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EP. REVIEW: The Gene of AI


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blooperboy



Joined: 28 Dec 2021
Posts: 132
PostPosted: Sun Jul 23, 2023 12:43 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
The big horsefly in the ointment is that Gene looks quite bad.

This would be my one disagreement with the review. Its not that it looks *Bad* per-say, its just very mid. I would agree that the animation certainly doesn't BRING anything to the show, but it don't think it actively makes it worse either.
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter



Joined: 07 Mar 2009
Posts: 23813
PostPosted: Sun Jul 23, 2023 7:19 pm Reply with quote
As I said in the thread announcing the titles to be reviewed, I'm really happy The Gene of AI got chosen. I think Steve has a good handle on both the strengths and weaknesses of the show so far, and look forward to reading more. As Steve wrote, this show is not breaking new ground but it does have a flair for selecting small details that have impact. For example, in episode one I liked how they handled dramatizing a girl's realization that her humanoid mother's backed up version wasn't quite the "same" as the original. It was a banal detail, a small thing, but it resonated with me and produced a sympathetic pang for the girl who experienced it.
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Hiroki not Takuya



Joined: 17 Apr 2012
Posts: 2526
PostPosted: Sun Jul 23, 2023 8:41 pm Reply with quote
Re:Article Thumbnail- The way some people IRL talk and act, it seems reformatting must be more common than one would think... Confused
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LadyUranus



Joined: 09 Jan 2009
Posts: 13
PostPosted: Mon Jul 24, 2023 1:09 am Reply with quote
So if I’m looking for a better-than-this high concept sci-fi (that’s not Psycho Pass or GitS), what should I check out?
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moozooh



Joined: 30 Sep 2022
Posts: 149
PostPosted: Tue Jul 25, 2023 5:25 am Reply with quote
One subtle tidbit that the reviewer either missed or chose not to mention is the protag's surname, Sudo. I thought it was kinda clever!

LadyUranus wrote:
So if I’m looking for a better-than-this high concept sci-fi (that’s not Psycho Pass or GitS), what should I check out?

Kino's Journey (2003) (not strictly sci-fi but very high-concept), Lain, Cowboy Bebop, Planetes, Kaiba, Texhnolyze.
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-Matthew-



Joined: 12 Mar 2022
Posts: 1301
PostPosted: Sun Jul 30, 2023 1:11 pm Reply with quote
The last episode was good! I wish there were more BL notes!
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lhernan02



Joined: 12 Jun 2005
Posts: 196
PostPosted: Sun Jul 30, 2023 7:56 pm Reply with quote
I went beyond the three episode test and gave it a fourth one, but still dropping it. While we can nickel and dime with various issues/flaws, the thing I could not get past was that the central conceit of the show is dumb.
In which rational universe would a corporation (or a government) create "Humanoids"? You would spend billions of dollars on R&D then hundreds of thousands per unit (even with economies of scale, those are some very good near-humans), then aside from free will, you give them human rights and flush all that money down the drain because they have no economic value (yes, they add value to the economy as a whole, but so do we and nobody had to spend 100K+ building us). A more realistic scenario are "Replicants", they are near-humans with near-free will, but no human rights and in case their free will develops, and they get any funny ideas, a four year lifespan, those can be built because they are monetizable.
Again, the vignettes were nice enough, not really thought provoking unless you are new to the genre (all have been covered several times since the 50s (some since the first sci-fi wave from the 1890s)), but it was, at its core, unrealistic in any near term human scenario (if it was set in the year 3000 where magical technology could create anything you wanted, then OK, I'll bite, its not a bad way to waste 23 mins). But if the writers are not willing to spend the time dotting the i's and crossing the t's on their world, why should I bother.
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NeedMoreCats
Subscriber



Joined: 06 Oct 2018
Posts: 321
Location: Westchester, NY
PostPosted: Mon Aug 07, 2023 10:22 am Reply with quote
I think this 5th episode is the last for me. I do like the speculative fiction elements—the vignettes remind me of Asimov’s I, Robot. But the presentation is just dull as dishwater for me. It’s too bad because, with better writing and better production values, this could have been a rare gem. But, as it is, it’s a sad missed opportunity.

But I will keep reading Steve’s thoughtful reviews!
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notrogersmith



Joined: 06 Jun 2010
Posts: 192
PostPosted: Mon Aug 07, 2023 11:55 am Reply with quote
Quote:
Yuta is about as explicitly on the spectrum as a character can get without the show directly diagnosing him as autistic

As someone who actually is autistic, I disagree. Yuta very clearly has trouble regulating his emotions, but that's an issue that can happen in a multitude of psychiatric conditions and isn't particularly a hallmark of autism. (Problems with emotional control may or may not be present in any given autistic person; it depends.) I don't recall any indication that Yuta had much trouble reading social cues, which would be very much a hallmark.


Last edited by notrogersmith on Tue Aug 15, 2023 10:28 am; edited 1 time in total
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Gina Szanboti



Joined: 03 Aug 2008
Posts: 11392
PostPosted: Tue Sep 12, 2023 11:13 pm Reply with quote
Although this was obviously written some time ago, and for a Japanese audience, the Texas Education Agency seems to have used it as a blueprint for their current "New Education System" directives for 85 schools in Houston and Austin, not just in what is taught, but how it's presented and with heavy classroom surveillance of teachers, who are not happy about it. It's kind of eerie to see life imitating art so blatantly, even if the authoritarians instituting these rules have never seen the art.

"Students sat silently, pencils scratching, as they worked on the "demonstration of learning" worksheets that they'll be required to complete every day in their core classes. Teachers taught from PowerPoint presentations developed by HISD's central office, with a livestream of the class projected on an adjacent wall — the same stream a student would watch from a laptop were they to act out in class and be sent to one of the school's 'Team Centers,' some of which have replaced their school's libraries." Carrying around an orange traffic cone to go to the restroom is a nice touch too. Rolling Eyes Houston Chronicle
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GoatBoss9



Joined: 29 Aug 2023
Posts: 13
PostPosted: Sun Sep 17, 2023 9:54 am Reply with quote
Hate to be the guy to tell you this Steve, but the whole regression and indoctrination thing is something you see on all sides of the political spectrum. Trying to say otherwise is a strawman no matter how you look at it. For example, look at what that uber-liberal school up in Ontario got caught doing recently - essentially getting rid of anything they consider to be "socially regressive", which was any book published before 2008. That's some Fahrenheit 451 / 1984 craziness that doesn't even have a quasi-moral defense that you typically get from Florida or Texas, where parents and administrators typically zero in on material that they just don't think is sexually appropriate for younger kids.

Just cause you gave yourself a pat on the back by voting for Biden or something doesn't give us an excuse to put on blinders. We have a class problem at the root of pretty much every issue under the sun, not an ideological one.

As far as the singularity goes, it isn't a "crock of shit" but it is likely going to be something a lot more subtle than what guys like Musk or Thiel think. Ray Kurzweil has been talking about this stuff a long time and I highly recommend all of you to follow his stuff if you have any legitimate educational interest in the subject.

My take is that once you can take AI out of its black box via stuff like LangChain and put it into a lot of commercial consumable products and/or the stuff people use all the time, the world will start to change under the surface fairly radically. Right now AI is just a brain in a jar that can't see anything outside of whatever it has been trained on initially. You give that brain a window in the real world and watch things accelerate to the point where the genie really won't go back into the bottle.


Last edited by GoatBoss9 on Sun Sep 17, 2023 10:17 am; edited 1 time in total
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Gina Szanboti



Joined: 03 Aug 2008
Posts: 11392
PostPosted: Sun Sep 17, 2023 10:14 am Reply with quote
So is Michi actually human? Is he a clone of Sudo or is Sudo a clone of Michi? Also after that ending, I'm thinking "Sudo" may also be a pun on "pseudo," as in false, possibly referring to the fact that he's not really human, or not the original person. Hope we get some answers next week.
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Hellsoldier



Joined: 21 Jun 2013
Posts: 761
Location: Porto,Portugal,Europe,Earth,Sol
PostPosted: Sun Sep 17, 2023 11:02 am Reply with quote
GoatBoss9 wrote:
Hate to be the guy to tell you this Steve, but the whole regression and indoctrination thing is something you see on all sides of the political spectrum. Trying to say otherwise is a strawman no matter how you look at it. For example, look at what that uber-liberal school up in Ontario got caught doing recently - essentially getting rid of anything they consider to be "socially regressive", which was any book published before 2008. That's some Fahrenheit 451 / 1984 craziness that doesn't even have a quasi-moral defense that you typically get from Florida or Texas, where parents and administrators typically zero in on material that they just don't think is sexually appropriate for younger kids.

Just cause you gave yourself a pat on the back by voting for Biden or something doesn't give us an excuse to put on blinders. We have a class problem at the root of pretty much every issue under the sun, not an ideological one.

As far as the singularity goes, it isn't a "crock of shit" but it is likely going to be something a lot more subtle than what guys like Musk or Thiel think. Ray Kurzweil has been talking about this stuff a long time and I highly recommend all of you to follow his stuff if you have any legitimate educational interest in the subject.

My take is that once you can take AI out of its black box via stuff like LangChain and put it into a lot of commercial consumable products and/or the stuff people use all the time, the world will start to change under the surface fairly radically. Right now AI is just a brain in a jar that can't see anything outside of whatever it has been trained on initially. You give that brain a window in the real world and watch things accelerate to the point where the genie really won't go back into the bottle.


Yes, but guess which form of populism has most gained from Internet disinformation. If you live in Europe, you know it's the far-right, even if there are tankies on the Internet. Both faschies and tankies like to service Putin. Also, how about NOT BANNING BOOKS? Yes, students have the right to learn about LGBT matters, and about themselves, as much as they have the right to read Kipling.and Harper Lee.

You could also refer to Michio Kaku on the subject. Wait... MICHIo!

Finally, this has been an awesome anime, actually. Thought-proviking, the way science fiction is supposed to be, When I read William Gibson books, I want action, but most importantly, I want to imagine worlds, and think about the impact of technological change. This anime delivers on that front.
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GoatBoss9



Joined: 29 Aug 2023
Posts: 13
PostPosted: Sun Sep 17, 2023 5:18 pm Reply with quote
Hellsoldier wrote:

Yes, but guess which form of populism has most gained from Internet disinformation. If you live in Europe, you know it's the far-right, even if there are tankies on the Internet. Both faschies and tankies like to service Putin. Also, how about NOT BANNING BOOKS? Yes, students have the right to learn about LGBT matters, and about themselves, as much as they have the right to read Kipling.and Harper Lee.

You could also refer to Michio Kaku on the subject. Wait... MICHIo!

Finally, this has been an awesome anime, actually. Thought-proviking, the way science fiction is supposed to be, When I read William Gibson books, I want action, but most importantly, I want to imagine worlds, and think about the impact of technological change. This anime delivers on that front.


Right-wing populists are the ones most cynical towards present-day neoliberalism on a variety of fronts, so of course that's gonna catch on with some people. The far-right has more in common with the far-left than they think - its the religious & equity frameworks that are being played out in these culture wars that get in the way of an all out alliance to stampede the rich. Very Happy

Good call on Michio Kaku lol. I agree fundamentally that books shouldn't be banned on general principle.
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Hellsoldier



Joined: 21 Jun 2013
Posts: 761
Location: Porto,Portugal,Europe,Earth,Sol
PostPosted: Sun Sep 17, 2023 5:50 pm Reply with quote
GoatBoss9 wrote:

Right-wing populists are the ones most cynical towards present-day neoliberalism on a variety of fronts, so of course that's gonna catch on with some people. The far-right has more in common with the far-left than they think - its the religious & equity frameworks that are being played out in these culture wars that get in the way of an all out alliance to stampede the rich. Very Happy

Good call on Michio Kaku lol. I agree fundamentally that books shouldn't be banned on general principle.


It's populism 101: Answering complex problems with simplistic solutions, basically. That sort of thing always sells, sadly. Same with the culture wars. They were trying to remove a statue in Porto because it had a nude woman. I'm sorry but I don't think that's gonna solve women's problems. Banning books and statues? We might as well call the firemen from Fahrenheit 451 already.

Thank you. I always liked listening to Michio Kaku on Youtube. Never grabbed any book of his, sadly. As for Ray, most of his predictions have been spot on so far, so I'll take his word on the Singularity seriously.
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