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AudienceofOne
There are two things to bear in mind before watching this episode of SF8. The first is that Koreans have a history with fortune-telling that we don't and the second is that the country has a history of technological optimism. Shamanism is deeply rooted in Korean culture and technology is frequently portrayed as being either benign or actively helpful. Concerns around privacy, surveillance and manipulation are not usually found in Korean films and television. So in that respect it's not surprising that a science fiction writer would marry these two societal influences in one story.
In the near future, a fortune-telling AI called Manxin has been developed that mines big data and uses an algorithm to predict the future. The AI has an accuracy rate of over 96% and its associated app is free. As such, its use has grown until it underpins the majority of actions and interactions in Korea. The impact of the app is not beneficial, however, nor even benign. The economy has slumped, unemployment is high and homelessness is on the rise.
A young woman To Sun-ho (an almost-unrecognisable Lee Yun-hee) is on the search for answers about Manxin after her sister - a Manxin addict - died in a freak accident involve a sinkhole. How could this be possible? Didn't Manxin warn her? Did it send her to her death? Why would it do that? Essentially, Sun-ho is driven by the question that disaffected believers have been asking for eternity: why did God allow this to happen?
To Sun-ho is soon joined on her journey by Manxin cultist Jung Ga-ram (Lee Dong-hwi), who despite his worship of the AI is not a blind ideologue. The two begin their search for the AI, her to question it, him to be in its presence.
On the surface, this episode of SF8 is a simple discussion of free will in an ordered universe. It is a truism that if we knew the position of every molecule in the Universe we could accurately predict the future. An ordered and mechanistic Universe negates the existence of free will. Whether that Universal order comes from a consciousness or not isn't important in this context. Whether it's physics or God we ultimately have no control over the world and we will therefore cling to the idea that we can find a clue to the future. Basically, it's humans who want Gods. That's why we create them.
Whether Manxin has another level to it is up to debate. It's short - a mere 50 minutes - and so maybe it didn't have time to tease out some of its themes. Or maybe that really is all there is to it.
Unlike The Prayer, which was basically perfect, Manxin suffers from a number of flaws. The main one is the vague and almost trite "fortunes" that the AI delivers to people daily. They're designed to be familiar to people in a shamanistic culture but are open to interpretation in ways that undermine the "96.3% accuracy" of the show's premise. Which of course is one of the criticisms of shamanism from those outside the culture (of which I am admittedly one).
The ending opens up a lot of questions, which ultimately is what good scifi is supposed to do. If everything in the Universe is destined, then can we exert free will by our choice not to be informed of that destiny? Can we choose whether we want the illusion of free will? And if so, is that free will?
Overall, Manxin is an enjoyable watch but it left me wanting more.
In the near future, a fortune-telling AI called Manxin has been developed that mines big data and uses an algorithm to predict the future. The AI has an accuracy rate of over 96% and its associated app is free. As such, its use has grown until it underpins the majority of actions and interactions in Korea. The impact of the app is not beneficial, however, nor even benign. The economy has slumped, unemployment is high and homelessness is on the rise.
A young woman To Sun-ho (an almost-unrecognisable Lee Yun-hee) is on the search for answers about Manxin after her sister - a Manxin addict - died in a freak accident involve a sinkhole. How could this be possible? Didn't Manxin warn her? Did it send her to her death? Why would it do that? Essentially, Sun-ho is driven by the question that disaffected believers have been asking for eternity: why did God allow this to happen?
To Sun-ho is soon joined on her journey by Manxin cultist Jung Ga-ram (Lee Dong-hwi), who despite his worship of the AI is not a blind ideologue. The two begin their search for the AI, her to question it, him to be in its presence.
On the surface, this episode of SF8 is a simple discussion of free will in an ordered universe. It is a truism that if we knew the position of every molecule in the Universe we could accurately predict the future. An ordered and mechanistic Universe negates the existence of free will. Whether that Universal order comes from a consciousness or not isn't important in this context. Whether it's physics or God we ultimately have no control over the world and we will therefore cling to the idea that we can find a clue to the future. Basically, it's humans who want Gods. That's why we create them.
Whether Manxin has another level to it is up to debate. It's short - a mere 50 minutes - and so maybe it didn't have time to tease out some of its themes. Or maybe that really is all there is to it.
Unlike The Prayer, which was basically perfect, Manxin suffers from a number of flaws. The main one is the vague and almost trite "fortunes" that the AI delivers to people daily. They're designed to be familiar to people in a shamanistic culture but are open to interpretation in ways that undermine the "96.3% accuracy" of the show's premise. Which of course is one of the criticisms of shamanism from those outside the culture (of which I am admittedly one).
The ending opens up a lot of questions, which ultimately is what good scifi is supposed to do. If everything in the Universe is destined, then can we exert free will by our choice not to be informed of that destiny? Can we choose whether we want the illusion of free will? And if so, is that free will?
Overall, Manxin is an enjoyable watch but it left me wanting more.
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