@MattHunX

3 months ago

Right from the beginning this discussion reminded of Ghost in the Shell. Which I recently had the pleasure of watching/binging for the first time. And it was incredible. Thought-provoking and just ahead of its time. In it, even television news anchors had virtual avatars representing them on-screen. Meetings between business men and politicians happened as one was sitting in a limo, suited up, while the other sat at some, in their underwear, but their avatar displayed to the other participant(s) of the conversation was of them fully dressed, showing up either on a separate screen that was physically in their immediate environment or it was displayed, as far as I recall, in their retinas, through a cybernetic implant, that practically projected an image across their personal field of vision, as if it was an overlay of augmented reality, which only they could see. ... 32:15 On the question of what identity, the protagonist of Ghost in Shell has been using a full cyborg body since before puberty, because of an accident. She never even menstruated. And that part definitely made me think, as it also resonated with today's culture war about gender-identity and what even makes someone either what they biologically are or what they see themselves as. What is a woman? If having a vagina and menstruating doesn't make one a woman, as some proponents of trans-rights claim, then why are some people convinced that putting on a dress, make-up and a wig can make them one? The fully cyberized people in the world of Ghost in the Shell are, as the series' name suggests, digitized individuals/souls/ghosts housed in ultimately meaningless artificial shells that could be custom-made, with any physique, genitalia, if the latter even mattered to some. Now, obviously, the main character Motoko Kusanagi is a woman, considers herself as such, is referred to as such. There's never actually a discussion about how her brain was already digitized and uploaded into a fully cybernetic body since childhood, because of an accident, and how that affected her maturing mind. The series didn't need to delve into that, but it can definitely provoke some serious reflections on certain things. In that universe, because of the level of technology and what it allows, the difference between what could be considered a man or a woman, by whatever convention, truly matters very little; or more accurately, people are able to identify however they view themselves to be, as technology allows them to match their custom-made physical bodies and all of its function to it, tailored to their detailed preferences. Similarly to the series Altered Carbon, which I also often bring up as an example to illustrate how it is presently impossible for people to be so cavalier about what they identify as and demand society to conform to their whims, as we are very much still limited by both biology and technology. That doesn't stop some from mentally already living in such a (presently fictional) utopia where merely being in a certain state mentally can be completely translated into being in it physically. No one can yet claim that they are 100% what they identify as, man or woman, both or neither, because they cannot physically/biologically completely be so, no matter how they see themselves and identify as, no matter how liberated it makes them feel, no matter the dysphoria that causes it, no matter the language and terms used. Their physical reality cannot yet be made to completely match the one in their head. If we had technology that allowed people to transfer their selves into a body of their preference, and lived in that body, either since before puberty or even starting after, they could say they're a 100% what they believe they are, because they could be, with all the biological functions, and other physical, physiological characteristic that came with it. However, were not there yet. Acknowledging that shouldn't be transphobic. It shouldn't constitute an attack, an invalidation. It is an uncomfortable, but honest reality-check. ... And about AIs in chat-rooms and video-games. It is already making waves in Skyrim, through a downloadable companion that functions through ChatGPT. And the conversation in can cobble together from all the information/lore of the game is SCARY IMPRESSIVE. At this point, pretty much the only thing they need to work on is the still rather robotic tone of its voice. If they can somehow program it to sound more natural, they're done. In games AI could definitely offer a completely and constantly fresh experience that could revolutionize replayability for just about any genre of video-game where they could work it in. In chat-rooms, and social platforms, I can definitely see how it could, perhaps, help people with social phobias and even disabilities it could stem from by offering them virtual connections they could use, akin to exposure therapy, to strip away their anxiety. It could also help people study, prep for tests by having it pose questions to them quizzing them, acting as a tutor. The only real criticism I can level at it is that in a virtual room full of people, an AI would still be just that. No matter eerily human-like it could get, it would still be fake. Granted, nobody is a real person on the internet, in the sense that everyone can and does hide part of themselves behind an avatar and username. Many actually act braver and with less consideration than they would in person, which doesn't translate well into the real-world, where, if they eventually find themselves in they'll be ill-prepared to interact with other people in person. That's already happening! So, it'll have its drawbacks. Maybe it'll draw people already addicted to cyberspace, with a virtual (re)presentation of themselves, further into it. Another series that utilizes this concept is a show called Gen:LOCK. Now, the first seasons is amazing, and it actually has a gender-fluid character whose reveal and presentation it handles very cleverly, with the technology of its world. Of course that's just a footnote. The plot itself and characterization is interesting.

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