: Robotics and Art

The moment I started the Walter Benjamin reading, I was reminded vividly of the show Altered Carbon. Based on a futuristic cyberpunk novel, the Netflix adaptation follows a special forces soldier who is resurrected in a future where consciousness is digitized and can be transferred among "sleeves", or human bodies designed for the rich to essentially achieve immortality. In this work, humans and their consciousnesses are almost exactly like your average iCloud backup; it begs the question of what makes people human- their bodies, or their minds? 

 

Warning: spoilers below for Altered Carbon season 1.

 

In many ways, the protagonist of Altered Carbon, Takeshi Kovacs, had his crises throughout the show addressed by the concerns raised in Benjamin's "The work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction" (and conveniently, makes a nice metaphor of humans as works of art). I've listed a few of the most notable connections I made.

I. "Even the most perfect reproduction of a work of art is lacking in one element: its presence in time and space, its unique existence at the place where it happens to be." (Benjamin, 1)

In his own time, Kovacs was a famous guerilla soldier who led revolutionary forces, and was confident and skilled. He was shaped by growing up in such an environment. The Kovacs that was resurrected 250 years after his digitization is unfamiliar with the new world of holograms, AIs, stratospheric residences, and more. Although he is a perfect reproduction, with his full set of memories, physical reflexes, and more, he is reduced in some ways; he no longer has the contacts and comrades of the past, nor the confidence in his maneuvering around the world. 

 

Here's Kovacs, in his new body, looking confused. Pretty common theme for the first season honestly.

 

II. "Every fundamentally new, pioneering creation of demands will carry beyond its goal." (Benjamin, 4)

Resleeving was invented for practical reasons- to make interstellar travel possible. It was expensive, rare, and regulated. In the 250 years between Kovacs's death and resurrection though, it became a form of social currency as the technology was refined. To afford a multitude of sleeves was a given for the rich, and inconceivable to the poor. Resleeving became about lab-grown bodies designed for aesthetics, modified cybernetically for performance, or paying enough to take the "sleeve" of a younger, healthier human who needed the money. The motivations and accessibility of resleeving was unrecognizable from its original form.

 

Advertising for sleeves like they were new phone models.

 

3. "Technology has not been sufficiently developed to cope with the elemental forces of society." (Benjamin, 6)

The world of Altered Carbon may seem unbelievably technologically advanced, but it reflects Benjamin's critique that even technology cannot cure society of the ill of inequality. In fact, the world that Kovacs wakes up in shows even greater disparity between the rich resleeved immortals, and the common man. Because they've had hundreds of years to coalesce their wealth, the aristocrats demonstrate the phenomenon of generational wealth in their own lifetimes. The dystopic presentation of the grime and filth of the streets directly contrasts with the pristine skyscrapers of the immortal upper class, forever grinding the proletariat beneath their feet. 

The directors were not subtle with the coloring of scenes; here is Bay City, where the masses live.

Meanwhile, the rich live literally in the clouds.

Although Altered Carbon is obviously a work of fiction, I wouldn't discount its social commentary. In some ways, I believe sci-fi and dystopian writers are prophets that can see the worst possible future. Davis's commentary on such predictive attempts was doubtful, but current events around the world seem to reflect the concerns of sci-fi and political writers of the past. I believe that examining media of creators like the author of the original book can give us an impression of what futurist minds think of humanity and their actions given technological improvement. Given contemporary concerns about robots taking away our jobs, social media's effect on adolescent psychology, militaries engineering cybernetic armor, and more, I don't think it's too much of a stretch to pay more attention to the effect of technology on society and the art it produces. 

 

References

Altered Carbon Screenshots [Digital image]. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://alteredcarbonresources.tumblr.com/

Altered carbon season 1 trailer | rotten tomatoes tv [Video file]. (2018, March 06). Retrieved April 17, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Yt89b5AcwY

Altered Carbon [Television series]. (2018, February 2). Netflix.

Davis, D. (1995). The work of art in the age of digital Reproduction (an Evolving Thesis: 1991-1995). Leonardo, 28(5), 381. doi:10.2307/1576221

Markets, R. (2019, November 21). Military artificial intelligence & Cybernetics: World markets to 2024 - rising demand for Next-generation Battlefield technologies Presents lucrative opportunities. Retrieved April 17, 2021, from https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/military-artificial-intelligence--cybernetics--world-markets-to-2024---rising-demand-for-next-generation-battlefield-technologies-presents-lucrative-opportunities-300962307.html

O'Keeffe, G., Clarke-Pearson, K., & Media, C. (2011, April 01). The impact of social media on Children, adolescents, and families. Retrieved April 17, 2021, from https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/127/4/800

Walter Benjamin's the work of art in the age of mechanical reproduction. (2018). doi:10.4324/9781912284894

Wolf, Zachary B. (2019, September 3). The robots are coming for your job too. Retrieved April 17, 2021, from https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/24/politics/economy-us-workforce-automation/index.html