Movie Review – Ghost in the Shell (About the Identity of Life)

Watching the 1995 movie Ghost in the Shell and thinking about the identity of life.

 

Despite being an anime from 1995, Ghost in the Shell was innovative in its worldview and had a huge impact on other science fiction movies. The movie depicts a telepathic era in which all human bodies are mechanized and the brain is electronically connected, allowing us to obtain information from the internet, satellites, and other sources, and even communicate with others. However, the movie also shows social problems such as memory manipulation, manipulation by others, and lack of individuality through whole-brain hacking.

 

 

The entity that governs the perception of human identity can be called the soul or spirit. The electronicization of the brain means that the brain, like the cyborg body, is made of a combination of machines and proteins, and then backed up with data called memories. A cyborg with a forebrain can also recognize identity, and in Ghost in the Shell, the part of the cyborg that recognizes identity is called the Ghost. The problem of defining what this ghost really is is the same as the problem of how to define humanity or human personality as information and technology develops.
The title of Ghost in the Shell contains the word shell. The movie title refers not only to the human body, but also to the outer parts that can harbor ghosts, including cyborgs and machines. In a highly networked society, crimes have also become more sophisticated and complex, including a crime called ghost hacking, in which puppeteers infiltrate human ghosts to manipulate and alter their personalities. The protagonist of the movie is deeply questioning his identity, but when he encounters this puppeteer, he becomes curious and becomes a new being through the fusion of puppet and ghost. In the film, the puppeteer represents the most advanced form of a fully cerebralized being. It recognizes itself, learns by collecting data from the network, and pursues a more developed self, eventually offering the protagonist a fusion with the ghost. In this sense, we can see that even though the ghost is fully brainwashed, it is aware of its identity, pursues development, and learns.
The film’s theme is the totalization of humans and ghosts. This brainification is the connection of the human mind to the net. The human mind can then be datafied, replicated, and stored. Memories can be stored on a memory chip. As I watched the movie, I wondered, “Can humans move from body to body and live forever?” but I also wondered if I would be the same person I am now if I moved these data memories. The way people perceive each other in relationships begins with the physical body and continues with the memory of what they see and judge. If someone sees a clone of me with the same physical appearance, the same memories, and the same behavior, they will judge it to be me. Globalization is similar. Not only does it look the same, but the memories and information have been data-coded and copied into the brain, so on the surface, the clone is the same as you. I think this is where the ghost becomes important. In the movie, the body is made into an android and the memories are backed up, so a perfect physical resurrection is possible, but it does not reach the resurrection of the ghost. The aforementioned puppeteer also recognizes identity, learns, and seeks to upgrade or develop as an object.

 

 

Human beings are the ones who define whether a computerized being is a human being or a life form. Whether a being is composed of cells, metabolizes, converts energy, reproduces, evolves, etc. is based on the life forms that have already lived. A whole-brain being is a new entity and cannot be judged by these standards. When we look at other new objects or creatures, we first look at their external form, and then we look at their internal parts, such as how they function, how they work, how they behave, how they cope with situations, and how they regulate their emotions if they are human. I think that judging a pre-brainified being should be done in two parts.
First, if you look at the exterior, it’s all made up of mechanical parts. But I don’t think that’s a big problem. It’s just a prejudice if you don’t like the word mechanization. Many people wear glasses. They are also mechanizing a part of their body. While biological evolution, natural selection, dictates that individuals with bad eyes should be naturally culled and not have offspring, the mechanical complements of human cultural evolution make this a minor issue and help extend human life. Today, we see people prolonging their lives by mechanizing parts of their bodies, such as arms and legs, artificial hearts, and artificial kidneys. Whole-brain beings also have mechanized bodies, but if we think of them in this way, it is not a problem except for the brain, which is our unexplored part.
Secondly, when judging the inner part, since computerization is the mechanization of the human brain, identifying and defining the relationship between the brain and the mind will be an important basis for judging whether to recognize the computerized being as a human being or, if not, as an object with a life. However, we still only know the tip of the brain’s iceberg, and there is not much scientific data on this thing called the brain. Especially when it comes to mind, soul, and emotions, it’s not even clear how we can judge and define them, if they are related to the brain at all. It’s unclear whether a whole-brained being has a mind, emotions, or even a soul. This is because AIs can make situational judgments and act as if they have emotions based on data alone, which is not a good basis for outward judgment.
Although we can judge the outward appearance of a fully-brained being, we do not yet have enough evidence to judge it as a human or living being. Even if the brain part is studied, it will be difficult to judge the emotions and soul part. However, one important thing is that all values are based on the entity, and we cannot destroy the dignity of any entity by arbitrarily interpreting it. Whole-brain computerization will solve food and resource problems beyond our natural limitations, and the datafication of human identity may even change our concept of space and time. In the process of this still unrealized but highly valuable application, the determination of what constitutes a brainwashed being will be an important issue.