Bryce Lukens CS 3043 Chapter 10 connection
The technology in the movie Anon is not focused on automation, but rather improving the accessibility of technology that currently exists. However, there are 2 examples of automation in the movie Anon that demonstrate the view of the textbook about the relationship between automation and available jobs.
Paper is the main technology that has a lack of use in the futuristic society of Anon. In the movie there are two scenes where paper is used, one where a book is being read, and another where the anonymous user has a flashback of burning paper records. Anytime in the movie that a character needs to access the details of a citizen they rely solely on the mind’s eye technology, and other than the flashback of the anonymous user, paper records of the government never appear. This demonstrates that government paper records have been phased out in favor of the mind’s eye virtual records. The sole appearance of the book in the movie could demonstrate a decrease in the use of paperback novels. This automation of the publishing of books to a virtual platform could lead to the release of more books and the decrease in the number of printers used. Although this would lead to a decrease in jobs related to printer development and the printing of books, it would also likely lead to an increase in the number of jobs related to creating a platform for reading books virtually in the mind’s eye technology. This is similar to the presentation of the relationship between automation presented in the textbook, where automation leads to a decrease of jobs, but a general increase in jobs due to a decrease in the cost of the product.
The other example of automation present in the movie exists in the beginning scene where Sal is providing evidence for a case against a murderer. This process automates the discovery period which exists at the start of a legal case, where evidence is collected to strengthen the argument of one side. In the case where Sal presents evidence against the murderer he is able to view the recording of the murder from all points of view and is provided context for the murder as the murderer was drinking earlier in the day and did not have clear judgement. The receipt for the drinks that the murderer had purchased were already accessible to Sal when he assumes the case. There is also automation of discovery on the side of the murderer, as soon as he commits the crime he is prompted with a list of lawyers to choose from. This would lead a lawyer to have faster access to the clients memories and faster communication with authorities on the case details. Automation in this case may not decrease jobs, but allow for the job of discovery to be accomplished faster and for other duties of a lawyer to be focused on.