Will Detroit: Become Human Prove to be More Fact Than Fantasy?

Games, whether interactive video games or table games at a top Vegas online casino are primarily designed to entertain.  French development studio Quantum Dream has however veered away from the concept of pure entertainment to deliver a title that’s not only contentious and controversial but a believable precursor of what may lie ahead.

Meet the Aberrant Androids Snapping the Shackles of Programmable Code

Although Detroit: Become Human is packaged as a fantasy thriller, the central theme of aberrant Androids breaking free from the shackles of programmable code is a little too close for comfort.  As the world grapples with the explosive growth of robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) and more and more signatories pledge support for the Stop Killer Robots campaign, the single-player action adventure may just be a terrifying sneak peek into a near future virtually devoid of humanity.

Three Playable Characters That Can Think for Themselves

The game, due to be released on the 25th of May 2018 for PlayStation 4, focuses on three playable characters:

• Kara: a robotic housekeeper that’s somehow developed advanced artificial consciousness (AC),
• Markus: an Android companion to a wealthy disabled artist who suddenly deviates from his programmed nice-guy persona into a revolutionary robot intent on rescuing his compatriots from a life of slavery and
• Connor: a super smart Terminator type that has the ability to assess dodgy situations and make snap decisions as to the best course of action for the best possible outcome.  His primary task is to track and hunt down deviants like his fellow player characters, Kara and Markus.

The golden thread that weaves through the characters’ unique stories is the indisputable fact that they can think and act for themselves.  There’s no human programmer integrating bits and bytes into these machines and without human control, there’s no way of stopping what can inevitably turn into a synchronised army of mass murdering bots.

Killer Robots at an Advanced Stage in the Real World

Despite the fact Detroit: Become Human doesn’t quite unfold in that way, there are very real fears that killer robots are at an advanced stage of development in the real world.  Russia has announced that it is developing AI enabled weaponry that has the capabilities to choose targets and carry out kills without human intervention.

China is believed to have developed a sophisticated robotic soldier that exhibits all the elements of its human counterparts with one vital exception… and that of course is emotion.  The creation and deployment of autonomous cyborg soldiers is clearly not that far off and the consequences of well-armed and unconscionable warriors in the mould of Detroit: Become Human character, Connor are terrifying to say the least.

How Long Before the World Looks Like Detroit in 2036?

Even if we can arrest the development of armies of slaughter bots, futuristic Detroit in the year 2036 is a startlingly different place to today’s automotive manufacturing hub.  The game’s urban open world is populated by bots that carry out tasks which, in 2018, are still predominantly reserved for humans.

Androids are now teachers, carers, nannies, nurses and personal assistants.  Intelligent machines are literally everywhere and the likes of Markus are enabling them to organise themselves into a formidable workers force with a common goal – to escape the clutches of their human bosses!

Smart Network-Linked Little Helpers

How close is the world to Detroit in 2036? Closer than what you may think.  Automatons have already made the great leap from the factory floor into our homes and offices.  The much-publicised Aeolus Robot is already capable of performing domestic tasks like mopping the floor, rearranging the furniture and clearing up after the kids.

What is alarming is that each robot is connected to a network that allows the machines to share information about thousands of house-hold objects. This sharing makes your little helper more intelligent over time as it adapts to your home and routines.  In the not too distant future you may find that your Android is more intelligent than you are!

Human-Like Healthcare Bots

Japan has developed human-like robots that are used as healthcare workers for the elderly. They are capable of lifting and carrying patients from A to B, transferring them into a wheelchair or popping them into a bed.   The more sophisticated models are even able to engage in simple conversations, shower patients with support and affection, schedule appointments and provide precise patient education. They are indeed the nurses of the future.

In the USA robots known as Tugs are used in hospitals to transport linen, medication and lab specimens and further north in Canada, Robotic IV Automation or RIVA has been developed to assist pharmacists to prepare IV syringes and bags.

At this point these smart and sassy machines only vaguely resemble human beings, have limited task-centric intelligence and are quite content to stay put in a cupboard or lock-up but there’s no saying quite when we’ll see a new and more advanced iteration of RIVA, Rosie or Aeolus marching down the street!

Play Detroit: Become Human & Prepare a Survival Strategy 

If you want to meet your biggest fear head-on we suggest you fire up the game engines of Detroit: Become Human on your PS4 and prepare a survival strategy for a time in the future when the Bots are destined to take over the world!