Societal Conclusions
Conclusion 1:
One theme which is prevalent in The Wandering Earth is that a well maintained balance between human control and machine autonomy can allow mankind to persevere. The pursuance of machine technology has created a prosperity in mankind never before seen in history. For example, the first vaccine brought about by Edward Jenner was only possible by utilizing the technology humans had created up to that point. With it, we were able to eradicate a disease that had ailed humans for thousands of years and caused 300 million deaths in the 1900s alone [1][2]. Recently in history, the invention of the modern computer has streamlined the health of mankind. Doctors can communicate with patients with telecommunications and ensure the health of much more than was previously possible. More modernly, we have seen directly that machine learning can be used in medical practices to increase the detection of diseases and conditions which in turn increases survival rate. Time and time again throughout history and even today, the cooperation of humans and the technology we create in a balance is beneficial for mankind.
Conclusion 2:
Another theme which becomes clear within the movie is that human emotions usually supersede technological logic when the situation is life and death. Modern day Artificial intelligence makes decisions based on the outcomes of each possibility and chooses the one that gives the highest benefits [3], similar to how an act utilitarian would analyze things. However, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the AI is making the decision that is morally acceptable by humans, especially when it’s a situation of life and death. If there is a chance that one can live under an apocalypse, most people will try to look for the chance. Preserving human genes and seeds on the earth does give long term effect of allowing humanities to continue, but at the cost of thousands and millions of people dying. Humans are unlike artificial intelligence as we can’t traverse the branch of future in milliseconds, so we tend to make decisions that have a higher benefit in the current.
Conclusion 3:
A third theme expressed in the film is that artificial intelligence should be capable of understanding human emotions to better collaboration. Due to human nature, we take emotions and common sense into account when making decision. Although it makes it almost impossible for humans to reach the optimal solution, it is so deep down in our nature and we have been influenced by it for ages. If we expect in the future, artificial intelligence is going to collaborate with humans efficiently, we need to train the machine to interpret human emotions, otherwise humans will be unable to trust the reliability of machines, which may result in serious crisis of confidence between humans and machines.
References:
1. https://www.historyofvaccines.org/timeline#EVT_48
2. https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/empire_seapower/smallpox_01.shtml
3. Artificial Intelligence: a Modern Approach, 3rd edition