'A.rtificial I.mmortality' Review: Surveying New Technologies to Cheat Death
Ann Shin's documentary looks at emerging AI means of preserving the self, particularly her own.
Dennis Harvey, provided by
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Courtesy of Hot Docs
“A.rtificial I.mmortality” provides a diverting if superficial survey of how fast-evolving technology might be able to extend our lives — or at least some of our memories and characteristics. Featured as Hot Docs’ opening night selection, this Canadian documentary from director Ann Shin presents once-fantastical ideas now edging toward reality in a form palatable to broadcast viewers looking more for casual entertainment value than weighty investigation. But the film is weakened by its gratuitously first-person perspective, chosen for no obvious reason beyond the director evidently wanting to “star” in her own movie.