The premiere of the international trailer of the 1987 remake, Robocop, made its debut this past week. I was more than over the moon to see the trailer on the featured page of YouTube. But then naturally I began to think about the idea of Robocop and its effects on humanity.
First of all, I believe that our technology is making breakthroughs every single day. Therefore, the reality of people serving society within the confines of a robotic suit is not far away. Our constantly revolutionizing science world has led to many hollywood film makers toying with the imaginative ideas on this concept. Even the summer blockbuster films, Iron Man 3 and Pacific Rim have affirmed this notion.
However, is it really humane to lacerate someone to a mechanical body and force he/she to fight for society? The idea sounds cool, but there are some moral repercussions. In the Robocop trailer, the protagonist suffers from being paralyzed from an accident and thus, he is given a second chance to serve his civilians by being thrown into this robot. But, is this what the wearer of the suit truly desires? Perhaps, he would rather live as nature intended him to, instead of masquerading in a man-made facade. The fact that he would be in this suit would restrain him from ever experiencing the small joys of having a human anatomy; Robocop will never have the feeling of a handshake or a high five, he will never know the touch of his son’s face. These would be the sacrifices that this technology would present. Not to mention, the robot could malfunction (like in I, Robot) and the wearer could potentially die in the process or the suit could possibly revolt and bludgeon the population.
There are also other major societal issues with this concept as well. Many other countries would likely extradite the technology to benefit themselves in war or other violent circumstances. With the sensitive issues ongoing in Syria with chemical weapons, it is risky-to say the least- to thrust another advanced technology that could potentially be used against society. Or another revelation on the topic could be that pursuing this technology is worth it for the protection of humanity. Let me know what you think, is it worth having “Robocop” technology, regardless of the consequences it may present?
But before this technology or even the factitious idea appears in headlines, let’s just sit back and enjoy the show because, “Somewhere there is a crime happening.”-Robocop
