Margaret Mead Traveling Festival

Opening Night: Plug & Pray

LeFrak Theater

Ticket Info

Plug & Pray
(Von Computern und anderen Menschen)
Judith Malek-Mahdavi and Jens Schanze
2009 • 91 min • Germany, Italy, Japan, United States
New York Premiere • Jens Schanze in person

Fifty years ago, computers in their current form were the stuff of science fiction. Today, we rely upon them to control the electric grid, fly planes, store our collective knowledge, fight our wars, communicate with friends, and teach our children. The next generation of technology researchers envision robots as the future. From adult-sized, flesh-toned babysitters to nano-robots that circulate in our cells improving our DNA, robots will be good for us. At least that’s the assumption of scientists in labs in Boston, Genoa, Tokyo, and Hamburg as they move relentlessly forward with their cutting-edge research in artificial intelligence, among them the American inventor and futurist Ray Kurzweil, now spending millions on a way to “backup our brains.” Biology, as they see it, is flawed and only risks improvement as it merges with these sophisticated machines. In Plug & Pray, one man comes forward to doubt the wisdom of the goal. Joseph Weizenbaum, whose work in AI begat the technology used in cruise missiles, urges us to reconsider our wholehearted embrace of technology before robots become as ubiquitous as iPods.

Co-presented by the Goethe-Institut, New York

Purchase tickets to the opening night film and reception here.

Preceded by Prayers for Peace Dustin Grella 2009 • 8 min • Iraq, United States Filmmaker in person Hand-drawn using pastels on a slate, this animation eulogy honors the filmmaker's little brother, the soldier he never really knew.

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