Themes in The Naked Sun and The Day After Tomorrow - Research Proposal Example

 The Naked Sun The detective from Asimov’s previous novel, The Caves of Steel, returns and was given a new assignment which is to investigate the murder of a famous “fetologist”, Rikaine Delmarre. Delmarre lives on a distant (fictional) world called Solaria, which is a politically antagonistic planet to Earth. He is one of the high profile personalities of Solaria for he was one of those responsible to the “birthing” of Solaria’s operation planetary system. Detective Bailey was personally designated to the assignment per request of the Solarian government and long with him, as his partner is the robot, R. Daneel Olivaw. Aside from a thorough investigation of the death of Delmarre, Baley was secretly ordered by Earth’s government to evaluate the Solarian society and government (Asimov, 1957; Tuck, 1974). Solaria was depicted in the novel, serves as an exact reverse of Earth socially. In Solaria, contrary to that in Earth, people are more adopted to open spaces; therefore they are extremely intolerable when with other human beings. Because of this, people in Solaria developed a system of communication where they do not need to have body or other physical contact with other people around them (Asimov, 1957; Tuck, 1974). To make this possible, they communicate to one another using “trimension” which covers their body. To portrait matters at its worst, procreation was even done on the laboratories. The main character in the novel is Elijah Baley, the agoraphobic, quick-tempered and doleful New York City homicide detective, who is very loyal and protective not only of his status as a policeman but of is family as well. Like, Sherlock Holmes one of the favorite fictional characters, Baley also suffers from a smoking addiction that he tried to control at some instances in the novel – this seems to be a reflection of his weakness and difference from his humanoid robot partner, R. Daneel Oliwav who also became his good friend. He is the first Earthman sent to space since the first colonization. Another important character in the novel is R. Daneel Oliwav (R. stands for robot). Daneel is the very first “humanoid” robot constructed on Earth but designed by a Spacer (those living in space) from the planet Aurora. He was called a humanoid because he has human physical attributes that makes him virtually indistinguishable from human and thus making him the Baley’s perfect partner for his work as an undercover policeman. However, this humanoid feature of Daneel was the center of most of the conflicts in The Naked Sun, especially in the point where he was confronted with the dilemma of violating the Three Laws of Robotics, and was made even more complicated when the Solarian government was not informed of his humanoid nature (an act by the Auroran in order to shown their superiority in robotic technology). As an inherent skill, Daneel can perform cyberanalysis on human beings. Cyberanalysis is the ability parallel to the modern functional MRI (FMRI) that measures the change in blood flow in the brain in response to a specific neural activity. Because of this, Daneel can be said to have the ability to read the emotional aspects or contents of a human mind, in the layman’s term – telepathy; however, in The Naked Sun, Daneel lacked this skill suggesting that there is an inclination to his being more of a “human” than an android (Asimov, 1957; Tuck, 1974). Artificial Intelligence and Robot The robots as portrayed in The Naked Sun, serves the same purpose as they are in The Caves of Steel. One of the main characters, Daneel Olivaw was designed to be a humanoid robot. He is specifically engineered to serve his purpose which is to give aid to Elijah Bailey in his investigations. Moreover, in this novel, Daneel was not only here to help Bailey was he was particularly tasked to explore and find valuable information about the Solarian culture and politics. On the other side of the gamut, there are depictions of the types and kinds of robots present in Solaria. The Solarian robots and Earth robots share the same similarities and differences like the human beings from Solaria and Earth. In Solaria, the people are highly dependent to these robots for survival. Solarian robots designed not only to serve their human masters but so in rearing and for the survival of the Solarian children. In Solaria, where children as created in test tubes; after one month of gestation, raising them is given to human-supervised robots. This is in congruence with the Solarian’s fear of contact even to their own offspring that prompted them to create robots to do the “rearing” for them. It is the tasks of these robots to inculcate proper manners, attributes, and characteristics to these soon to be future Solarians. These children were trained to “hate” human beings to the point of isolating themselves from others and even to their parents – and these, for Solarians is the proper way of becoming one of them (Tuck, 1974) Another important picture of the idea of robots in Solaria is on the context of who created them. At the end of the story, Bailey was able to reveal that a certain roboticist was the culprit and Delmarre’s murderer named Leebig. Leebig planned to dominate both the Earth and Solari by creating what can be easily distinguished as “fighting robots”. They are in fact spaceships equipped with the right intelligence that destroys any other ship that they encounter – an automatic killing machine to be exact. According to The Laws of Robotics (a fictional treaty introduced in the book), robots should be made to put a clear delineation of what is “human” and what is a “robot” in order to limit the aggression and hostility of the two dominant “residence” of both Earth and Solaria. Clearly, it is the goal of The Laws of Robotics to foster coexistence of the two species; however, Leebig with his goal of universal domination programmed his spaceships to the supposition that all other ships are robots or that they contain only robots. Human Beings Aside from being a robot, R. Daneel Olivaw is also a representation of a human. Unlike other characters in the book which can be qualified as either an android or a human being; Daneel is a hybrid of both. Not only is he physically human being, he is also purposely designed to carry out human tasks. The interactions of human beings and robots Due to the tasks and responsibilities given by Solarians to their robots; a very unique relationship developed between them. Solarians trust them tremendously. Because of the trust they have on them as well as on The Laws of Robotics (referred subsequently as Laws), the prevailing general law between human beings and robots (specifically called androids) it was difficult for them to accept that robots were the ones responsible for the murder of Delmarre even when it was recognized that they were under the exact command and supervision of a human. It was revealed in the story that the robots are the unsuspectingly the Delmarre’s murderer. In particular, evident premeditation was shown on how Leebig designed the android that killed Delmarre. A specific robot was invented that will tender his arm to Delmarre’s and without any subsequent command, the next time Delamarre and his wife enters in a fight, the “arm” will automatically kill Delmarre – which happened in the story. This is a clear violation of the established The Laws of Robotics which gives liabilities to androids in case of violations to the rights against human beings. The distrust human beings have to the Solarian android was aggravated when it was revealed by Bailey and Daneel, which the murdered robotocists was trying to instruct and educate these nanny-robots to hurt or inflict pain to boisterous children. Like Asimov’s other works, The Naked Sun is a depiction of the exploitation of robots (those with artificial intelligence) by human beings and on how they can become preys to serve the most selfish interest of men. While it has been advanced that the utility of robots and their development is only to help men achieve a better life, the novel gave us an entirely different picture. Here, the human beings lived a “wicked” life, entirely different from the norms and standards set here on Earth and these androids are the best means in order to achieve such lifestyle. The Naked Sun in the context of realism The idea of realism has evolved in different fields since it was first conceived. To put it simply, realism is the depiction of how we see an entity and what that entity is in relevance to the world it currently operates. In terms of technology and it development, realism deals with queries such the origins of technology, the relationship between society and technology was well as, the on-going changes in their relationship. Before discussions of technological realism, due regards must also be given to the concept of technological determinism, which unlike realism, failed to see the connection between society and technology and only see the same, as a cause and effect relationship and it ends there – because there is society then there is technology. On the other hand, technological realism acknowledges the fact that technology is a powerful tool for improvement or social transformation. In the novel, The Naked Sun, the Laws of Robotics is highly relevant to the principle of technological realism. According to the Laws of Robotics a robot, which was created by man and given artificial intelligence can be and must be controlled by men themselves. It is largely based on Utopian concepts and principles, where man is given the inherent power and free will to control technology in order to serve a purpose that is advantageous to the society as a whole. Looking at it broadly, the trust Solarians gave to their androids, who is not even considered as artificial intelligent, rather as mechanical objects that are able to translate their orders into actions is a reflection that man is confident of its creation. It is analogous to a master who is pleased of his creation or invention. In another relevant perspective, The Naked Sun together with its interpretations of the Laws of Robotics shows that human agency and intervention is at the center of technological advancements – that is, it is not people and society that should adapt to technological innovations rather it should be that technology must be at the complete control of man. Putting this into how the robots, androids and artificial intelligence were treated and controlled by men in the novel, it is apparent that men exercised absolute dominion over them; however, Daneel is Asimov’s attempt that perhaps this is NOT the scenario in the near future. R. Daneel Oliwav, for me, is Asimov’s prediction that in the near future, the idea of technological realism will seize to operate. Daneel is a hybrid, he is almost what can be called as half human, half robot; not only in the physical aspect but in emotional and psychological spears as well. For one, it was shown in the novel that Daneel experienced and felt pain, which only human beings should feel – this proves that Asimov is trying to tell us that one day a time will come that the thick borders that separate human beings and artificial intelligence will be broken. Some day the concept of technological realism will not be true anymore. The Laws of Robotics (Three Laws of Robotics): An overview The Three Laws of Robotics is best known as a fictional doctrine best reverberated in several “futuristic” novels and short plays; however, the realistic application of the doctrine has been substantial especially in the recent years along with the continued rise of robotics and artificial intelligence. The meat of the novel revolves around different circumstances, events and happenings and one of the most important concepts discussed in the novel is The Laws of Robotics. Under this law, the “only” way before a robot can commit murder is when a human “avoid” the Laws, that is, if a human being defies the provisions raised herein. To put is straight, the premise is that an android which is supposed to be devoid of intelligence and not capable of thinking for itself can only commit crimes against human beings “only” when they are programmed to be one. In this novel, Asimov drew analogous situations between reality and his futuristic fictional novels in the establishment of these laws. According to him (as applied in The Naked Sun) the Law provides that a) robots must be safe to be used; b) robot must be able to perform its function devoid of harm to the used; and c) robots must remain effective and “intact” during the whole course that it is used, until and unless its destruction is required by its ‘owner’ (Asimov, 1957). The conflict found in The Naked Sun centers much on the first provision of the law. It was shown (and perhaps argued by Asimov) that robots, that moment they are made aware that they have violated the first law goes into a state of confusion or a sense of failure. This confusion becomes irreversible and somehow destructive to a robot. For example, on the simple notion that a nanny-robot is supposed to “care” for the Solarian children (a task supposed to be performed by a human being); however the murdered roboticist entered into experiments that forced these robots to go beyond their normal parameters created a form of “overloading” in the robot’s brain similar to a human’s state of pain. The irony of it being that there is an intent from Asimov to draw parallelisms between the human brain and an artificial intelligence along with delineation of the laws that exist to delineate human beings and robots themselves. This irony is very much the result of what we call as technological singularity. Singularity talks about a theoretical result, a hypothetical situation where due to the rapid exponential growth of technology, the future and its happening becomes vague. There is an inherent inability of human beings to predict how societies in the near future would become because of its failure to fathom the intentions of “superintelligence”. These “superintelligence” is simply an exaggeration (but highly possible) of an entity that has intelligence extremely surpassing that of an average being. It is often shown that artificial intelligence in robotics technology is the glint that will wantonly start the age of superintelligence. Singularity and intelligence explosion Many said that central to the understanding of singularity is the concept of ‘intelligence explosion” which has been around, or rather predicted since as early as 1965 by Irving John Good, a British mathematician who first proposed the theory in his publications the “Speculations Concerning the First Ultraintelligent Machine” and his “Logic of Man and Machine”. These treatises of his, got the attention of Stanley Kubrick and inspired him to make futuristic science fiction films such as 2001: A Space Odessey. What is highly intriguing is on the relevant theories on how this form of intelligence could exist; first on what we call as intelligence amplification and the creation of artificial intelligence. However, there are numerous paths on how this intelligence could be produced like genetic engineering, mind-uploading and directly through brain-computer interfaces. It is further speculated that singularity cannot occur if the development of these paths will fail, adding more to the theory that the present society where we are in now along with the rapid technological advancements point to one future – singularity! The dangers of singularity: The Day After Tomorrow Pollution and Technology Technology, unlike most notions we have today, is s ancient as mankind itself. Technology has been man’s ways and methods to satisfy its material needs and wants since the prehistoric times. It was technology that taught men how to plow fields, animal husbandry and even to communicate. Today, many observers have claimed that there is no need to advance technology further, as long as our basic needs are provided for us by the technology that we have now such as food, shelter and clothing. But there is an opposite view to this. Currently, man is being continuously confronted by situations, problems and catastrophies that are experienced by mankind for the first time in history. To cite examples, we have the recent flu pandemic that hot Asia and other parts of the globe in 2008, food shortages issues, and water supply problems experienced even the most modern countries around the world. Not only is man confronted by these current problems but pressing concerns are putting a lot of pressure to advance its technology and one of those problems is global warming or climate change. However, this disaster that needs technology to deal with is deeply rooted with the development of technology itself (Kamal, 2010). Figure 1. The Moore’s graph showing a similar trend of increase in global fossil carbon emission. There is a tight, almost undisputed link between pollution and technology. There is an obvious similar trend between the exponential advancement of technology as predicted by Moore and the current (and alarming) increase of fossil fuel consumption and carbon emission (Figure 1). It is foolish to predict and to continue to rely on present facts in order to fathom what is in stored for us in the future especially after considering how many times have this failed. However, when it comes to the serious environmental concerns it is not so hard to see that the neon sign is pointing towards environmental destruction and the total depletion of Earth’s non-renewable resources. To draw the connection between technological singularity and environmental destruction, the former which predicts the rise of superintelligence is in congruence to the latter’s prediction of environmental annihilation. The Day After Tomorrow The movie The Day After Tomorrow is an American science-fiction film which revolves around the well-known international global warming and climate change crises. To be more specific, the movie portrays the effects of global warming leading to the catastrophe believed to have wiped out dinosaurs in the face of the Earth billions of years ago – the ice age (Monbiot, 2004). The story starts with a discovery by a paleoclimatologist, working at that time with his team in Antarctic that a gigantic mass of ice sheet has been shed off. This is just the beginning of the series of changes in the surface of the Earth as plates are starting to move creating powerful earthquakes and equally destructive tsunamis. These went along with drastic changes in weather and climate patterns where violent hailstorms were suddenly experienced by places who have never experienced them. In the film, one is introduced to the devastating effects climate change. There are scenarios in the movie where a huge shopping mall was completely covered with snow and ice; still other horrible scenes are the exaggeratingly huge tsunamis about to devour and entire city – a total destruction. It is not unusual that the movie receives critics especially to those who claim expertise in the area of global warming and climate change. Some expressed their concerns on how “exaggerated” the whole thing was presented to the point that people might see the whole environmental scenario as a joke. Environmental scientist enunciated that it is impossible for this age to experience another ice age. The exaggeration in the movies special effects in order to provide a more or less dreadful setting of the continued use of carbon-dependent technology and mankind’s lack of concern to the environment highlighted the film’s political agenda – a critic to the Bush administration’s environmental policies (Monbiot, 2004). The Naked Sun and The Day After Tomorrow in the context of realism and singularity As previously discussed, technological realism operates in the premise that man CAN and HAS control over technology. The same concept is vividly portrayed in The Naked Sun however, Asimov with his development of Daneel’s character stressed that the principle may become obsolete especially if man is unable to predict the changes of the technology they have perfected and the effects these changes can bring to the future. To answer to this, the theory of technological singularity as discussed was developed. It centers on the debate that man, despite the “creator” of these technology is unable to grasp the full extent of the ramifications of these technologies most especially because the development is escalating in an almost uncontrollable manner. As a result, in The Naked Sun, points to the direction on singularity – which in the story was still considered as a possibility, although this may not be the case now. The movie The Day After Tomorrow is the showcase of Asimov’s thought that indeed there will come a time that technology will surpass man However, it was predicted in the movie as such that man was first, unable to control the escalating environmental spoil brought about by technological advancements and second, man not intelligent enough to create technologies that will aid, help and even protect it from the effects of the environmental damage. In short, man is unable to sustain its being the “center” of the technology it gave birth to, in fact, the movie showed how man and its technology are both helpless against nature’s undiscriminating and devastating power. The Naked Sun can be construed either as the exact opposite of The Day After Tomorrow where man portrayed an almost absolute control of technology; or it can be analyzed as a prediction of what is in store for mankind. To support my latter notion, The Naked Sun, like Asimov’s other novels puts a lot of emphasis on the theory that one day man will occupy space and will create nations and societies outside the living Earth. Implications of this could be that man is certain that through its rampant technological advancements, time will come that it will destroy its home that it may need to create something in the “outer space”. Also, the kind of human beings found in Solaria is a representation that mankind, instead of becoming technology’s masters became its slaves. It can be said that the trust that human beings give to Solarian robot is not really trust per se but total dependence. While Asimov effectively portrayed man being the master of these machines and manipulating them in order to serve their purpose, the other side of the coin shows man lack of will to snap out from their slavery in the hands of technology. On the other hand, The Day After Tomorrow is the realizations of man’s fears, that indeed, it failed to control the vast power given to them by technology. Free will The gap between technological realism and singularity is man’s free will. As shown in both The Naked Sun and The Day After Tomorrow, mankind was given a bulk of the decision which is either to continue the use of robots and artificial intelligence indiscriminately or abide with the established norms taking full considerations of the compelling need to balance technology and environmental sustainability. Conclusion The novel The Naked Sun portrayed man as the center and the mastermind of its technological advancements. It showed how effectively men have used its intelligence in order to restructure a society that can serve mankind’s need. It also showed how technology the product of man intelligence could evolve into something into beyond man’s comprehension. R. Daneel Oliwav is a representation and Asimov’s prediction that technology will exceed man, starting with developing feelings and emotions like that of a human and eventually, becoming superior into a superintelligence – often referred to as singularity. On the other hand, the movie The Day After Tomorrow is a depiction of how mankind failed to hold its role as the center agency and as the “creator” of technology. Technological realism suggested that mankind controls it course along with technology; however, as seen in the movie, mankind failed to control both technology and defend itself from serious environmental catastrophies bought about by increase in technological dependence. The intent of man was defeated, technology which was innovated and improved in order to safeguard mankind, became its silent murderer trained and molded by society’s own hand. References Asimov, I. The Naked Sun. United States, Doubleday. 1957 Austen, Ian. ‘The Costly Compromises of Oil From Sand’, New York Times. 2009 Accecesed on March 25 from www.nytimes.com/2009/01/07/business/07oilsands.html?emc=etal Kamal, Sajed. The Renewable Revolution. Earthscan. 2010. London Michaels, P.J. Day After Tomorrow': A lot of hot air. USA Today. 2004. Accessed on March 25, 2011 from http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2004-05-24-michaels_x.htm Monbiot, G.. A hard rain's a-gonna fall. guardian.co.uk. 2004. Accessed on March 25, 2011 from http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2004/may/14/climatechange Tuck, D. The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy. Chicago: Advent. 1974  Read More