Work and Wealth

In the Adam Project the topics of wealth and work play a prevalent role in establishing characters and their relationships. Louis and Sorian are excellent examples of work and wealth as they are direct opposites to each other in this category: Louis is the scientist and Sorian is the corporation. Sorian is corrupted by wealth while Louis is satisfied with his work. Louis constantly follows ethical practices when it comes to his creations. Sorian commits several violations of ethical practices, one example being insider trading, when she goes back in time to inform her past self's decisions. On the other hand, when Louis sees two versions of his time-travelling son Adam, he insists that they go away to avoid any disastrous outcomes: "Mankind has no business tampering with the mechanics of the universe" [1:02:33].

Progression in Workplace Technology

Progression of Workplace technology is when the job stays the same but the technology improves. Advancements in technology have led to the use of the Time Jet for certain fighter pilots as well as advanced weaponry such as the lightsaber Adam is shown to have used against Sorian's minions [36:42]. The Time Jet specifically is an example of how as technology changes, it evolves the role of the job rather than taking away from it. The introduction of time jets creates more jobs for the scientists who develop it, the manufacturers who produce it, and the pilots who fly it. The Adam Project provides context for how progression in workplace technology improves work and wealth.

Sorian vs. Louis

The topics of Sorian vs Louis is a key topic in The Adam Project. On one side you have Sorian who is overwhelmed and corrupted by power and money from the technology she funded, and on the other side you have Louis who follows his morals throughout the movie and sticks to his beliefs even in the face of money, power, and recognition.

Sorian

Sorian is shown to have been slowly corrupted by the power that controlling such a crucial piece of technology such as time travel gives her; the descent of Sorian into corruption is depicted by the scene of Sorian's older self having to convince Sorian's younger self to do things that her younger self finds immoral and wrong [1:05:50]. Throughout the movie, Sorian is willing to disregard her past self's moral code by participating in things such as insider trading, political corruption, and murder in order to achieve her goals of gaining power and wealth.

Here are some of ACM's Codes of Ethics and Professional Conduct [1] that Sorian breaks:

• "Avoid Harm" - Sorian attempts to use Murder as a way to further her goals of controlling Time Travel technology for example Attempting to kill Adam and Laura because of Laura's discovery of Sorian's jump logs.

• "Be Honest and Trustworthy" - Sorian participates in bribery, political corruption and stock market rigging to name a few dishonest behaviors. It is apparent that Sorian has no intention to be Honest or Trustworthy based on the context of the film.

• "Foster public awareness and understanding of computing, related technologies, and their consequences." - Sorian does not look to raise any awareness of the consequences of time travel and instead abuses Time Travel technology to further her own gains and attempts to murder Laura who tried to reveal her misdoings.

• "Ensure that the public good is the central concern during all professional computing work" - It is quite obvious that Sorian is not interested in the public good at all as she participates in selfish behaviors to further her own goals and is not concerned with the consequences it may cause others.

Louis

Louis in the movie is Sorian's antithesis. He is somebody who holds himself to his own ethical code and is not swayed by the money or reputation that would come along with his discovery. Louis is extremely cautious of what Adam is trying to do because of his belief that the timeline should not be tampered with––even if that means him not being allowed to use it for his own benefit such as stopping his own untimely demise––and is worried about the future of humanity under Sorian's control. He is willing to sacrifice his potential title as the Father of Time Travel in order to ensure the world is a better place.

Here are some examples of how Louis follows ACM's Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct [1]:

• "Avoid Harm" - Louis is in the beginning of the movie scared of the unknown harm that may be created due to Adam's disruption of the timeline and recommends that he should turn back in order to avoid such consequences. Louis is towards the end of the movie weary towards the future Sorian ends up creating with his technology and ends up discontinuing it for the safety of the future.

• "Be Honest and Trustworthy" - Louis is very transparent throughout the film of what he is doing and what he believes is right and does not participate in any unmoral behavior in his own self interest.

• "Foster public awareness and understanding of computing, related technologies, and their consequences." - Louis educates Adam when initially confronted with his time travel to the past on the potential consequences of such behavior and tells him to stop what he is doing despite his interest in what happens in the future.

• "Ensure that the public good is the central concern during all professional computing work" - At the end of the movie Louis makes the decision for the sake of the future public good to destroy his research despite the loss of his title as the Father of Time Travel as he was weary of the future Sorian had created and any further influence she may have over the course of the future.

Sources

[1] (ACM, ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct) https://ethics.acm.org/