4 ms·

I'm actively watching it for the first time and this part: "a system you asked for, to keep you safe." I don't recognize. Looked into it a bit and it started o

I'm actively watching it for the first time and this part: "a system you asked for, to keep you safe." I don't recognize. Looked into it a bit and it started out and only the last season has all of what you quoted. It's been really interesting watching the show evolve knowing what was happening in the world at the time. I'm currently on season 3 and they are starting to change the tone now that the Snowden leak has happened. It starts out as: "You are being watched. The government has a secret system — a machine — that spies on you every hour of every day. I know, because I built it. I designed the machine to detect acts of terror, but it sees everything. Violent crimes involving ordinary people. People like you. Crimes the government considered irrelevant. They wouldn't act, so I decided I would. But I needed a partner, someone with the skills to intervene. Hunted by the authorities, we work in secret. You'll never find us. But, victim or perpetrator, if your number's up, we'll find you." So over the course of 5 years it morphs from "I know because I built it." to "A system you asked for, to keep you safe."

tredre3 2y ago
The show's (or at least its protagonists') motivations change a lot over the years. As Finch's own motivations evolve, you can see him shift the blame from the government, to the people, to the machine itself. There are some bouts of introspection, especially early on, which he uses as justification for installing the backdoor in the first place, but on the whole he's adamant that none of this is his fault. That's probably exactly how it will play out in our world too, when a tech billionaire plugs a self-aware AI to our global surveillance network.
- TeMPOraL 2y ago
  Yeah, and also (light spoiler) over the course of the show, the system(s) in question go from something more like advanced data analysis/surveillance AI to a full-blown AGI scenario - and it's the only show ever that actually discusses this topic in plausible, realistic way. That's why the quote changed by the end, because (among also the change of perspective), the question of how the computer system itself feels about you became both valid and relevant. > There are some bouts of introspection, especially early on, which he uses as justification for installing the backdoor in the first place, but on the whole he's adamant that none of this is his fault. Well, at least until later, where I'd say his perspective evolved towards fear and eventually immense guilt ("selling the world for a dollar"), which made it hard for him to consider the possibility that what he created might want, and perhaps have a right, to live. Finch is the opposite of the "oops I guess but really I've done nothing wrong" kind of billionaire.

tredre3 2y ago

The show's (or at least its protagonists') motivations change a lot over the years. As Finch's own motivations evolve, you can see him shift the blame from the government, to the people, to the machine itself. There are some bouts of introspection, especially early on, which he uses as justification for installing the backdoor in the first place, but on the whole he's adamant that none of this is his fault. That's probably exactly how it will play out in our world too, when a tech billionaire plugs a self-aware AI to our global surveillance network.

TeMPOraL 2y ago
Yeah, and also (light spoiler) over the course of the show, the system(s) in question go from something more like advanced data analysis/surveillance AI to a full-blown AGI scenario - and it's the only show ever that actually discusses this topic in plausible, realistic way. That's why the quote changed by the end, because (among also the change of perspective), the question of how the computer system itself feels about you became both valid and relevant. > There are some bouts of introspection, especially early on, which he uses as justification for installing the backdoor in the first place, but on the whole he's adamant that none of this is his fault. Well, at least until later, where I'd say his perspective evolved towards fear and eventually immense guilt ("selling the world for a dollar"), which made it hard for him to consider the possibility that what he created might want, and perhaps have a right, to live. Finch is the opposite of the "oops I guess but really I've done nothing wrong" kind of billionaire.