Get ready for a deep dive into 'Robots' (2023)! We're back after a brief hiatus (apologies!) and jumping straight into this thought-provoking film about robot doubles and human (mis)behaviour. This episode examines key themes including:
- AI and Human Relationships: Exploring the subservient nature of early AI in the movie and the implications of AI sentience and autonomy.
- Data Protection Nightmares: The ethical and legal minefield of creating robot doubles, drawing parallels to real-world data usage by generative AI like Grok and potential violations of GDPR and Nigeria's GAID.
- AI in Everyday Life: From garbage collection to customer service, I analyze the movie's portrayal of AI integration and discuss the need for 'human protectionism' in the face of increasing automation, referencing the recent layoffs by a Nigerian food delivery app.
- The Ethics of Disposable AI: Examining the disturbing trend of treating robots as subhuman, drawing parallels to animal cruelty and its potential real-world consequences.
- Robot Doubles: Fair Advantage or Impersonation Risk? I debate the ethical implications of creating human-like robot doubles and how current legal frameworks might (or might not) address this future technology.
- A Glimpse into the Future (2032 Edition): Unpacking the movie's surprisingly relevant depiction of AI in immigration control and the broader societal impact of increasing automation.
Stay tuned for our next episode, in which I'll explore AI learning, autonomy, and the regulatory landscape in more depth!
Robots (2023) is available on Hulu, Amazon Prime, and Showmax.
Resources
- 'The Robot Who Looked Like Me' by Robert Sheckley - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22309049-the-robot-who-looked-like-me
- Nigeria Data Protection Act - General Application & Implementation Directive 2025 - https://ndpc.gov.ng/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/NDP-ACT-GAID-2025-MARCH-20TH.pdf
- EU General Data Protection Regulation 2018 - https://gdpr-info.eu/
- Nigeria Labour Act 2004 - https://lawsofnigeria.placng.org/laws/L1.pdf
- EP1 - Unravelling M3GAN - https://open.spotify.com/episode/67OKKPuI23DwfTv5XKUgBz?si=7860123b951542a9
- 'Sex Robots: Ethical Issues Arising and their Potential Impact on Human Intimacy' by Akin Ifeanyi Agunbiade - https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4483857
- Companies and Allied Matters Act 2020 - https://www.cac.gov.ng/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/CAMA-NOTE-BOOK-FULL-VERSION.pdf
- Cybercrimes Act 2015 (as amended, 2024) - https://www.nfiu.gov.ng/images/Downloads/downloads/cybercrime.pdf
- "'Homegrowns are next': Trump hopes to deport and jail US citizens abroad" - https://www.npr.org/2025/04/16/nx-s1-5366178/trump-deport-jail-u-s-citizens-homegrowns-el-salvador
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