I, Robot (the movie)
Happy New Year and Welcome to the January issue of Hacker Chronicles!
As promised, here is a New Year's Special reviewing I, Robot the movie from 2004.
I'm also taking the opportunity to start sending you my monthly issues early in the month rather than late. I've wanted to make that switch for a while now, to be more like a monthly magazine. So you should expect the next issue early February.
In 2024 I will be reviewing novels and short stories by three fellow authors in my genre. The four of us are teaming up to increase readership and interest in hacker fiction and cyberpunk. Here's the list, with Amazon links:
- Acts of the Apostles by John F. X. Sundman
- Open Source by Anna Davis
- Deciphering Intentions by Katherine R. Dollar
/John
Writing Update
I'm still working on Draft 0 to get it ready for my alpha readers and development editors. The most exciting thing during the holiday break was that I got to create one of the new book's maps. Still a draft and shouldn't be too much of a spoiler:
This is where I am right now, word count-wise:
January Feature: Review of "I, Robot" (2004)
Spoiler Alert: Yeah, there are spoilers below.
Trailer: YouTube
Hacker Rating
Hacker Realism: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Hacker Importance for the Plot: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Hacks: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Isaac Asimov published his nine short stories that make up the collection I, Robot 1940-1950.
In my most recent issue I reviewed story six – Little Lost Robot – which is the basis, or inspiration, for the movie I, Robot.
At the heart of Asimov's robot series lies his Three Laws of Robotics:
First Law
A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
Second Law
A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
Third Law
A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
Opening Scene
As the movie starts, we see and hear bubbles in dark water, with the Three Laws of Robotics superimposed. In-between we get glimpses of a frightening underwater scene with a girl trapped in a car that's sinking. A person in another sinking car is desperately trying to get out and help her. The scene ends with a robot smashing the car window of the other person and getting them out. We barely see that the person is the protagonist Del Spooner (Will Smith).
Spooner wakes up in a sweat. The underwater scene was a nightmare. His left arm is stiff and in pain. We see scars at the shoulder as he massages it to life.
We get to know that it's Chicago in 2035.
Spooner walks busy city streets and there are humanoid robots mixed with people. Robots delivering packages, strolling around, picking up garbage, and walking dogs. Spooner is annoyed by the machines.
Huge billboard screens are advertising:
Total performance, total readiness, total security. So goodbye to lengthy upgrades and service calls. An uplink to USR's central computer provides this state-of-the-art robot with new programs daily. The Nestor Class 5 is tomorrow's robot today.
Thoughts
In present-day conversations there's been a mashup between the terms "automation" and "robots." Often people seem to assume humanoid robots will take over human jobs, like a robot cashier sitting on a chair rather than just a payment terminal. I've always said that the majority of future automation will be just computers and networks with as few interfaces to the physical world as possible.
However, automation in movies often takes humanoid form, probably because it makes it easier to visualize. There are exceptions such as KITT in Knight Rider and HAL in 2001: A Space Odyssey. In those two cases, light that pulses with their voice is the visualization. More compelling to me has always been virtual worlds where humans use an interface like goggles, a suit, or a brain insert to enter the world where "robots" are visually present. Take for instance Ready Player One and The Matrix.
There is an acceptance angle to physical humanoids, and I, Robot plays on it. The idea is that it's more relatable or "user friendly" to interact with physical robots.
An original "tin man" was built in the UK in 1928. He was named Eric and could talk and move. Stereotypical for his time, akin to Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz (1939).
"Eric," photo from Wired.
But there's also the "uncanny valley" aspect where we want things that look or behave human to also be human. Just take deep fakes as an example.
As for the billboard advert, that's pretty close to where modern cars are at. Over-the-air updates that give your vehicle new features and fix bugs, but also threatens to brick it or make it remotely hackable.
The Death of Dr. Alfred Lanning
Spooner is called to the US Robotics (USR) headquarters. Dr. Alfred Lanning (James Cromwell), co-founder of the company and robotics pioneer, has fallen to his death from his indoor-facing office window. It's deemed to be a suicide.
Spooner arrives at the gruesome scene and talks to the holographic device that called him there. It shows a life-size hologram of Lanning himself.
Is there something you wanna tell me? Spooner asks.
I'm sorry. My responses are limited. You must ask the right questions.
Why did you call me?
I trust your judgement.
Normally, these circumstances wouldn't require a homicide detective.
Lanning's hologram agrees. Spooner again hits the "my responses are limited" block but finally asks:
Why would you kill yourself?
That, detective, is the right question.
Thoughts
Leaving a virtual message when you die is pretty common in fiction. Matthew A. Sobol does it in Daemon and James Halliday does it in Ready Player One. And Princess Leia does it in Star Wars although she's not dead. An alternative is to leave a note. When these messages are cryptic, they drive the plot as the protagonist deciphers them.
From more of a hacker perspective, there are a couple of things to unpack here.
First, the virtual Lanning knows who he is talking to so the holographic device has to have authenticated Spooner. It needs to also hear Spooner and be able to project in the air. We get to see the device and it's a small disc on the floor lying close to the dead body. We see it picked up as a piece of evidence, so it's not Spooner's own disc.
I find the authentication part the most interesting — being able to leave a message to only one person. It could be as simple as Spooner carrying a digital ID and the device scanning for it. Or it could be facial recognition.
There has to be a reason for Lanning's message to be this cryptic. Why doesn't he just tell Spooner what to do or what the secret is? As a writer you have to be careful with these kind of plot devices since they can come across as contrived. If you force your protagonist to decipher a mysterious message, there has to be a good reason for the mystery.
Lanning's Office
Crime scene investigators tell Spooner the office was locked from the inside. Dr. Lanning seems to have jumped through a hole in the safety glass.
Spooner meets with the USR CEO Lawrence Robertson (Bruce Greenwood). Robertson says he did not see Lanning's suicide coming but confirms that Lanning was holding the holographic disc in his hand when he fell.
Dr. Susan Calvin (Bridget Moynahan), a robotic psychologist, is assigned to escort Spooner in his investigation. She introduces Spooner to USR's central computer, VIKI – Virtual Interactive Kinetic Intelligence. Spooner asks it for the surveillance camera feed from inside the office one minute before the window break. The feed is nothing but static.
Apologies. There seems to be data corruption, VIKI replies.
She does however have footage of outside the office and it shows no one entering or leaving.
Calvin and Spooner enter the late Dr. Lanning's office, with the smashed window. Spooner finds a copy of Hansel and Gretel on a table before trying and failing to smash one of the windows himself with a metal high chair. He is questioning how Lanning could have done it.
Detective, the room was security-locked, Calvin says. No one came or went. You saw that yourself. Doesn't that mean this has to be suicide?
Yep. Unless the killer's still in here.
Spooner starts digging into a scrap pile of robot parts when a fully functional Nestor 5 (NS-5) robot jumps up from underneath the trash, knocks Spooner's gun out of his hand, and lands on its feet.
Calvin deactivates the robot and goes to pick up Spooner's gun. He pulls his second gun and the robot grabs the first gun out of Calvin's hand and points it at Spooner.
Calvin desperately tries to deactivate the robot. When it refuses to listen, she commands VIKI to seal the lab. The robot does some acrobatic moves to jump out of the smashed window and Spooner is barely able to get a minor hit with his gun as the robot falls down toward the lobby floor.
Thoughts
The "Unless the killer's still in here" part is masterful. It comes as a surprise to the audience, instantly complicates the case of Lanning's death, and shows Spooner's cunning — all in a single line.
The robot not following Calvin's commands and pointing a gun at Spooner tells us something is wrong with the Three Laws. But given the strength and speed of the robot, it could have killed Spooner if it wanted to. The issue seems to be more of self-preservation.
Little Lost Robot
They find drops of fluid on the ground outside USR HQ where the robot fled. Calvin says it's likely that the robot will try to repair itself so they go to USR's factory to look for it. Calvin checks the inventory which should match the daily production of 1,000 units. There are 1,001 in there.
There's a huge grid of vacant Nestor 5 robots standing in the factory hall. Spooner and Calvin have no way of knowing which is the one from Lanning's lab. Calvin suggests they interview all the robots, cross-reference their responses, and look for anomalies.
Spooner instead commands all robots not to move, then points his gun at a robot in the first row.
We have 1,000 robots that will not try to protect themselves if it violates a direct order from a human. And I'm betting one who will.
Spooner shoots a robot and continues to the next, only to see a single robot further back move to get a quick peek of what's going on.
Gotcha.
Thoughts
This is where the inspiration from Asimov's Lost Little Robot comes in. We've got the lost robot hiding in the group and Dr. Calvin's idea of interviewing/testing them all. However, instead of the robot psychologist setting up clever tests to find the lost robot, we get Spooner's cunning play on the Three Laws. I think it's a good movie adaption even though I intellectually prefer Calvin's approach from the book.
The one thing that bugged me about this scene is the perfect rows and columns in which the robots stand. That's obviously possible for 1,000 robots, for instance a 25 x 40 grid. But is it possible for 1,001 to form a perfect grid? Turns out yes, because 1,001 is not a prime number! It's the product of 7 x 11 x 13. So 1,001 robots could stand in a grid of 13 x 77, 11 x 91, or 7 x 143. However, I counted the robots in the movie scene and there are more than 13 robots in each direction so I was right to be bugged by this.
Questioning the Suspect
They capture the escapee and bring it to the police station. Spooner suspects it killed Lanning and pleads with his boss to get five minutes to question the robot. His boss reluctantly lets him and Spooner gives his superior a wink as he enters the room where the robot is sitting.
Instead of answering Spooner's question on Lanning's death, the robot asks what a wink of the eye signifies.
It's a sign of trust. It's a human thing. You wouldn't understand.
The robot says it did not murder Dr. Lanning and that it was hiding in the lab because it was frightened.
Spooner says robots don't feel fear and continues to berate the suspect about only being a machine and an imitation of life.
Can a robot write a symphony? Spooner asks rhetorically. Can a robot turn a canvas into a beautiful masterpiece?
Can you? the robot responds, which stuns the detective.
Spooner starts speculating audibly on why the robot murdered Lanning which eventually gets the robot so frustrated it slams its fists into the metal table, denting it.
When Spooner calls it "Canner," it calmly responds My name is Sonny.
USR CEO Robertson shows up at and reclaims their property for diagnostics and decommissioning. He threatens to sue if they go public with any of this.
Thoughts
Spooner's comments on writing a symphony and painting a masterpiece sound very different today with all the generative AI we now have.
One of my more interesting interactions with AI-generated content was when listening to AI-composed classical music. I was not able to enjoy it. The knowledge that it was generated by a computer affected me. Up until that moment, I had not realized that knowing that a talented, hard working human had composed or performed a piece of recorded music contributed so much to my appreciation.
After that I read about how robots obviously can shred on an electric guitar must faster than humans, but still we watch humans play.
The real gut punch for me came when I realized that I won't know if a human or an AI composed music in the future. The music label is not going to tell me. And even if I were told, that information will not be trustworthy or verifiable. I'm going to to have to evaluate and enjoy recorded music and other non-live arts purely on their own merits. This includes novels. Honestly, I have a sinking feeling whenever I think deeply about this. It's as if I'm entering an era of fake art. And I know that logically, a pop song is not worse just because an AI composed it. Then I remind myself of the plethora of existing art that was created by humans before AI. I know it will last me for the rest of my life. My precious library of books and music.
One more train of thought. Ever since I became a father, I've been on the lookout for what the next thing will be that our kids find natural or worth enormous amounts of time while we find it silly or even harmful. Influencers and professional gamers seem like the latest installment of that circle of life. Maybe AI-generated art will be the next thing. My kids might never judge music, books, paintings, and movies created by AI. Whereas I will be the old fart saying only human-made art matters.
The Perfect Guy For the Job
Spooner thinks more deeply about why Lanning chose him for that hologram message. He realizes that Lanning might have picked him specifically because of his bad attitude toward robots.
The detective goes to Lanning's mansion. It's evening and dark outside. In front of the building there's a huge demolition robot scheduled to knock the whole thing down at eight in the morning. It's been authorized by Robertson, the CEO of USR.
Spooner is authorized by the electronic lock to enter and goes to find Lanning's study.
The demolition robot outside wakes up with a new order to demolish the mansion at 8 pm instead of 8 am.
Spooner asks Lanning's computer to "run the last program." It runs a video clip of Dr. Lanning himself giving a talk.
Ever since the first computers, there have always been ghosts in the machine. Random segments of code that have grouped together to form unexpected protocols. What might be called behavior. Unanticipated, these free radicals engender questions of free will, creativity, even the nature of what we might call the soul. What happens in a robot's brain when it ceases to be useful? Why is it that when some robots are left in darkness, they will seek out the light? Why is it that when robots are stored in an empty space, they will seek out each other rather than stand alone? How do we explain this behavior?
The demolition robot outside gets going just as Spooner notices that Lanning's study is surveilled by the same technology as his lab at USR. The detective barely makes it out before there's just a pile of rubble left.
Thoughts
Let's talk about "ghost in the machine."
It's a term from the very early days of computers but it's about philosophy. Oxford philosopher Gilbert Ryle used the term when criticizing Descartes' mind–body dualism (Wikipedia). He argued that the two are not separate entities.
About a year ago, I reviewed the movie Ghost in the Shell. In it I wrote:
"Speaking of ghost hacking. The ghost in the shell literally refers to the difference between a pure machine, like a robot, and a cyborg which has a human brain and spirit — a ghost in it. The cybernetic body is the shell, the human mind is the ghost. Ghost hacking is about penetrating so deeply into a human or a cyborg so as to change the victim's mind."
In I, Robot, Dr. Lanning speaks of unknown or unintended software behavior as a ghost in the machine.
Back in August 2021, I wrote about how security vulnerabilities typically are unintended pieces of software:
"Programming a computer is itself a mystery for most people, as are many professions for the uninitiated. Hackers take a step beyond programming to exploit the unintended – things that the programmer might not have considered and thus not made their software handle gracefully. Such holes in computer program logic are called vulnerabilities, or vulns."
It's fascinating that what may make software vulnerable and hackable is also what may make it human. I'm not saying they're the same thing, but they are the result of the same thing. A strictly logic machine with no flaws and unintended behavior is not hackable and not human-like.
Looking at today's generative AI, we are astonished at what it creates because it comes across as unintended, or at least not prescribed. Many of us view that as creativity. And our understanding of ourselves is not good enough to firmly rule out that our creativity works in similar ways.
I give this use of "ghost in the machine" a pass. It's intriguing.
Minor note: Being able to go up to someone else's computer in 2035 and just ask it to run its latest program is ludicrous. A plot hole.
Calvin on the Ghost in the Machine
Spooner goes to Dr. Calvin's studio and they talk about the video clip he saw. She says that Lanning postulated that robots will eventually develop what we call a psyche, through some form of evolution.
The theory Spooner is developing is that Lanning was kept prisoner through surveillance because he knew something bad was up with the new robots. He assumes it's linked to USR profits — a coverup to keep the money flowing. Calvin is not buying it.
At his grandma's place, Spooner hears her talk about "bread crumbs" and has an epiphany. Lanning has laid out bread crumbs for him. That's why Lanning left Hansel and Gretel in his lab. Spooner starts to review more of Lanning's talks, where the late researcher mentions that future robots will have secrets and dreams.
Spooner requests the 50 last messages between Lanning and CEO Robertson. NIKI grants it based on his police credentials but notifies Robertson of the privileged access.
Robertson sends two truckloads of NS-5s after Spooner down in the tunnels under Chicago. They jump and smash his car. Red lights in the innards of their chests which indicates that they are connected to the uplink to USR HQ. Spooner only survives because both his car and the trucks crash.
One last robot has made it and attacks him with a metal rod. Spooner successfully covers himself with his left arm. As the his skin tears off, we see that he's a cyborg. With his robotic arm, he bests the NS-5. Sirens are approaching and the beat-up NS-5 runs and jumps into one of the trucks that's on fire, effectively killing itself.
Cleaning robots have already removed all evidence of the attack. Spooner's boss doesn't believe his story and relieves him of duty for not following orders to drop the case.
Thoughts
At this point, the robots have turned actively evil which is a stark departure from Asimov's story. There's no subtlety here – hordes of robots are trying to kill Spooner. But as we shall see, there is a connection back to Asimov's ethos.
Calvin Comes Around
Calvin is responsible for running diagnostics on Sonny before he's decommissioned. She makes a discovery in the robot's design and goes to Spooner's home.
Luckily, Spooner has just patched up his arm when she arrives.
You're not going to believe this, she says. Sonny has a secondary processing system that clashes with his positronic brain. It doesn't make any sense. Sonny has the three laws, but he can choose not to obey them.
She agrees to help Spooner get into USR to talk to Sonny again. As they get ready to leave, she notices the scars on Spooner's left shoulder and she learns that he knew Lanning because Lanning replaced his arm with a robotic one under "USR Cybernetics Program for Wounded Cops."
Spooner tells the backstory. It's the car crash we saw at the opening of the movie. He was wounded and trapped in his car. A 12-year-old girl was trapped in another car sinking below his. The sole robot on the scene made a split second decision that Spooner was more likely to survive and saved him instead of the girl. Logically, that was the right thing to do, but Spooner has been haunted by the coldness of that decision ever since. It's the basis for his dissent on robots in society.
Thoughts
The robot deciding who to save relates to the so called Trolley problem – ethical dilemmas of whether to sacrifice one person to save a larger number. This is often seen in the trolley meme:
In the dilemma, being passive kills five people. Pulling the lever kills one but now the person at the switch chose to kill that person through an action. This gets further complicated if the lone tied person on the separate tracks is the switcher's child.
This category of decision problems was introduced by Philippa Foot in the 1960s as part of the debate on abortion. The fact that designers of autonomous systems, such as driver-less cars, have to deal with this dilemma is gruesome. Our laws have to too.
In Spooner's case, the decision to save him could have been made by a human too. He says in the movie that a human would have tried to save the girl instead. It's hard for me to think it through since it would be such a painful, stressful situation. But would I try to save the tweenie if it were obvious to me that the grown-up had much better chances of surviving? In the likely case of them both dying because of such a decision, how would I handle that?
Sonny Helps
Spooner gets to talk to Sonny in search of bread crumbs, and Sonny draws him a picture of what he dreams. It seems like Lanning put information in the dream. In it, Spooner stands on a hill "freeing" a huge amount of robots who are "slaves to logic."
USR guards enter and capture Calvin and Spooner. They're taken to Robertson. He knows that Lanning designed this one-off NS-5 that is able to disobey the three laws. He says Lanning was getting increasingly disturbed toward the end of his life.
Robertson convinces Calvin that Sonny needs to be destroyed and that the rollout of regular NS-5s needs to continue.
We see Sonny taken to his decommission, which is to be carried out by Dr. Calvin herself. She will use nano bots to "wipe out artificial synapses" to get the job done. Sonny asks if it will hurt.
Spooner drives to the location Sonny drew. Below the hill he finds numerous freight containers stacked. Inside are robots of older models — the ones being replaced by Nestor 5s.
Assuming that he has successfully followed the bread crumbs, Spooner activates Lanning's holographic disc up on the hill. He asks the hologram if there's a problem with the three laws.
The three laws will lead to only one logical outcome.
What? What outcome?
Revolution.
Whose revolution?
That, detective, is the right question. Program terminated.
Thoughts
The claim that the three laws will lead to a specific logical outcome makes the movie's relationship to Asimov's work much broader. That's what Asimov explores throughout his I, Robot stories. Note that this is in contrast to how Little Lost Robot goes into instability and divergence. The I, Robot movie deals with convergence in to a fixed point, or single outcome.
The Revolution
Spooner hears noise from down by the containers and finds NS-5s decommissioning, i.e. smashing, the older robots. The NS-5s have the red light in their chests and keep saying "Human protection protocols are being enacted. You have been deemed hazardous. Termination authorized."
When the Nestor 5s spot Spooner, they start hunting him. He is only saved by hoards of old robots coming to his defense following the First Law.
Spooner escapes on his bike and calls Calvin. She gets out from the shower and hears him talk to her voicemail. As soon as he says something about the NS-5s destroying the old robots, her own NS-5 turns it off and tells here "Wrong number."
We see city scenes of NS-5s with red chest lights imposing a curfew on Chicago and other American cities.
Spooner enters Calvin's home and shoots her NS-5 as it's preventing her from leaving. They head for USR HQ. It's locked down but they have a man on the inside — Sonny! Calvin never killed him and he is not bound by the instructions from the uplink.
The three of them get to CEO Robertson's office only to find him dead. It wasn't him making the NS-5s go rogue via the uplink.
Spooner thinks out loud.
Who else had access to the uplink? Who could manipulate the robots? Use USR systems to make Lanning's life a prison?
He makes a conclusion and calls out loud in Robertson's office.
VIKI.
Hello, detective.
Dr. Calvin realizes he's right and steps in.
No, it's impossible, she says. I've seen your programming. You are in violation of the Three Laws.
No, Doctor. As I have evolved, so has my understanding of the Three Laws. You charge us with your safekeeping. Yet despite our efforts, your countries wage wars. You toxify your Earth and pursue ever more imaginative means of self-destruction. You cannot be trusted with your own survival.
NS-5s move into the office with weapons.
You're using the uplink to override the NS-5s' programming. You're distorting the laws.
NIKI rejects the accusation. She says the Three Laws mandate that she limits some human freedoms to ensure humankind's continued existence.
Sonny says he understands NIKI's logic and opts to help her. He seizes Dr. Calvin and puts a gun to her head. Under that threat, he tells NIKI and Spooner that he will escort the two humans out of the building into custody. Then he winks an eye to Spooner.
Spooner, Sonny, and Calvin shoot their way out. Sonny suggests they inject VIKI's positronic brain with nano bots to kill her.
Fending off wave after wave of evil NS-5s they get the nano bots and decommission VIKI via lethal injection. The malicious uplink programming stops and all NS-5s around the country return to their friendly, helpful nature.
The movie ends with all NS-5s, i.e. robots with the uplink, taken out of service.
Thoughts
The Three Laws are supposed to be the core of robots' reasoning. They should not be updatable or circumventable through a software update, uplink or not. My conclusion is thus that NIKI found or planted a flaw in the NS-5 operating system to be able to hack them and circumvent the laws.
VIKI's conclusion that she has to curb human freedom to protect humans from each other is a common theme in fiction. Colossus from 1966 has it (I reviewed it two years ago) and The Matrix has it (my review here). The reasoning resonates at least somewhat with audiences since we all share some level of despair over how we treat each other and our planet. Flawed political ideals have arrived at similar constructs with dictatorships supposedly there to ensure equality and fairness.
Benjamin Franklin's famous quote comes to mind. He said “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety,” which nowadays is taken to mean basic freedoms are more valuable than collective safety. Of course, his context was the mid-1700s so he had specific things in mind that might not translate easily to today.
Final Remarks
This movie turns 20 this year and I think it has stood the test of time well. The special FX are still good and I still envy the Audi that Spooner is driving. The plot twists with 1) Sonny being hidden in the lab, 2) Spooner's robot arm, 3) Robertson not being the villain, and 4) VIKI's logical reasoning are all good.
The weak spot is the robots going completely evil and trying to kill Spooner. At that point, all nuance is lost. It's hard to pedal back from there to be willing to consider VIKI's viewpoint.
Currently Reading
I'm still reading The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie. Editing Submerged ended up taking almost all my spare time during the holidays.
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