Ethics discussion based on new movie, "Surrogates" - 8 views

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  #1 joanne ye on 18 Oct 09

   

  Imagine that you can choose to live through surrogates by controlling them remotely via your brainwaves. Will you want to?
  
  (Warning: spoilers ahead!) In the movie "Surrogates", the surrogate inventor's original intention is to empower physically-disabled people since he is one himself. Surrogate usage enables these people to live like a physically-capable person. Surrogates can go to work on foot (their physical performance is better than humans in the movie), drive cars, look good (depending on how much was paid), go clubbing, etc. Basically surrogate users become empowered to do many things that wouldn't be too possible/ convenient given their wheelchair-bound real selves.
  
  In time, surrogates become commercialised, gain popularity and more people start using them for different reasons. It seems to have become compulsory for government employees to use surrogates for safety reasons (i.e. soldiers going to war using surrogates, then switching to new surrogates if the previous surrogates "died"). Bruce Willis acts as an FBI agent who uses a surrogate to work (he can choose to "park" his surrogate in the workplace to save on transport time, I suppose). His wife, who has not exactly recovered psychologically from the trauma of a car accident which scarred her face and claimed their son's live, uses her surrogate to hide from and avoid reality in my opinion.
  
  I think this movie is very relevant to an aspect of Week 9's topic, namely "imagined technological futures: between empowerment and destruction". If our current technology really allows us to use surrogates so freely, many implications are involved. Most importantly, empowerment can be experienced by minority or marginalised groups in the society (i.e. physically-disabled, obese) due to the façade or anonymity granted to their real selves. We become less prone to injuries and accidents too since our surrogates will take the blow for us, while our real selves are situated comfortably and safely elsewhere.
  
  However, personally I believe the same façade or anonymity mentioned earlier can be abused to cause destruction (i.e. cheat, bluff or even commit crimes). For example, a kid can pose as an adult and be given the freedom to do things that would otherwise be restricted; an ugly man can pose as a handsome man to date women etc. I also question whether the interactions between surrogates can ever compare to that between humans? In the movie, Willis prefers human interactions with his wife, whereas his wife prefers surrogate interactions. An interesting scene from the movie depicts a society literally divided into two parts - land with surrogates and land without surrogates, the latter utterly disgusted by the former.
  
  I notice that the issues involved in surrogate usage are almost similar to those related to the advent of Internet - empowerment versus destruction, when people are given the freedom to hide behind the privacy of their true identities. Some ethical questions I can think of:
  
  (i) Is it appropriate/ ethical to live a life through a surrogate, with the real self being neglected (i.e. almost always stationary)?
  
  (ii) Is it ethical to interact with others through a surrogate, while the others are using their real selves?
  
  (iii) Is it ethical to go to wars more readily due to the safety granted by surrogates?

   

  <div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">Imagine that you can choose to live through surrogates by controlling them remotely via your brainwaves. Will you want to? <br /> <br /> (Warning: spoilers ahead!) In the movie "Surrogates", the surrogate inventor's original intention is to empower physically-disabled people since he is one himself. Surrogate usage enables these people to live like a physically-capable person. Surrogates can go to work on foot (their physical performance is better than humans in the movie), drive cars, look good (depending on how much was paid), go clubbing, etc. Basically surrogate users become empowered to do many things that wouldn't be too possible/ convenient given their wheelchair-bound real selves. <br /> <br /> In time, surrogates become commercialised, gain popularity and more people start using them for different reasons. It seems to have become compulsory for government employees to use surrogates for safety reasons (i.e. soldiers going to war using surrogates, then switching to new surrogates if the previous surrogates "died"). Bruce Willis acts as an FBI agent who uses a surrogate to work (he can choose to "park" his surrogate in the workplace to save on transport time, I suppose). His wife, who has not exactly recovered psychologically from the trauma of a car accident which scarred her face and claimed their son's live, uses her surrogate to hide from and avoid reality in my opinion. <br /> <br /> I think this movie is very relevant to an aspect of Week 9's topic, namely "imagined technological futures: between empowerment and destruction". If our current technology really allows us to use surrogates so freely, many implications are involved. Most importantly, empowerment can be experienced by minority or marginalised groups in the society (i.e. physically-disabled, obese) due to the façade or anonymity granted to their real selves. We become less prone to injuries and accidents too since our surrogates will take the blow for us, while our real selves are situated comfortably and safely elsewhere. <br /> <br /> However, personally I believe the same façade or anonymity mentioned earlier can be abused to cause destruction (i.e. cheat, bluff or even commit crimes). For example, a kid can pose as an adult and be given the freedom to do things that would otherwise be restricted; an ugly man can pose as a handsome man to date women etc. I also question whether the interactions between surrogates can ever compare to that between humans? In the movie, Willis prefers human interactions with his wife, whereas his wife prefers surrogate interactions. An interesting scene from the movie depicts a society literally divided into two parts - land with surrogates and land without surrogates, the latter utterly disgusted by the former. <br /> <br /> I notice that the issues involved in surrogate usage are almost similar to those related to the advent of Internet - empowerment versus destruction, when people are given the freedom to hide behind the privacy of their true identities. Some ethical questions I can think of: <br /> <br /> (i) Is it appropriate/ ethical to live a life through a surrogate, with the real self being neglected (i.e. almost always stationary)? <br /> <br /> (ii) Is it ethical to interact with others through a surrogate, while the others are using their real selves? <br /> <br /> (iii) Is it ethical to go to wars more readily due to the safety granted by surrogates?</div>

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  #2 Inosha Wickrama on 19 Oct 09

   

  Interesting. While we do not have the technology to create an alternate physical form for ourselves, it's this similar to what we do when we go online. We can change our age, gender, race, become invisible and be as crazy as possible.

   

  <div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">Interesting. While we do not have the technology to create an alternate physical form for ourselves, it's this similar to what we do when we go online. We can change our age, gender, race, become invisible and be as crazy as possible.</div>

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  #3 Valerie Oon on 28 Oct 09

   

  This movie upset me. I don't think the director developed the premise and plot to the potential it could have reached. Quite a shallow interpretation. But it does raise some intrigue. I'm a bit stuck with my thoughts, but what really disturbed me was how this could potentially mess up our sense of identity. Already, most of us live our lives without really knowing who we are. With a surrogate living for us, how do we define ourselves, negotiate our identities, who will we be? (A vacation could mean just renting another surrogate in another continent.)
  
  Not to mention, we'll all be fat slobs with pasty complexions.

   

  <div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">This movie upset me. I don't think the director developed the premise and plot to the potential it could have reached. Quite a shallow interpretation. But it does raise some intrigue. I'm a bit stuck with my thoughts, but what really disturbed me was how this could potentially mess up our sense of identity. Already, most of us live our lives without really knowing who we are. With a surrogate living for us, how do we define ourselves, negotiate our identities, who will we be? (A vacation could mean just renting another surrogate in another continent.) <br /> <br /> Not to mention, we'll all be fat slobs with pasty complexions.</div>

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