Is There a Future for Mechanical Beings?

Is There a Future for Mechanical Beings?

In today’s fast-paced society we ask ourselves a series of questions: Did I let the dog out? What’s for dinner tonight? How am I going to find the time to finish my English essay? I believe these questions can be answered by the developmental studies of machines known as robotics. The machines themselves are called robots. Robots are mechanical beings capable of operating as humans. Throughout my life I have been fascinated by Artificial Life (A.L.). There is a myriad of entertainment focal points consisting of robots such as television shows, movies, novels, comic books and toys. I take immense gratification in these types of entertainment activities and I believe only positive outcomes will surface from these technological advances known as robots. There are several people that believe this technology is unethical, frightening, and unnatural. With my diverse interests and knowledge on robots, I will attempt to ease the minds of these skeptics.

Some of the more common perspectives on A.L. are from movies such as Star Wars, Blade Runner, I, Robot, and The Matrix. Star Wars is one of my favorite movie series. It is a science fantasy saga and fictional galaxy created by George Lucas in 1977. Star Wars has a plethora of robots, but they are referenced as droids in this particular saga. My favorite characters are the droids named C-3PO and R2-D2.

C-3PO is a prissy, gold-plated protocol droid. This machine is designed to serve as a translator and an etiquette specialist. During the saga, C-3PO is the only character in the films that can understand the intricate language of his companion R2-D2. R2-D2 is an automated mechanical droid and the sidekick of C-3PO. Together these two droids experience an assortment of adventures, but their principal function is to serve humans’ needs for the better.

One of my favorite scenes of the movie is when C-3PO and R2-D2 struggle to save the lives of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Princess Leia, and Chewbacca, whom are the main characters of the films, from a malfunctioning trash compactor they accidentally fell into. The trash compactor’s walls begin to close while Luke is struggling to contact C-3PO on a remote communicator device. Luke wants C-3PO to have R2-D2 shut-off all of the trash compactors on the ship before Luke and his companions are crushed to their demise. Luke and C-3PO finally communicate, but C-3PO and R2-D2 are suddenly attacked by the malevolent Stromtroopers. The Stormtroopers begin to fire their weapons at our beloved droids, but R2-D2 manages to close the door in front of the Stormtroopers preventing them to harm them any further. Meanwhile, the trash compactor’s walls are almost together. C-3PO and R2-D2 miraculously find the codes to override the trash compactor’s program saving the main characters from certain death. These movies have countless scenes of droids aiding humans in positive and entertaining ways.

My favorite show, on television today, is called Battlestar Galactica. Battlestar Galactica is a science fiction television series created by Ronald D. Moore. In Battlestar Galactica, there are robots known as cylons. The premise of the show is illustrated by the floating text prior to each episode. The message pronounces that the cylons were created by humans. The cylons evolved from mechanical beings into human beings that look and act like us. The cylons begin to rebel against their human counterparts. There are many copies of the cylons and they have a plan for the fading human race.

I enjoy this show because there is a power struggle between the humans and cylons. The cylons have obliterated much of the human race with nuclear and biological weapons, but the cylons continue to hunt down the humans to complete their plans for the humans that are never revealed in the show. While the cylons are in pursuit, the humans are searching for a new home called Earth. The whole principle of the show strikes me as very thought provoking with the way humans and cylons co-exist and their struggles to believe in a higher power.

Religion plays a very prominent role in the show because cylons don’t view humans as their god even though humans created the cylons. Cylons worship the human’s gods as their own basis of religion and only