The growing Transhumanist movement is examined in A.rtificial I.mmortality. Humanity has been trying to fight death since the beginning of our existence and there is a growing movement of transhumanists, who believe that the future of humanity lies in artificial intelligence, in the form of eternal digital selves. Filmmaker Ann Shin explores this possibility and what it means for the future of the human race.
A.rtificial I.mmortality is a documentary that looks into the Transhumanist movement, the goal of this is to use technology to transcend human limits. One of the ways the movement is doing this is by using “mind files” to create advanced artificial intelligence programs that behave exactly like the individuals they are based on, with one of the core examples shown in the film being a digital version of Deepak Chopra. However, the question must be asked if technology can truly replace what makes us human?
If there is a question that comes out of watching A.rtificial I.mmortality is whether or not the human soul can truly be converted to files read by an artificial intelligence program? It's a very disheartening and secular notion, yet still, the Transhumanist movement is shown as a religion in itself, as its beliefs are taught by The Church of Perpetual Life. That all said, while there have undoubtedly been advances in artificial intelligence and the virtual humans in the film are somewhat impressive, there is still a long way to go for the uncanny valley to disappear and humanity to truly be replaced by technology.
A.rtificial I.mmortality is the 2021 Hot Docs Opening Night Film, with a live-streamed Q&A by director Ann Shin on Thursday, April 29, 2021, at 7:30 PM
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