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Lacie McElyea
Lacie McElyea Movie Critique July 2, 2017 Lori White ED 407 (31497)
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Lacie McElyea Minority Report Overview
Minority Report is a movie directed by Steven Spielberg and set in the year 2054. Minority Report is centered on the main character, John Anderton, trying to figure out the reason for his own crime using the pre-crime software and the human future-predictor named Agatha. Minority Report is an interesting and complex movie; however, it is best known for the accuracy of its predictions of emerging technologies. Throughout the movie, many technology tools are showcased showcased that are in use or in development in today’s world. This critique of Minority Report will include an explanation of the technology prediction process, a description and availability status of four technology tools presented in the movie, and a personal reaction to the movie. Process of Predictions In 1999 Steven Spielberg invited fifteen computer and innovation experts to attend a threeday “think-tank ” convention to help predict and create a realistic world for the movie Minority Report . The three-day “think-tank ” convention focused on predicting the architectural, socioeconomical, political, and technological aspects of the world in the year 2054 (“Technologies…,” 2017). To predict what the future held, the individuals participating in the “think-tank ” analyzed and discussed every aspect of the world in 1999 and formed a futuristic world that is majorly advanced in every architectural, socio-economical, socio-economical, political, and technological aspect. Some of the experts that participated in the “think-tank ” convention were Peter Schwartz, Stewart Brand, Peter Calthrope, Douglas Coupland, Neil Gershenfeld, Shaun Jones, Jaron Lanier, and many more. Steven Spielberg and the fifteen experts discussed and accurately predicted the use of many emerging technologies. For example, Steven Spielberg and his fifteen fifteen experts predicted the development and use of spiderbots, retina scanners, 3-D holograms, and e-papers by the year 2054 (“Technologies…,” 2017). Spiderbots
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Lacie McElyea Spiderbots in Minority report were were silver, very small, and had eight legs. The spiderbots also have multiple on-board sensors that can sense movement, sound, and objects. objects. In Minority Report the spiderbots were used to scan peoples’ retinas to find criminal suspects, and they were used to relay information about the suspects to the law law enforcement (Staff, 2012). The spiderbots in Minority Report are very advanced; therefore, spiderbots are not easily available to the public. Spiderbots are, however, being created and used by the U.S. Military for reconnaissance missions.
The U.S. Military’s insect robots are very similar to the spiderbots presented in the Minority Report . Also, around the year 2012 a group of spiderbots was placed in Mount St. Helens to detect
earthquakes, volcano eruptions, and the earth’s positioning (Staff, 2012). Even though spiderbots are not easily available to the public, they could be modified and effectively used in the field of education. Spiderbots or other robots with artificial artificial intelligence could be used to grade assignments within the classroom (Staff, 2016). Spiderobots could be modified to include artificial intelligence that will scan and grade multiple choice tests, fill-in-theblank tests, and essay questions. Spiderbots that are able to quickly and effectively effectively grade would give the students immediate feedback and the teacher more time to teach the curriculum (Staff, 2016). Spiderbots are not, not, however, the only technology technology tool presented in Minority Report that that could benefit education. Retina Scanners In Minority Report retina scanners are everywhere. They are located on all of the business business doors, subway stations, and advertising billboards; furthermore, they were used to id entify crime suspects and personalize ads. Retina scanners were were developed in the 1980s before before Minority Report was created (Fleming Companies, 2014); however, Steven Spielberg’s movie predicted major advancements in retina scanning (“Technologies…,” (“Technologies…,” 2017). Retina scanners map the unique
patterns of the blood vessels and surrounding tissue in a person’s eye by shinning a stream of lowenergy light in the eye. eye. Once a high-quality high-quality picture picture of a person’s eye is captured, the retina scanner
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Lacie McElyea memorizes the eye patterns patterns (Fleming Companies, 2014). Retina scanners are very accurate accurate because no one has the exact same eye patterns, and retina scanners are now used for many high-
security environments. For example, FBI agencies, CIA agencies, NASA, NASA, many banks, many prisons, and many ATM machines now use Retina scanners. Retina scanning is also used to diagnose some diseases (King, 2013). Retina scanners are used by many agencies and corporations but could also be effectively used in the field of education. Retina scanners could be used to increase the safety of children within a school system. That being said, retina scanners could be placed outside of the school doors, and each person that wishes to enter the building must have their retina scanned and approved. Retina scanners could be a lifesaver for many students who attend attend low-security, highcrime-rate schools. 3-D Holograms 3-D holograms, on the other hand, are not imperative to student safety but could still enhance students’ educational educational experiences. experiences. 3-D holograms are used in Minority Report to virtually display one of John Anderton’s memories memories of his wife wife and son. The 3-D holograms in Minority Report allow John Anderton to view his wife and his son from multiple angles (Staff, 2012). Holograms are created by photographically recoding a light field instead instead of an image. Laser lights are required to view holograms, and holograms can be hard to distinguish from the actual object (“Holography,” 2017). 3-D holographic videos of people are, however, still in the stage of major development. development. For example, Nasser Peyghambarian, a member of the University of Arizona and the National Science Foundation, was still working on making viewing live 3 -D holographic videos possible in October of 2015 (O’Brien & Walton, 2015). 3-D holographic videos could be a great tool in education. Teachers and other educators could use 3-D holographic videos to incorporate speakers from any state or country. country. Teachers could also use 3-D holographic videos and images to allow students to observe life-size objects that
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Lacie McElyea cannot be brought on school grounds. For example, a 3-D holographic video and picture can be
used to show students the effect of nuclear weapons and analyze what a nuclear weapon looks like. Also, students could use 3-D holographic videos and images to present information information to the class. 3-D holograms could engage and interest many students of every age and culture. E-Papers The last technology tool that will be analyzed from the movie Minority Report is is e-papers. E-papers are used all throughout the movie Minority Report . E-papers are papers that update themselves; therefore, when when any new news is received, e-papers automatically update. For example, the e-paper would update if there were a crime or a murder near the person holding the epaper. E-papers are not made out of actual paper; they are made out of some type of plastic or other hard material. Like 3-D holographic videos, e-papers are still under major development. There are newspapers, magazines, and books that are available on Kindles and iPads, but there is not an e-paper available that does not require a Kindle, iPad, phone, or computer. The LG Company in Korea has, however, started producing a plastic e-paper that could soon become available (Staff, 2012). E-papers would be a great convenience for educational teachers teachers and administrators. If students and parents were able to carry e-papers home, like the one presented in Minority Report , the teachers and administrators could constantly, quickly, and easily keep the students and parents updated. The e-papers can be used to inform students of assignments and parents of school activities. Last but not least, e-papers would drastically cut down on the amount of paper that teachers must use to send home school or classroom news. Personal Reaction Minority Report allows viewers to see the technological world in a whole new way. Technology can be very powerful, and new technology is emerging every every single day. One of the most interesting aspects about the movie Minority Report and the technologies associated with the
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Lacie McElyea movie is that many of the technologies are already emerging. emerging. It is excited and scary at the same time to see many of the technology tools used in Minority Report being developed right now. now. Last but certainly not least, Minority Report also showed the frightening fact that technology could, one day, cause the sense of privacy to be completely lost. Conclusion In conclusion, Steven Spielberg created an intriguing film in 2002 that predicted a realistic version of the world in 2054. Steven Spielberg and fifteen fifteen computer and innovation experts experts created the predictions of the many emerging technologies; furthermore, the technological
predictions left many people in awe because of the amount of accuracy the predictions predictions had. Steven and the fifteen experts predicted the use of spiderbots and retina scanners that are already in use today and the use of 3-D holograms and e-papers that are currently being developed. Minority Report may be a look into what the future, associated with technology, looks like.
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Lacie McElyea Resources Fleming Companies. (2014). How Does Retinal Scanning Work? Retrieved Work? Retrieved from http://www.fleminc.com/newsblog/5/how-does-retin http://www.flemi nc.com/newsblog/5/how-does-retinal-scanning-work al-scanning-work Holography. (2017, June 22). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holography King, R. (2013, July 12). Explainer: Retinal Scan Technology . Retrieved from http://www.biometricupdate.com/201307/explainer-retinal-scantechnology
O’Brien, M. & Walton, M. M. (2015, October 26). Like being there: The next generation of 3-D holograms. holograms. Retrieved from https://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/sci https://www.nsf.g ov/news/special_reports/science_nation/nextgenholo ence_nation/nextgenhologra gra m.jsp Staff, T. (2016, March 14). 10 Roles For Artificial Intelligence Intelligence In Education. Education . Retrieved from http://www.teachthought.com/the-future-of-learning/10-roles-forartificial-intelligence-in-education/ Staff, W. (2012, June 21). How Accurate Were Minority Report’s Technology Precogs? Retrieved from https://www.wired.com/2012/06/minority-report-tech/ Technologies in Minority Report . (2017, March 11). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Techn https://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/Technologies_in_Minority_Rep ologies_in_Minority_Report ort https://campustechnology.com/Articles/2017/01/18/11-Ed-Tech-Trendsto-Watch-in-2017.aspx?Page=4
Lacie McElyea
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