FEBRUARY 26TH, 2088 DAILY NEWS

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THE NEWS

Woman’s Identity Stolen and Held For Ransom:

The Jury Is Still Out!
On Thursday, February 27th, 2070, a report was filed by Erica Potter; her identity was stolen and
someone impersonating her was on the streets.  A hacker hacked into Facebook and a variety of other

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FEBRUARY 26TH, 2088 DAILY NEWS

platforms, collected all the data provided by Potter herself, and

made a sentient being. This being was as close to Potter as the real
Potter, with each and every physical feature implemented. With the ADVERTISEMENTS
amount of technology today, however, the most important feature
was implemented. This fake persona was able to think, and had the
sentience of a real human being, making it arguably just as human
as the real Erica Potter. This represents not only stolen data and
information, but theft of her soul and identity as well. The hacker
implemented the being, but the being was so technologically
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advanced that it was able to obtain all the private information THOSE WHO WANT
provided to it, but also extrapolate and fill in all the gaps in its INTELLIGENT,
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knowledge accurately. It could think for itself and react to
situations correspondingly, just as any other human being would.
The persona had completely stolen Potter’s identity, and held it for
ransom. By reaching out through email and providing extremely
personal information that only the real Potter would know, the
persona got a hold of her, demanding $99 billion, exactly half of
her net worth, for her identity back. Because the sentient being had
all the qualities that the real Potter had, there is no evidence of one DANCE STUDIO ONLY
being more ‘real’ than the other. So, they took it to court. The ACCEPTING DANCERS
WHO WILL GROW TO
judge had no reason to believe that the sentient being is not the real
EXACTLY 5’8
Potter, or that the real Potter is the original, and the case ultimately
results in hung trial. The ramifications are unclear, as there is no
evidence for one being being ‘better’ than the other, or how
immorally incorrect a situation like this is.

Is Life Imitating Art? This real life story appears ti

resemble century old play entitled Marjorie Prime, where a prime
version of Marjorie’s deceased father was created to retell stories BABIES GUARANTEED
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as if he was still alive. However, in this case, there was a clear
TO CMU UP FOR
distinction between real and fake. The fake version was created to ADOPTION!
aid in the grieving process, rather than stealing the identity. The

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FEBRUARY 26TH, 2088 DAILY NEWS

prime had limitations, and could only regurgitate information it was once told. The sentient being
created, on the other hand, was able to think like the real Potter, and could therefore respond and react
according to the situation. This notion of a sentient being is crucial; the being could think for herself
completely, the reason why they were able to completely steal the identity of Potter. 
Situations like these reflect the idea that technology has the ability to completely reshape one’s
narrative, or even create a parallel narrative. In stealing her identity, the persona can make decisions
as if she was the real version; these decisions may have large impacts on Potter’s life. Potter no longer
has the ability to create her own unique narrative and make decisions for herself; there is an impeding
factor in her life, altering her story undesirably. Not only is the life and narrative of Potter herself
altered, but society as a whole is as well. Because the persona interacted with society, people’s
relationships with Potter will be impacted, both positively and negatively, as they do not realize the
persona is not the real version of her. The being gave the impressions of being just as powerful and
impactful as the real Potter herself. This can be damaging to society, and have exponential impacts on
the world; more and more people’s relationships and perceptions of Potter are damaged; her relational
aspect of self is completely robbed, and is now in the control of another being. Much distinct from
Marjorie Prime, the creation was an entire persona, with the ability to extrapolate information beyond
what it was given, and respond consistently with the real Potter herself. While the Prime was a direct
product of its source, with limited capabilities, the persona shared all these qualities with Potter.
This raises several questions, given how artificial intelligence has become interwoven in our
lives, we need to be aware of the next stage in AI or even human evolution. Almost no systems are
operated by human beings, but by artificial intelligence. If the sentient being created is an arguably
better person, then what should happen? If we can make people to replace others, with all negative
traits removed, is that really a better person? What makes a human a human? As described by Siegel,
the self is composed of three dimensions, the relational, reflective, and material. If the being has all
three of these dimensions, what makes it any less human than the original Potter?