I saw "Blade
Runner: 2049" last week. The character Joi reminded me of a story idea
I had many years ago that I called "Virtual
John". It was a story about the virtual resurrection of John Lennon.
Joi
In "Blade Runner:
2049", Joi is a holographic artificial intelligence who acts as the
protagonist's girlfriend. While she acts like she has emotions, and shows some
evidence of thought, some people have suggested that the film later tries to
call into question the reality of her personality.
I didn't see it that way when I watched the movie. I felt
that, like the replicants in the first "Blade Runner", she is there
to raise the question of what it means to be human. She is to the replicants
what the replicants are to humans. They don't accept her as an equal.
Nevertheless, her character reminded me of a story idea I
had years ago.
Origin
I don't remember exactly when I had the idea. I know it came
to me as I woke up one morning while visiting my parents. I believe it was some
time in the early 1980s. It would have been after John Lennon died and before I
got my first home computer.
Basic Idea
The basic idea is that some one has a created a
virtual/holographic reproduction of John Lennon. I think I must have come
across the idea that the technology to do this would some day become available.
In the story I would have whoever created it use film, video, and audio of
Lennon to build up the simulation. The virtual John would be capable of
behaving like the real John, not just as a musician but as a person.
Major Limitation
What I saw as the main limitation of Virtual John would be
that he could only do and say things that the original John had done and said.
The result would be that Virtual John would not have the ability to create
anything new. For example: Virtual John could write songs, but only songs the
original John had already written.
More recently I've read that researchers have been able to
create computer systems that appear to develop new creative ideas, so maybe
this might not be a real limitation. It does need to be a limitation for the
purposes of the story.
Other People's
Reactions
Most of the story would have dwelt on how other people
reacted to Virtual John. In my imagination, the other Beatles, his friends, and
his fans would be very enthusiastic at first. They would welcome Virtual John
with open arms.
Over time, they would come to realize that a Virtual John
would couldn't create anything new was not like the real John. They would drift
away from him or reject him outright.
Virtual John's
Reactions
Although Virtual John has no ability to create anything new,
he does have feelings. I think the core of the story would be about how he
would feel. I think this gives the story the opportunity to explore many
different issues related to creativity and what it means to be human.
I think that he would be very hurt by the rejection of his
friends and colleagues. No man is an island, and this would also be true of a
virtual man.
I think that he would be angry that he is unable to create
anything new. A John Lennon who could not create would feel constraints that he
could not accept, but could not over come.
I never came up with an ending for the story. Maybe he gets
someone to turn him off. Maybe in the depth of his despair he builds a new self
and develops the ability to create.
Why Haven't I Done
Anything With This Idea
I like this idea, but I have never made a serious attempt to
develop it further. I doubt that I ever will.
The primary barrier is that it would require the approval of
John's family and the other Beatles. I didn't think they would be interested. I
rather doubt that I'd ever have the stature to get them to pay any attention to
me or my ideas. In any event, as time passed, reality made the story less
viable.
I gave some thought to adapting the idea to a fictional
person. This would be something I could
actually do. However, a virtual reproduction of a fictional person would not have
the same impact.
I felt that I just don't have the ability to fully realize
the potential of the idea. A poor execution would be worse than not doing it at
all.
The idea that you could resurrect a loved one with AI
technology resonates with me because of the recent death of my wife. While I
would like my wife back, I feel it is morbid to even consider AI resurrection,
even if it were possible.
This post is a mirror from my main blog
http://www.dynamiclethargyfilms.ca/blog
