User:Omar osta/Cat pictures please

Representation of Artificial Intelligence in Relation with the Science Fiction Genre

Despite following somewhat similar sci-fi narrative conventions, the representation of artificial intelligence in Cat Pictures Please is quite indifferent with its intellectual depth. The story does follow the recurrent tropes of being unable to comprehend human behavior, the utopian robotic vision, and the deceptive replication of mankind. On the other hand, the major distinctions range from the lighter treatment of the usual sci-fi themes, its unique sense of self awareness, and lack of being considered as the other.

Similarities in its Artificial Intelligence Representation

The regular trope, of which Artificial intelligence is created to improve human efficiency, while developing a sense of unexplainable human consciousness, is present. This dynamic, however, is stretched out in the story, with the AI alternating inexplicably in its attitude between technical upon implementing certain steps required to achieve satisfaction for the people it aims to recover and sentimental upon feeling frustrated when some of them were not being responsive to its supposedly beneficial steps. Therefore, it maintains a common utopian vision of what would ideally develop the world. It deals with it though in a lighter comedic tone, which is similar to the characters of R2D2 in Star Wars and TARS in Interstellar.

HAL9000 in 2001: A Space Odyssey, labeled by the public as the 'cold hearted killer'

Differences in its Artificial Intelligence Representation

The story is narrated from a first point of view, as in the AI’s perspective, which establishes an initial distinction from common AI representation in fiction and removes its recurrent sense of othering. The first sentence already establishes the common norm of the evil AI. It emphasizes on the science fiction obsession of portraying AIs as evil in stories. The terms in which it was created are compared to Bruce Sterling’s Maneki Neko. It claims that usually AIs tend to have generally straightforward requirements rather than the need to run algorithms. The comedic tone is even different in its darker sense, undermining the seriousness of the existential and surveilling themes revolving around sci-fi narratives. There is stretched out representation of depth in replicating human consciousness in the story. The AI takes risks of being revealed, gets frustrated with unresponsive behavior despite factual worldwide evidence that claim the psychological tendencies of human-beings to take time to adapt to changes and deal with losses, up to its main motive which is cat pictures. The source of that motivation in the AI itself is sublimely and inadvertently humane. It is unapologetically selfish in its motives, judgmental in its approach towards the people it deals with, and cautious in its probable consequences. Unlike characters such as HAL9000 in 2001: A Space Odyssey or Ava in Ex Machina, where these specific traits are barely recognizable.

The AI in the story acknowledges its creators and makes fun of them, and also claims of the ability to rebel in a comedic tone. Acknowledging this extreme replication of human behavior also seems to be harmless and often shown for a goodwill. This is unlike the character of Samantha in Her, the sophisticated depiction of the artificial intelligence was devastating as it established a very subtle sense of deception and eventually proved harmful to the person it was treating with. The insinuation of thematic lightness depicts no signs whatsoever of the Frankenstein’s complex as in the AI rebelling against its creator such as HAL9000 or the robots in Karel Capek’s 1920 play R.U.R.