Humans (British TV Series)

ABOUT:

Humans is a British sci-fi television series produced by Channel 4, Kudos, and AMC. The first season aired on June 14th 2015, with two seasons following, each with eight episodes. The writers, Sam Vincent and Jonathan Brackley are also credited for Broadchurch, The Hour, and The Tunnel. Humans is based on the Swedish science fiction television show Real Humans, which also features consumer humanoid robots.

In Humans, the eerily human-like robots are called “Synths”, which are available for any consumer that can afford them. They can take care of the elderly, clean houses, drive cars, babysit children, and much more. The only thing distinguishing them from humans are their unnatural green eyes. The integration of synths into a reality similar to the current asses their potential influence on society. The main ethical questions in the show are: the future of artificial intelligence, human robot relationships as well as human relationships in the face of robots, and the reality of consciousness.

SUMMARY: Humans is based in London in a parallel present, except it has synths.

Plot 1 (central): Laura (Katherine Parkinson) and Joe (Tom Goodman-Hill) Hawkins, parents of Mattie, Toby and Sophie, live hectic lives trying to take care of their family. They decide to buy a Synth and name her Anita. Anita is not only able to tidy up their house, but also their lives, making everything easier and helping the family to re-connect. However, Anita shows some signs of being slightly off, because of her extensive knowledge of the Hawkins family dynamics.

Plot 2: George Millican (William Hurt) lives with his Synth Odi (Will Tudor), his government designated caretaker due to health issues. Odi, however, needs to be updated and often malfunctions, but George has formed a father-son bond with him. Because of this, authorities threaten to replace Odi in favor of a stricter, fully functioning Synth. George attempts to hide his relationship with Odi in order to continue living an unhealthy, but free, life.

Plot 3: Leo (Colin Morgan) and his Synth Max (Ivanno Jeremiah) are bound at the hip. Max seems to be unlike other Synths for unknown reasons, and Leo is looking for someone from his past.

Plot 4: Peter Drummond (Neil Maskell) works on the Special Technologies Task Force combatting any Synth related issues. During the season, he is presented with a case unlike anything he has ever seen.

MARKETING: Persona synthetics: storefront allowing people to make their own synths Ebay store for synths (fake) 200,000 viewers in first 72 hours (4) Collaboration with Microsoft Fake website (5) “bringing you products tht are closer to humans than ever Advertisement caused people to think the synths were actually available, questions the reality of how close we actually are to this kind of technology (6)

SYNTH CREATION:

All Synths are played by human actors in an attempt to make them seem even more real. In order to Synth schools to rid people of human psychical gestures “It comes down to the fact that Synths are machines, ultimately, and every movement they make uses up energy and battery power so there has to be an economy and a reason everything’s done the way it is.” (3)

THEMES: Artificial intelligence: not far off, its part of our current lives. When do we stop at look at what we’ve made? Do we allow it to grow or do we limit it (7) Consciousness: do we understand it (3), what happens when synths become capable of feeling and emotion Human robot interaction: what it means to be human and how technology will affect that - Example: synth strippers, is it reducing harm - Tech is already affecting our relationships so how would taking a step further into it affect it “Emotional impact that comes as the lines between humans and machines become blurred” (2)

ETHICS: “explores themes of ai and robotics, focused on the social, cultural, and psychological impact of the impact of anthropomorphic robots called synths” (Wikipedia)

Sources: 1. https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/ustv/a620653/humans-channel-4-and-amcs-sci-fi-drama-releases-its-first-image/ 2. https://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/humans-new-amc-tv-show-debuts-36749/ 3. https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/humans/35663/humans-colin-morgan-and-gemma-chan-interview 4. https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/a647047/channel-4-explains-innovative-humans-marketing-campaign/ 5. https://www.personasynthetics.com/ 6. https://www.itv.com/news/2015-05-13/channel-4-dupes-viewers-into-thinking-robot-servants-for-sale/ 7. https://www.newsweek.com/new-show-humans-amc-dreams-electric-sheep-349839