Super-Toys Last All Summer Long
Essay on ”Super-Toys Last All Summer Long”
1. Ever since the industrial revolution, people have questioned whether the technological development has been moving too fast, for man to keep track with the moral and ethical dilemmas which may arise on the way. This theme has occurred in lots of literature and films throughout time. Worth mentioning is Frankenstein from 1818, Brave New World from 1932, 2001: A Space Odyssey from 1968 and The Matrix Trilogy from respectively 1999 and 2003. Along this line is the story “Super-Toys Last All Summer Long” by Brian Aldiss. It deals with the subject of artificial intelligence and the relationship between man and machine, and it paints a picture of a dystopian society that has reached a stage where it is not longer possible to distinguish between a child or a machine – what is real and what is unreal.
The story is told by an omniscient third person narrator, and takes place in a world where almost everything is build upon illusionary things. A world where people live in false surroundings made by holograms, and where there are no windows at the outer side of the buildings, which …show more content…
Then again, it is summer all year in the Swintons’ garden, and David obviously does not see himself as just a toy. Important themes are therefore man versus machine, loneliness, and ethical responsibility towards artificial life forms. The text questions whether machines really can replace humans in all aspects. Surely, they can help us with a lot of work, but can they also substitute for social relations with other humans? And if we do succeed in creating a “toy” with human emotions, are we not then obligated to treat “it” with the same respect and care, as we would treat any other living being? A message could be that we must think carefully and thoroughly before letting ourselves get carried away by all the new technologies
1. Ever since the industrial revolution, people have questioned whether the technological development has been moving too fast, for man to keep track with the moral and ethical dilemmas which may arise on the way. This theme has occurred in lots of literature and films throughout time. Worth mentioning is Frankenstein from 1818, Brave New World from 1932, 2001: A Space Odyssey from 1968 and The Matrix Trilogy from respectively 1999 and 2003. Along this line is the story “Super-Toys Last All Summer Long” by Brian Aldiss. It deals with the subject of artificial intelligence and the relationship between man and machine, and it paints a picture of a dystopian society that has reached a stage where it is not longer possible to distinguish between a child or a machine – what is real and what is unreal.
The story is told by an omniscient third person narrator, and takes place in a world where almost everything is build upon illusionary things. A world where people live in false surroundings made by holograms, and where there are no windows at the outer side of the buildings, which …show more content…
Then again, it is summer all year in the Swintons’ garden, and David obviously does not see himself as just a toy. Important themes are therefore man versus machine, loneliness, and ethical responsibility towards artificial life forms. The text questions whether machines really can replace humans in all aspects. Surely, they can help us with a lot of work, but can they also substitute for social relations with other humans? And if we do succeed in creating a “toy” with human emotions, are we not then obligated to treat “it” with the same respect and care, as we would treat any other living being? A message could be that we must think carefully and thoroughly before letting ourselves get carried away by all the new technologies