A Reflection On The Evolution of "Cyberspace" With Reference To The Futuristic Film, "I, Robot"

Considering the ethical problems that may evolve with artificial sentience through the way it is presented in the film I, Robot, and the necessity for cyber-restriction in opposition to John Perry Barlow's views on digital freedom in his manifesto A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace (1996).

Written by: rue.gall

Image 1: sentient robot, Sonny, hiding in a workshop full of identical robots. Alt Text: White plastic and exposed metal robot, modeled with human features, standing in a row of identical robots.

I, Robot is a 2004 science fiction action film from director Alex Proyas and 20th Century Studios. A loose adaptation of author Isaac Asimov’s I, Robot short stories and Caves of Steel novel, the film follows Detective Del Spooner (played by Will Smith) as he investigates the mysterious death of scientist Alfred Lanning (played by James Cromwell), the creator of the highly intelligent robots that serve humanity their society. The film addresses the concept of cyber sentience, as well as the ethical issues that come with an over-reliance on digital assistance.

Detective Spooner discovers a robot that appears to have been “taught” both emotion and free will by the late Lanning, a being entirely independent and unreliant on human direction. Already a critic of digital and mechanical assistance in a world that has grown dependent on robotic assistants and slaves, Spooner is highly skeptical of such a development, viewing the separation between humanity and machinery as a solid line. Throughout the film, Spooner learns that the robot, Sonny, possesses highly human qualities: he is able to think, dream, and feel, exactly how a human would. His responses to situations are based entirely on his experiences, and he learns through such experiences, as humans do. He is not quick to trust, but is able to form bonds and relationships with humans as if he was one himself. Eventually, Spooner is forced to acknowledge that the only difference between Sonny and himself is that Sonny is made of metal and wire, and he is made of flesh and bone.

Image 2: John Perry Barlow, smiling during an event. Alt Text: middle-aged white man in a black suit smiling at something off-camera.

The concept of cyber sentience has been a constantly pressing matter, especially with the popularity of artificial intelligence platforms, such as Open AI’s ChatGPT Although a system restricted by its programming, its existence is an aspect of digital evolutionary freedom, something John Perry Barlow pushed for in his manifesto A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace (1996). The manifesto, published in the early teenage years of the internet, saw the digital world as a world that deserved to be completely free of legal and moral restrictions, due to it following foundationally different “laws” of existence than the physical world is dependent on. People are able to access the internet, upload and download things, research, and communicate as they desire. 

It is safe to assume that Barlow could not have guessed how the internet would develop as a digital universe, bringing about new platforms of manipulation, harassment, propaganda, and disconnection. Most primarily, given Barlow’s views of “cyberspace” as a realm of being rather than an entity, it is safe to assume that he could not have guessed the assignation of humanity to the machine. The line between the realm and the entity begins to smudge through the creation of artificial intelligence (AI). The ethics of existence and digital etiquette evolve, and there may reach a point where humanity will be forced to confront the digital as something superhuman: capable of the emotions and adaptations that allow us to feel essentially human, but with a higher realm of knowledge and capability than we will ever achieve. In this case, Barlow’s manifesto reaches a complication. 

Image 3: ChatGPT generated image of AI. Alt Text: a futuristic headshot of a robot with human features, exposed wires, and glowing blue eyes in front of a background of projected images and a further background of a bustling cityscape at night.

There is a modern reliance on the digital cyberworld, with the majority of the world living their lives, to some extent, online, even if only to maintain communications with others or to promote their businesses. This reliance, paired with the growing attribution of anthropomorphic traits to the digital through AI, raises a necessity for critical awareness of the distinction between simulation and reality in a similar way to what was described in last week’s post on Black Mirror. Although last week’s post addresses the necessity of realizing that AI cannot be a permanent or prominent part of our lives, this week’s post exists to address the ethical weight of why it cannot be. The digital world is evolving and adapting by our own encouragement, in similar form to Sonny’s adaptation in I, Robot. It is important to acknowledge it as something inhuman, as something that exists in the “cyberspace” that Barlow meant for us, rather than as something that exists with us. It is a crutch, it is a tool, and it is important that it remains just that. If we cannot yet determine the implications an advanced intelligent form could have on our society, we are not yet ready to face the possibility of a monster of our own creation.