User talk:Dreadstar/HAL

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[edit] HAL

The HAL 9000 has been compared to the Frankenstein monster.^[1]

HAL is an artificial intelligence, a sentient, synthetic, life form. According to John Thurman, HAL’s very existence is an abomination, much like Frankenstein’s monster. "While perhaps not overtly monstrous, HAL’s true character is hinted at by his physical “deformity”. Like a Cyclops he relies upon a single eye, examples of which are installed throughout the ship. The eye’s literally warped wide-angle point-of-view is sshown several times — notably in the drawings of hibernating astronauts (all of whom HAL will later murder)."

Kubrick underscores the Frankenstein connection with a scene that virtually reproduces the style and content of a scene from James Whale’s 1931 Frankenstein. The scene in which Frankenstein’s monster is first shown on the loose is borrowed to depict the first murder by HAL of a member of Discovery One’s crew. In each case, it is the first time the truly odious nature of the “monster” can be recognized as such, and only appears about halfway through the film.

Kubrick took a year and a half to complete the visual effects work on 2001. (1) The scene borrowing from Frankenstein involves the exacting arrangement of various models. It is likely that the close approximation of the scene to its predecessor is a function of the careful deliberation required. A comparison of the two scenes reveals just how similar they are in terms of lighting, composition, editing, staging, and sound.

killing of almost all of the astronauts in the film, while well known in popular culture even among people who have not seen 2001, is quite a shocking plot twist. We are told that HAL is infallible early in the film, and HAL establishes itself as competent and an entity that in its own words "enjoy[s] working with humans" and "has a stimulating relationship" with the two conscious astronauts. There are early signs, however, that all is not well with HAL: when playing chess with one of the astronauts, he claims that the game is over and then describes the remaining moves. His analysis is not quite correct: his opponent would not have to make one of the moves he describes, and he outlines one of the moves from the wrong perspective (see Poole - HAL 9000). Since Kubrick was a chess expert, and the game an actual match (an obscure one played years before by two relatively unknown players), this has to be a deliberate error and a clue for those who can spot it that all is not well with HAL. This is slightly at odds with Kubrick's own explanation for HAL's breakdown (see next paragraph), because HAL had not then wrongly diagnosed the AE35 unit.

Kubrick stated in a 1969 interview:

"In the specific case of HAL, he had an acute emotional crisis because he could not accept evidence of his own fallibility. The idea of neurotic computers is not uncommon -- most advanced computer theorists believe that once you have a computer which is more intelligent than man and capable of learning by experience, it's inevitable that it will develop an equivalent range of emotional reactions -- fear, love, hate, envy, etc. Such a machine could eventually become as incomprehensible as a human being, and could, of course, have a nervous breakdown -- as HAL did in the film." ^[2]

Alternatively, Clarke has suggested in interviews, in his original novel, and in a rough draft of the shooting script that HAL's orders to lie to the astronauts (more specifically, concealing the true nature of the mission) drove him 'insane'. The novel does include the phrase "He [HAL] had been living a lie"—a difficult situation for an entity programmed to be as reliable as possible. (Immediately before misdiagnosing the AE35 unit, HAL seems to hint to the intractable Bowman that there is more to the mission than a simple human expedition to Jupiter-space. Perhaps before then, at the time of the chess error, he was becoming nervous about the mission given that the alien artifact might have been beyond even his levels of comprehension, which fact alone would threaten his self-stated infallibility.)

A more developed explanation, similar to the one attributed to Clarke above, hinted at in the follow-up film 2010: The Year We Make Contact, is that while HAL was under orders to deny the true mission with the crew, he was programmed at a deep level to be completely accurate and infallible. This conflict between two key directives led to him taking any measures to prevent Bowman and Poole finding out about this deception. Once Poole had been killed, others were eliminated to remove any witnesses to his failure to complete the mission.

One interesting aspect of HAL's plight is that he, as the supposedly perfect computer, actually behaves in the most human fashion of all of the characters. He has reached human intelligence levels, and seems to have developed human traits of paranoia, jealousy and other emotions. By contrast, the human characters act like machines, coolly performing their tasks in a mechanical fashion, whether they are mundane tasks of operating their craft or even under extreme duress as Dave must be following HAL's murder of Frank. For instance, Frank Poole watches a birthday transmission from his parents with what appears to be complete apathy.

• Space bone]

HAL personifies the science/ignorance conflict. His character parallels Man’s arrogance, placing absolute and obstinate faith in both his abilities and in empirical science. He is, of course, an obstacle in the literal sense—he stands between the crew and their “objective”; more importantly, however, he is an obstacle in the allegorical sense that this element of human nature must be circumvented if we are to ever achieve enlightenment. Indeed, as HAL’s memory-core is shut down, he is left babbling like an infant. His was knowledge unsupported by wisdom; his was knowledge unearned.

Despite these failings, HAL can be considered the facilitatory tool: the space-bone. Without HAL, the astronauts seem naked, alone. Man’s use of science entirely supports its endeavor, and without these: nothing. Herein lies a warning. Knowledge may seem to speed up man’s Great Journey, but there is no substitute for understanding or wisdom. This is most audibly articulated by HAL’s termination of the dormant crew. The tool must belong, it cannot be borrowed. Having overcome HAL (and unencumbered, then, by a mindless preoccupation with advancement),

Actually, it was a logical crissis based on a number of programs that were in conflict. Hal was forced to interpret the orders:

1 -- The acurate processing and dispensing of data. 2 -- Witholding vital mission data from Frank and Dave.

Item one was an essential function for the operation of the ship. Add to that the fact that the mission information WOULD be revealed to the crew upon the ship's arrival at Jupiter. There's another conflicting order -- HAL was oredered to withold the information anout the mission AND was ordered to give that information to the crew!

It's a variation of the truth/lie paradox.

a) Mr Smith tells you that what Mr Jones will be saying is the complete truth. b) Mr Jones then tells you that what Mr Smith just told you is an outright lie.

Who do you belive?

Hal was confronted by such a delema. A Human would call it nonsnese, but to a machine like HAL, it is insoluble. Heaven only knows how much of his resources were being directed to solve the delema. --Jason Palpatine (talk) 09:37, 25 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Fair use rationale for Image:2001faultprediction.jpg

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BetacommandBot (talk) 05:45, 25 February 2008 (UTC)