Announcements:

• This is the final day of classes.
• This is also the last day of presentations.
• People that are set to present are:
  • Justin
  • Phoenixx
  • Sajida
  • Mohammad

Justin’s Presentation: Genetic Memories 

• Questions?
  • How can advanced tech help us to adapt to future psychological problems we face today?
  • And can we learn from our past ancestors?
• Genetic Memories is a memory that is present at birth and that existence in the absence of sensory experience.
  • Sir Francis Galton’s did the first experiments work in 1865
  • The concept of genetic memories developed in 1921 and started experiments in the mid 1950s.
• Examples used:
  • Assassin’s Creed
    • Animus: decode genetic memories of past ancestors.
  • Stargate SG-1
    • SYFY TV Show
      • Alien race known as Goa’uld.
      • Possesses the power to pass their knowledge through genetic memory.
• Consequences
  • It is unethical
    • Changing a person’s DNA
• Benefits
  • Resiliency to physiological problems like depression, anxiety, mental abuse.
  • Offspring can learn the history through their ancestors history.

Phoenixx’s Presentation: Into The Mind of Science Fiction Writers: How Sci-Fi Authors Use Architecture to Visualize Their World

• Questions
  • How do science fiction authors use architecture to better illustrate the world they describe? Are words just enough?
• Realism is a key to the artwork in science fiction works.
• Use of similes and metaphors to jog the reader/viewer’s mind of things we do not know
• Architecture helps build a scene to show emotion in a setting.
• Realism in architecture serves as developmental tool for authors.
• It also shows how technological advancements improve humanity.
• Examples:
  • Ray Bradbury’s “There Will Come Soft Rains”
• Another use for architecture in Science Fiction, is t challenges the meaning of ‘what is home’
• Sometimes an image can really put things into persepctive.

Sajida’s Presentation: Artifical Intelligence Use in the Army

• She provided a breif overview of artifical intelligence, contrasting it to human intelligence.
• The use of Artificial Intelligence can lead to hyperwar, which is more deadly than human war. Hyperwar involves machines.
• Artificial intelligence shows no emotion whatsoever.
• Artificial Intellgience in the army, can help improve decison making, less casualties.

Mohammad’s Presentation: Terraforming

• Mohammad spoke about the history behind Terraforming.
  • Coined by Jack Williamson
  • The term appeared on the 1942 edition of Astounding Science Fiction
• Definintion:
  • A process of making an environment safe for human life.
• Example:
  • Rover on Mars collecting information that could possibly help them terraform Mars.
• Importance:
  • Human population is increasing everyday.
  • By 2050, estimated around 9.9 billion humans.
• Overpopulation’s effects on environment:
  • No clean water
  • plant and animal extinction
  • lower life exprectany
  • climate change increase
• Is it possible?:
  • NASA say no because technology is not that advanced.
  • Elon Musk says otherwise

The class also discussed scenes from Westworld.

• Reveraries: are a class of gestures that were initially thought to have been developed by Robert Ford.
  • Example: Clementine Pennyfeather
• These gestures allows access to previous builds.
• Shakespearean Quotes:
  • Much of shakespearean quotes was said by Peter Abernathy.
  • “These violent delights have violent ends”
• We discussed about the park’s creation.
  • Only for the rich.
    • Ex: The Man In Black
• Hosts are objects to the customers.
• The implanting of memories into robots/androids is common in science fiction.
• We discussed about the hosts realizing that there world is not real.
• We discussed about the love connection between Dolores Abernathy and Teddy Flood.
• We discussed about the scene with defective hosts.
  • Similiar to the film I, Robot.