The thesis of Tron of 1982 is currently under discussion. In that film, computer programs take on human form and, in the case of the character Master Control, they defy their creator.
What happens if the artificial intelligence (AI) develop feelings? That question poses the third part of the science fiction saga of Disney which premiered in theaters on Thursday.
Attention: this article has spoilers.
In Tron: Aresa technology mogul, Julian Dillinger (Evan Peters), designs a cybernetic soldier named Ares (Jared Leto), who at a certain point, due to things that happen in the plot, discovers that he is capable of feeling.
From there, his mission in history takes a 180 degree turn. He stops being a subordinate and becomes an independent man, mortal like anyone else. Its intention to stop being a program is one hundred percent altruistic. Ares, like Pinocchio, wants to become a real man.
Jared Leto is Ares in Tron: Ares. Photo: DisneyThus, in the final fight it takes place between the AI still controlled by Dillinger and Ares, the AI that became independent of him.
Ares fights for the survival of Eve (Greta Lee), the CEO of ENCOM, a technological start-up that seeks to integrate AI into human progress in relation to ecology, work and medicine.
What happens if AI attaches itself to humans and empowers them in their fight for survival? Tron: Ares, even though its appearance offers it as another commercial premiere, leaves on the table a theory not so explored in studio cinema: AI as salvation and not as condemnation.
Robots and humans or Robots vs humans
To contextualize, Clarín spoke about AI and humanoid robots with the Chinese specialist Luo Xunprofessor of computer science at Connected Universal Experience Labs and Member of the Board of Directors of the China Computer Federation.
Eve (Greta Lee) in Tron: Ares. Photo: DisneyLuo confirms that the current state of affairs revolves around the fact that robots are having “greater natural interaction with humans”.
The functionality of robots is becoming more and more varied: there are therapeutic ones (see the Intuition Robotics robot capable of remembering conversations), doctors (Toyota is developing a robot capable of doing the work of nurses), workers (AES Corporation uses robots to install solar panels in the United States), transporters (Huawei put on sale a car that runs without need for a human to touch the steering wheel), killers (Vyriy drones designed in Ukraine in the war against Russia).
A 2022 Pew Research survey on whether robots will replace humans in jobs indicated that 48% of experts believe they will. The other 52% believe that robotics and AI will create more jobs than they eliminate. A leap of faith for human ingenuity. What both groups do think is that educational institutions are not adequately preparing people for the market of tomorrow.
Luo has a clear idea on the subject. «I certainly believe that new types of jobs will emerge with the increasing number and broader coexistence of service robots. It is difficult to predict what types of new jobs. But based on human history, this is not a cause for concern”.
Of course: the question is whether the distribution of new jobs will be fair for all groups of people.
Are you optimistic about this issue?
I’m not very optimistic… For several reasons. The artificial intelligence we have now is largely built on deep learning and big models. If things go wrong in the robots’ reasoning it is difficult to find ways to mitigate them. There is a lack of consensus among jurisdictions on how AI should be regulated. This is like the lack of a global law defining common crimes. We are in a time when humans are deeply divided in their understanding of common values. In the situation of robots, such a division will only be worse.
The two topics that quickly come up in every conversation about AI are 1) the possibility of robots replacing us 2) how dangerous AI is on a criminalistic level.
Regarding the first question, Dr. Luo recalls that industrial manufacturing robots were used for a long time and on a large scale. For him, the big change in recent years has to do with the largest number of robots in the consumer service area.
That there will be paranoia about the “uncanny valley” effect (an expression used in robotics to refer to robots that are similar to humans in perspective and affect)? «More or less; it’s very natural. Society will need a profound change of mentality to accept and embrace the large-scale use of service robots. It will take a while, but it will eventually happen. Just as we accept traveling by plane: it is not naturally human, but we adapt. Will there be more robots that we believe are human in outlook and affect? Very sincerely yes,» says Luo.
Will there be a tendency among humans to come up with new jobs?
I certainly believe that new types of work will emerge with the increasing number and broader coexistence of service robots. It is difficult to predict what kind of new jobs. But based on human history, this is not a cause for concern.
