2001 Revisited

I watched 2001: A Space Odyssey again a few days ago, again. I did a post about this movie back in 2017 which I have provided a link to below.

https://wurdsfromtheburbs.blogspot.com/2017/01/2001-reflection.html 

That post reflected on my perceived disappointment that those who were involved in that movie, the author of the book, Arthur C. Clarke, etc, but also all those who worked for NASA in the 1960's who were challenged by then President Kennedy to put a man on the moon, and did so, within the decade, must have felt when the actual year 2001 rolled around and the reality of our space age accomplishments were far less than what 2001, the movie, predicted.

I also commented on my personal disappointment that the cooperation between nations that was exhibited in the movie was no where near what we were experiencing in 2017. It was if we had forgotten the lessons of the two World Wars and were back on a path towards isolationism within certain countries and aggression by others via economic and military means.

This time, however, I was struck by the relationship between the astronauts in the movie and the computer, HAL, and how this dynamic has changed astronomically, in the last decades.

One of the lessons of 2001, was that when a computer with advanced logic and thinking skills is told to withhold information from the crew, it becomes paranoid, begins to suspect, in this case its human crew mates, as plotting against it through actions that endanger the mission. 

After a conversation between the two astronauts which occurs out of earshot of HAL, the computer kills the co-pilot during an EV, then turns off the life support machines of the three other crew members who have not been "awakened" yet. When asked why by the remaining human on board, HAL tells him that he was able to lip read that covert conversation, and that it was clear that the humans planned to disconnect him, an action that would clearly endanger their objectives. Remember, HAL has information that is not to be shared with the crew, so it is logical to the computer that the potential actions that the humans discussed were in direct conflict to the goals of the mission.

2001.. was released in 1969, over 55 years ago. While advanced computers with thinking skills were predicted at that time, we were no where near achieving such creations.

While everyone kind of assumed many blue collar jobs in the low wage industries were certainly on the chopping block, there are many who predict that AI, which is already being used to generate everything from college papers to automatic answers to Google queries, will also replace all kinds if white collar jobs in the not too distant future.

So, while our accomplishments in space as portrayed by 2001... are far from reality, the advancements in the science behind it, technology and computing, have produced a computer in everyone's hand (the cell phone), and a low level doctor on many wrists. 

My wife and I saw the last installment of the Mission Impossible movies a couple of weeks ago. (I plan to do my next post on that topic). Without taking anything from that post, the nemesis in this last movie is The Entity, a force which emerged in the previous Mission Impossible movies.

As in 2001.., the Terminator series, among others, the Final Reckoning portrays advanced AI abilities as a threat to humanity. Like Frankenstein's monster, we create a tool which is supposed to help us in some way, but we lose control over it and it becomes a threat.

I wonder if the current anti-science vein that has resulted in attacks on the various institutions that are science based, is tied, in part, to this fear. Certainly, vaccines that have been documented to have saved millions of lives in the last 100 years, are now being questioned, even condemned, as being unsafe, not just by those on the fringes of our society, but by some of the people in charge of our national health and disease fighting organizations.

It is such a severe contrast to the time of my childhood when the future was filled with wonderful inventions that would make life easier, provide more leisure time, remove humans from doing extremely dangerous jobs, perhaps even conquer some of our most deadly diseases. This dynamic has now been replaced with, at best, skepticism that those developing those life saving instruments have our overall interests at heart, at worst, that such advancements and technology are either just another way to make vast amounts of money or actually harmful, meant to reduce the populations of people not acceptable.

Advanced eugenics, if you like.

The ironic thing about eugenics is that most people would be in favor of, even rejoice at a science based breakthrough (such as the work with CRISPR) that would enable doctors to remove the faulty DNA which causes diseases such as Alzheimers, Parkinsons, MS, etc, yet shrink in horror when someone mentions eugenics due to its associations with the Nazis attempts to eliminate specific types of people. 

I posted about eugenics in 2015, link below.  

https://wurdsfromtheburbs.blogspot.com/2015/07/eugenics.html 

For me, it all seems to come back to the idea that we need to remember that it is possible to have two thoughts in one's head at the same time. Respect for those in science who can think outside the box and develop tools that enable the rest of us to live better, while also acknowledging that, like any tool, that invention or advancement can be used improperly if not regulated or monitored.

In 2001.. the meaning of the monolith, that black rectangular thing that appears in the movie among the apes, and then appears again on the moon after humanity has established a presence there, seems to indicate that some extraterrestrial force exists that is monitoring, even directing, our progress on Earth.

I would prefer to think that humanity might be able to figure it all out on our own, without outside assistance, whether that aid comes from space or from heaven as it just seems too easy to excuse our mistakes, our inhumanity towards each other as out of our control. 

One more link, if I may. Created in late 2023, it discusses original sin, which is one explanation for why all of humanity is flawed, and in need of salvation. 

https://wurdsfromtheburbs.blogspot.com/2023/11/original-sin.html