Plug & Pray
Encyclopedia
Plug & Pray is a 2010 documentary film about the promise, problems and ethics of artificial intelligence
and robotics
. The main protagonists are the former MIT professor Joseph Weizenbaum
and the futurist Raymond Kurzweil
.
dream of fashioning intelligent machines that will equal their human creators. In this potential reality, man and machine merge as a single unity. Rejecting evolution's biological shackles tantalisingly dangles the promise of eternal life for those bold enough to seize it. But others, like Joseph Weizenbaum
, counter attack against society's limitless faith in the redemptive powers of technology. Eloquent and tactful, he questions the prevailing discourses on new technologies, and their ethical relationships to human life. The film delves into a world where computer technology, robotics, biology, neuroscience, and developmental psychology merge and features the world’s leading roboticists in their laboratories in Japan, the USA, Italy and Germany.
, a landmark artificial intelligence program in 1966, the computer scientist subsequently watched helplessly as such technology was entrusted with even decision-making and was extensively employed by the military. Interviewed just prior to his death, he states: “War might not exist now if there wasn’t the capacity to wage it remotely.”
Production of the film started in 2006 and ended in 2009. The death of the main protagoist Joseph Weizenbaum on March 5, 2008, fell in this period. The international festival premiere was at FIPA
2010 in Biarritz, France. Since then the film has been invited to 27 film festivals, among them the Seattle International Film Festival
, Vancouver Film Festival
, Visions du Réel
. The theatrical release in Germany was on Nov. 11, 2010.
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
and robotics
Robotics
Robotics is the branch of technology that deals with the design, construction, operation, structural disposition, manufacture and application of robots...
. The main protagonists are the former MIT professor Joseph Weizenbaum
Joseph Weizenbaum
Joseph Weizenbaum was a German-American author and professor emeritus of computer science at MIT.-Life and career:...
and the futurist Raymond Kurzweil
Raymond Kurzweil
Raymond "Ray" Kurzweil is an American author, inventor and futurist. He is involved in fields such as optical character recognition , text-to-speech synthesis, speech recognition technology, and electronic keyboard instruments...
.
Synopsis
Computer experts around the world strive towards the development of intelligent robots. Pioneers like Raymond Kurzweil and Hiroshi IshiguroHiroshi Ishiguro
Professor Hiroshi Ishiguro is director of the Intelligent Robotics Laboratory, part of the Department of Systems Innovation in the Graduate School of Engineering Science at Osaka University, Japan...
dream of fashioning intelligent machines that will equal their human creators. In this potential reality, man and machine merge as a single unity. Rejecting evolution's biological shackles tantalisingly dangles the promise of eternal life for those bold enough to seize it. But others, like Joseph Weizenbaum
Joseph Weizenbaum
Joseph Weizenbaum was a German-American author and professor emeritus of computer science at MIT.-Life and career:...
, counter attack against society's limitless faith in the redemptive powers of technology. Eloquent and tactful, he questions the prevailing discourses on new technologies, and their ethical relationships to human life. The film delves into a world where computer technology, robotics, biology, neuroscience, and developmental psychology merge and features the world’s leading roboticists in their laboratories in Japan, the USA, Italy and Germany.
Background
Since antiquity, humankind has dreamed of creating intelligent machines. The invention of the computer and the breathtaking pace of technological progress appear to be bringing the realisation of this dream within the grasp of humans. Robots are to do the housework, look after the children, care for the elderly, and go to war. A pioneer of computer development and artificial intelligence, former MIT professor Joseph Weizenbaum has become one of the harshest critics of their visions of technological omnipotence. Having created ELIZAELIZA
ELIZA is a computer program and an early example of primitive natural language processing. ELIZA operated by processing users' responses to scripts, the most famous of which was DOCTOR, a simulation of a Rogerian psychotherapist. Using almost no information about human thought or emotion, DOCTOR...
, a landmark artificial intelligence program in 1966, the computer scientist subsequently watched helplessly as such technology was entrusted with even decision-making and was extensively employed by the military. Interviewed just prior to his death, he states: “War might not exist now if there wasn’t the capacity to wage it remotely.”
Production of the film started in 2006 and ended in 2009. The death of the main protagoist Joseph Weizenbaum on March 5, 2008, fell in this period. The international festival premiere was at FIPA
FIPA
The Foundation for Intelligent Physical Agents is a body for developing and setting computer software standards for heterogeneous and interacting agents and agent-based systems....
2010 in Biarritz, France. Since then the film has been invited to 27 film festivals, among them the Seattle International Film Festival
Seattle International Film Festival
The Seattle International Film Festival , held annually in Seattle, Washington since 1976, is among the top film festivals in North America. Audiences have grown steadily; the 2006 festival had 160,000 attendees...
, Vancouver Film Festival
Vancouver Film Festival
The Canadian city of Vancouver hosts three film festivals:* The Vancouver International Film Festival* The Vancouver Asian Film Festival* The Vancouver Queer Film Festival...
, Visions du Réel
Visions du réel
Visions du Réel is an international documentary film festival held in April each year in Nyon, Switzerland. Established in 1969 as the Nyon International Documentary Film Festival, the event adopted its current name in 1995....
. The theatrical release in Germany was on Nov. 11, 2010.