Lately, all I've been thinking about is artificial intelligence. Not the movie, the actual concept.
It's probably because of the show that I just opened this past week, "Marjorie Prime." Written by "Orange is the New Black" writer Jordan Harrison, this play explores what it would be like to have someone that we once lost come back in the form of a "prime." What would we want them to know? What would we leave out? The play also explores the concepts of love, memory, and humanity. It's basically a "Black Mirror" episode, but on the stage.
The play makes you sit and think about yourself, who you're around, and the future. Certainly, A.I. is advancing and having a real-life version of someone deceased to talk to is not too far off the spectrum of things that can be invented. Just look at Amazon's Alexa or Apple's Siri. They can hold conversations with us, and we're human. A robot had a rock, paper, scissors match with Jimmy Fallon on his talk show. It's insane. It's also weird to think about. I would want to be informed of everything in my life, nothing left out or held back.
The primes in the play have to be retold about their life through their loved ones, and often their loved ones leave things out about their life. Knowing more about who they're around helps the primes connect with their human counterpart. It's eerie because once the primes know these memories, they can actually almost emote as if they are the real thing. Because of this, it actually makes me think that we're all robots in our own sense. I don't know, it's weird.
It's kind of like thinking about what it will be like when humans don't exist anymore. Will we be replaced by "primes"? Will these primes be able to emote, or see the world as it once was? It also makes you think about what it would be like to have a prime in your house.
Imagine having your sibling or your parent as a shell of their former self. Now imagine talking to them, reminding them of experiences that you once shared together.
Finally, imagine them going back to some charging area off in the corner of your living room for a bit before you can talk to them again. HOW WEIRD WOULD THAT BE???
Anyway, having these weird artificial intelligence beings would be super crazy. If you'd like to know more about the inner workings of ourselves versus a prime, come on out to American Stage in Saint Petersburg, Florida, now until April 1st and catch "Marjorie Prime"!
