I do plan on posting something up on wikipedia as well as this blog about digital mixed race...but that will be a little later on. As for now, I just want to say that in the midst of writing my critical essay (on automaton biographies) , I've begun to realize the beauty of Lai's poetry and how she's conveying such a deep message regarding war and nationalism and the unfair treatement of the civilians where there is military occupation through her descriptive, interesting, and somewhat confusing phrases. For example, in nascent fashion, as I read that poem over and over again, I began to get a more clear picture of what she's  talking about. It inspires me to want to write a poem about my own struggles or the struggles I see on a day to day basis. I wonder how long it took her to write this poetry book, specifically this poem because I feel like each and every word of hers is carefully chosen. Now if only I could ask her how she did it...

-Syeda Inamdar
 
A couple years ago I watched the Japanese film Ghost in the Shell. It takes place in a world where those with enough money can choose to transplant their brains into a cybernetic body. Here's a short clip in which the main character questions her own existence because there is no proof that she is any different from a robot with digitized memories. I like this particular scene because it makes me wonder whether it is necessary to have a human body in order to possess a human soul.
- Anna Pham
 
In contrast to the Blade Runner, which describes the artificial intelligence technology as a threat to human society, the Bicentennial Man tries to explore individual values and question how can we make meaning out of existence by using automaton characters as metaphors.



--- Jiaqi Liu (Cate)