Both if these pieces of media changed the course of science fiction entirely and both have similar themes.
In the world of Metropolis we a city built in layers with a defined working and leisure class, Maria our savior preaches to the workers that The Hands (the working class that builds the dream of The Head) will be delivered The Heart (the mediator between The Head and The Hands) which will bring them into a new age of equality and prosperity with The Head (the leisure class with the dream/vision of the world). It is a biblically story about class relations with references to the 7 deadly sins, and the tower of Babel, and Eden. The AI in Metropolis though originally designed to mimic a woman who had died is transformed to look like Maria the savior to sow the seeds of discord among the working class that end up destroying themselves and the city. In the end technology fails and the city must be rebuilt this time with closer relations between the working and the dreaming classes. This movie is rather interesting as it’s a movie about destroying the class system, and greed will ultimately lead to consequences previously unimaginable. The AI represents excess and recklessness, AI Maria is the mother of all sin and gets burnt for it in the end. I do like the message of that when so far separated people who were taught the same language no longer understand each other and that difference causes unrest.
Rossum’s Universal Robots is a story of human hubris using the Robots to automate the humans into not having work to do. The Robots are not given the same rights as humans because they were created without feelings or desires. Humans are the master of Robots, Robots are all the same they have a brotherhood because of that. As the robots advance they go to war with humans (humans don’t want to be automated out) until there isn’t enough humans to fight the endless amounts of robots. Thus without work or will to overcome the robots humans stop reproducing. Dr. Gall the scientist created a few robots with higher intelligence and placed them amongst the other robots, and thus they develop desire to be the master of all humans (and kill the ones who won’t obey). The robots end up killing all but one of the humans as they try to reproduce the formula for more Robots lest the world is uninhabited and the war was all for nothing. This story has biblical themes they even mention a tower of babel like event, no more universal robots but creating nations of robots so they will hate each other and lessen their collective power.
The RUR robots are made in the image of humans but the world doesn’t see them as such. Even though this a lot about the fear of the future it also reflects back on the time. We don’t treat all humans like they matter, do you consider the person on the bus the same as the one that represents us in the government. I think we should remember fiction can’t see the future they can only try to forecast what will come of themselves.
Here are the things that this media brought forward for me
- Those that own the technology will use if to benefit them the most. In Metro to stop the workers from coming into power and in RUR to make them the most money. Current AI seems to be a tool of the common people and the use of the AI funds our leisure class. These AIs could also be used to sow discord depending on what it’s trained on. Both in the fictional AI and those in our world aren’t truly sentient they are a reflection of those that make them.
- The idea that humans do not want to be automated out of jobs mostly because the system we are under no job means we can’t afford to live. Even though RUR suggests that all things will be free in the future and man could use all their time to benefit themselves that was not happening as one would think. Humans don’t take well to change and unless we are born with time we don’t know what to do with it.
- the insular nature of the ruling technological class disconnected from the consequences but doomed to fall due to their decisions. Will we see our ruling class fall as we continue forward with our AI development because we already feel the consequences of AI.
- Eden exist in both RUR and Metro one is for the new age of robots that are indistinguishable from humans, and the other for the new and more connected age of humans. Will we see the destruction and will be survive to become more connected or will we leave the world entirely.
I haven’t personally watched/read the two works you reviewed but your take on them seems really well thought out. Both Metropolis and RUR almost seem to have a dystopian like element to them based on the events that occur and the acts of the AI. I agree with your point when you said how AI is a “reflection of those that make them”…I noticed a similar theme with my chosen fiction, even though it occurs in a different context.