At the beginning of the semester, we found ourselves in a class that had no singular meaning. No one knew what Colloquy was about, and even our professor admitted we would have to find out what the class meant on our own. Over a number of meetings, we were given passages to read, asked to write journals, and create papers based on various topics, all listed as "assignments," but in reality these were a carefully crafted distraction. The real assignment had been given to us at the beginning of the semester, for each of us to discover what Colloquy meant to us.
Colloquy represents an exchange of ideas, so that the collective may gain a greater understanding on any number of topics than any piece of said collective may gain on their own. Through our discussions in class, we were able to gain a greater understanding of not only each other, but the topics that were closest to us. For me, it was learning about myself.
We go through life often pursuing the things that we enjoy without ever stopping to ask ourselves why. What is it about these things that brings us joy? The first half of the semester was all about reflection, finding that which we love and learning more about it. The exact reasons for why athletes compete is often glossed over, the common answer of "because it's fun" is tossed around without much research into what exactly each athlete is getting from participation. I was able to learn more about my own love for sports, and what psychological motivations that drive myself and others to play them. I was able to change my perspective on the games that I play and why I play them, and have since found new ways to make sports a bigger part of my life.
After our first semester we were tasked with reaching out with what we had learned and create something new. In order to expand on what I had learned and to follow another passion of mine, computer programming, I decided to explore AI through the narrative of the movie Blade Runner. Through this, I attempted to equate the struggles of Replicants as they attempted to find their way in the world to that of humans. Although they are created instead of born, they have their own ability to reason, to make choices, and are eventually even capable of developing emotions. In this capacity how can they be that much different from any other sentient life, and as they are designed to be like humans, are they really any different?
This class has given me the chance to explore my passions, and I'd love to expand upon them. If I had more time I would likely continue to discover the ethical issues between the creation and the treatment of A.I. While it is not an issue on the forefront of current societal issues, how artificial intelligence is treated in works of science fiction may help us gauge not only our treatment of A.I. but our treatment of each other. While we may respond to something that can reason and think like we do by interacting with it as if it were human, we may treat them different, which has been an issue that humans have struggled with when confronted with those of a different race, sexuality or gender persuasion throughout history.
Computers have become a necessity in order to compete in today's market, as well as a staple in our ability to communicate with one another. In the future, how we treat the things that we create may one day teach us more about ourselves than we could have ever thought possible.
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