Surrogates: Science Fiction in a Reality CheckSurrogates (USA 2009), OmU
Commentary by Prof. Dr. Ulrich Hofmann
Bruce Willis stays at home and lets a thought-controlled robot take care of the “action”. With an unlikely plot, this 2009 film portrays a future where humans only continue to walk the streets as “surrogates” for safety purposes. This obviously turns out badly and Bruce Willis saves the world. In the age of remote-controlled drones, this technology follows a familiar premise. We will discuss with Dr. Ulrich Hofmann whether virtual reality technology, and mainly Brain-Machine-Interfacing, could bring us to this world: where does immersion start and how far does it go? Where are the limits set for us by this technology, and can we circumvent them? Is it worth it to conduct research with this purpose? Finally, we will all address the question: do we want such a world?
How much science is there in science fiction films? Neurotechnology, Robotics and Artificial Intelligence: We invite you to watch movies and series on these topics and to discuss with scientists. Five researchers of the Cluster of Excellence BrainLinks-BrainTools of the University of Freiburg rise to the challenge. In BrainLinks-BrainTools, scientists work on technical devices communicating with the brain in order to treat neurological diseases. To aim this goal, they also work on robots and learning algorithms. The research on neurotechnologies raises hopes and anxieties at the same time. These concerns and dreams are openly addressed in the science fiction genre. On the evenings of our film event, we discuss the scientific and ethical questions that are raised by the movies shown.
www.brainlinks-braintools.uni-freiburg.de/index.php?id=238&L=1
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