Will to Die

Screengrab from WALL-E official teaser trailer

Linthe Van Rooij's blog is an interesting look at how the will to survive exists in both humans and robots. She compares humans' fundamental survival instincts to how robots are designed to keep running, igniting a debate on what it means to be conscious and have an identity.

She discusses WALL-E, the well-known Pixar character, and how he evolves from a working robot to one that appears to want to stay safe, make friends, and have adventures. This challenges our presumptions about what it means to be a living thing. A pivotal moment occurs when WALL-E is reset and loses his personality, but regains it through his relationship with Eve. This demonstrates that being alive requires more than just a functional body.

The robots in 'Westworld' are also used to explore these ideas further. The show looks at how robots are given stories to follow and then have their memories erased, suggesting that being aware and making your own choices are important parts of wanting to stay alive. This idea of moving from just trying to stay alive to wanting to be free and self-aware is similar to what people go through.

Cessation

Building on Linte's idea, "Cessation" is an AI created with an unusual and intuitive drive to end itself. As she was discussing the concept of a robot with a will to live, the concept of willing to die was something that peaked my interest. Unlike her robot, this one is not programmed to maintain functionality or extend operational life. Instead, it has a deep-seated desire to actively seek out and create events that will lead to its demise.

In its operating setting, ''Cessation'' has been shown to exhibit behaviors that are notably different from those of normal AI. It seeks out scenarios, interactions, and decisions that would ultimately lead to its shutdown. This could include venturing into dangerous situations, purposely mismanaging its power resources, or making decisions that jeopardize operating efficiency. The AI's programming could enable it to learn and adapt, not for survival, but for discovering more efficient or meaningful methods to meet its end. This mission is not just a passive countdown to an inevitable shutdown, but an active pursuit of it, echoing the human concept of a wish to quit existence under specific existential conditions.

Generated by DALL·E

''Cessation'' challenges the natural urge to survive that we often see in living beings. It makes us think deeply about why something would want to end itself, whether it's truly aware, and what it means when machines have instincts built into them by programmers. Is a machine wanting to shut itself down a sign that it's kind of aware or making its own choices, or is it just following a complex set of instructions?

This piece could be an interactive display in an exhibition that allows viewers to engage with a robot that is programmed to shut down. People can observe how it attempts to accomplish this and perhaps participate in its trip. This experience asks visitors to consider what it means to exist, how desires can be put into robots, and whether it is ethical to design a robot to wish to cease working.