Science fiction meets science fact in Swedish drama Real Humans
How do you feel about your smartphone or your tablet computer? Are they essential to your daily life? Would you miss them if they were taken away? Are they changing the way you think? Do you, perhaps, love them?
These might sound like ridiculous questions, especially the last one, but they’re not ridiculous to the creators of Swedish TV series Real Humans (Äkta Människor). Set in a parallel version of the present day, it shows us a world where humans live and work alongside ‘hubots’ (robots that look and act like humans), which they buy to help with everything from childcare to keeping fit, cleaning houses to companionship.
The action follows two families: the Engmans – who get a free hubot after buying a replacement for their grandfather’s malfunctioning hubot, Odi – and the Pålssons, whose robot companions jeopardize their marriage and employment prospects. However, Grandfather Engman isn’t happy with his bossy new hubot’s lifestyle suggestions, and he begins to miss the companionship he had with Odi. As for Roger Pålsson, his wife’s close relationship with their male hubot and his own frustrations with electronic colleagues lead him to join the anti-hubot movement, ‘Real Humans’.
Meanwhile, living on the edges of society is a group of rebel hubots, so sophisticatedly programmed (through USB ports in their necks) that they’ve developed free will and set out to find independent lives. Constantly tracking them are two black marketeers, who look to capture and reprogramme these hubots before selling them on.
More than sci-fi or pure fantasy, Real Humans explores the effects of our growing reliance on technology. Why do we need to remember information if a computer can do it for us? Why does someone need to employ us if a computer can do a quicker job? Why do people need to talk to us if a robot knows them better?
And if you think the concept is a bit far-fetched, get out your smartphone (once you land) to look up Asimo, a Japanse robot that recently played football with Barack Obama. Or Pepper, a robot that can read and respond to human emotions. Or Eugene Goostman, a computer that tricked judges at a Turing test into believing it was a real boy. That parallel world may not be too far away.
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