Amazon Prime Video Recommendation: Upload

[Casual Observer]

I wanted to recommend this after the first couple of episodes but figured I needed to finish the first season before mentioning it. I really enjoyed S01 of Upload, an Amazon Prime original (though I'm sure you could torrent it). It's another sci-fi streaming show as if there aren't enough already but it's not dark and brooding and weird like Devs. It really is like it's description, a sci-fi rom com but they didn't mention the twist which is that it also includes a corporate espionage/fraud/murder scheme that is only just starting to play out by end of season one.

If a smartphone was my dream device of the future when I was a kid (it was) then this show embodies a lot of what I wish the near future could be. Besides the ubiquitous self driving cars and wrist band cell phones that project a screen between your fingers, this fictional world has something called "upload" where your consciousness is uploaded into a virtual reality world for eternity, a digital heaven (kind of like the "forge" idea in Westworld, or hundreds of other scifi examples). I would love to exist in a digital reality where I don't have to work or go to the store or listen to my wife bitch, just relax and do what I want every day would be absolute heaven. Most of the show is about the main character "Nathan" interacting with his customer service rep/love interest "Nora". The actress who plays Nora is way cuter than the Asian chick from Devs, BTW, actually hotter too.

What I found great about this show was the nuanced way that they threw in sci fi tropes and issues. Like they included some class warfare issues like Snowpiercer. They also scratch the surface of "what am I" and "what's it mean to be alive" questions kind of like parts of Devs but much more lighthearted.

Philosophical issues too. When at RIT I had a philosophy class that was mostly discussions about the morality of different sci fi concepts. One was about whether you're the same person when you enter and then exit a transporter. Another discussion was about the morality of self driving cars (only about 20 years before we had them). The discussion was about whether the car should prioritize the occupant's safety or a pedestrian/animal. In class, we talked about whether the engineers should make that determination and what that meant, etc. I like that this show solved that question by making it the user's choice.

Overall, a fun 10 episodes and by the end you're not so enthralled that you're upset that you're going to have to wait years (or eternity if it doesn't get renewed) for the rest of it.

[Casual Observer]

Update, it has been renewed so it'll only be years before the next season.

[Casual Observer]

Watching this again. The funny holds up. You nerds should give it a try.

[Tdarcos]

Besides the ubiquitous self driving cars and wrist band cell phones that project a screen between your fingers, this fictional world has something called "upload" where your consciousness is uploaded into a virtual reality world for eternity, a digital heaven (kind of like the "forge" idea in Westworld, or hundreds of other scifi examples). I would love to exist in a digital reality where I don't have to work or go to the store or listen to my wife bitch, just relax and do what I want every day would be absolute heaven.

Even Paradise can have problems. May I suggest you read my book, Instrument of God which is about the exact scenario you just described. It's available here to view or download.

When at RIT I had a philosophy class that was mostly discussions about the morality of different sci fi concepts. One was about whether you're the same person when you enter and then exit a transporter.

What matters is the result; if whatever comes out thinks it's you, has your memories and there is no other, it is you as far as you're concerned.

Another discussion was about the morality of self driving cars (only about 20 years before we had them). The discussion was about whether the car should prioritize the occupant's safety or a pedestrian/animal.

What do cars do now? Or did then? You provide reasonable protection to the occupants and provide adequate features to permit the operator to do so in a reasonably safe manner.

Realize, self-driving cars do not have to be perfect, just better than humans. Elevators are self-driving and no one worries about them because they are designed to be safe and the path has no bystanders. Motor vehicle accidents kill 40,000 people in the US each year, half of those being 100% preventable as drunk driving accidents. To be a complete cynic, let's say self-driving cars became ubiquitous so that all cars are self driving and still 1,000 people were killed each year by them. That's 39,000 people a year not being killed.

Elevators and escalators seem safe, but they still kill 30 and injure 17,000 people a year in the US. Given that there are millions of trips taken on them yearly shows they are very safe, although they are not absolutely safe. There is still a minuscule risk of death and a slightly higher chance of injury.

[Casual Observer]

What matters is the result; if whatever comes out thinks it's you, has your memories and there is no other, it is you as far as you're concerned.

You hit on the crux of that discussion. If the "you" that walks into the transporter is destroyed then the "you" that walks out isn't your same consciousness.