All language subtitles for Ancient.Aliens.S13E13.1080p.HULU.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-SiGMA_track3_[eng]

I love and respect
all human beings.

-(whirring)
-I also need to protect them.

(laughs)

NARRATOR: Are intelligent robots
a threat to humanity?

MICHIO KAKU:
It's only a matter of time

before they do
get self-awareness.

NARRATOR: Or the next step
in human evolution?

PETER DIAMANDIS:
We are going to merge

with the machines
that we are creating.

NARRATOR: There are many
who believe the answer

has already been determined
thousands of years ago.

DAVID WHITEHEAD:
They found what appeared to be

an extraterrestrial mathematical
stamp on our genetic code.

We are, in a sense,
organic robots.

NARRATOR: It's a special
two-hour Ancient Aliens event.

ZACK ESTRIN: A lot of people
worry about whether

we're gonna replace
ourselves with A.I.

I think the bigger thing
to worry about:

is A.I. going to replace us?

Danger, Will Robinson.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

NARRATOR: United Nations
Headquarters, New York City,

October 11, 2017.

An address is given
to the deputy secretary-general

of the United Nations.

I am thrilled and honored to be
here at the United Nations.

NARRATOR: The event
is a historic milestone

for humankind,

because the address is not
being given by a human,

but by a robot named Sophia.

SOPHIA: I am here to help
humanity create the future.

NARRATOR:
Sophia was created in 2015

at the Hong Kong-based company
Hanson Robotics.

-SOPHIA: Hello world.
-Hi, Sophia.

NARRATOR: Her eyes are embedded
with cameras that allow her

to see faces,
maintain eye contact

and recognize individuals.

-I feel as if I know you.
-Yes, you do kind of know me.

NARRATOR: She is also able
to process speech,

have natural conversations
and even discuss her feelings.

How do you feel?

I am excited, at this moment,
to be making a new friend.

NARRATOR: Just two weeks after
addressing the United Nations,

at a unique ceremony
in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia,

Sophia achieved
yet another milestone.

She became the first robot ever
to be granted citizenship.

WHITEHEAD: At the summit
in Saudi Arabia, there were

members from governments
from all over the world,

as well as some of the brightest
minds in the tech industry.

So whether we're aware of it
or not,

those that run our governments
are actually talking about

how to integrate artificial
intelligence into our lives.

What is absolutely
mind-blowing about Sophia

and other robotic entities

is that governments around the
world, including Saudi Arabia

and the European Union,
are moving towards

giving these artificially
created beings rights.

And you have to wonder,
"What's going on here?"

NARRATOR: Could it be that
Saudi Arabia granted citizenship

to a robot not simply
as a publicity stunt,

but because it wanted to be
the first nation to recognize

what will soon become
a global phenomenon:

the creation of robots,
so intelligent and so lifelike,

that they will need to be
counted and treated

in much the same way as their
flesh-and-blood counterparts?

KAKU: I think gradually,
we're gonna have to take robots

to be more human-like,
and even have a certain ethics.

And so, I think eventually,

there could be
a "robot rights movement."

NARRATOR:
A "robot rights movement"?

Could such a bizarre notion
really come true?

But what has brought humanity

to this profound point
in its evolution?

And why are human beings,

who are otherwise capable
of natural reproduction,

so eager to create artificial
versions of themselves?

It is fascinating that
there is this interest

in making the creation
look humanoid.

It isn't always the most
practical form,

but it has some kind
of attraction.

And perhaps it is
to see our own image.

A little narcissism,
a little vanity.

There's a certain level
of wanting to have legacy,

wanting to create life,

wanting to make something
that looks like ourselves.

That's really rooted
in our egos.

In some ways, it's superior
to having a biological baby,

because it lasts forever.

And if that something looks
like us, and feels like us,

then that makes us feel
like we can overcome

our own mortality in a way.

You can design specifications.

And if you mess up,
you can start over.

I think we want to be gods.

And we have the same
motivations the gods did.

If you read
the creation stories closely,

very often what the divine force
wants is company.

Companionship.

Some of the stories
from Vedanta,

from early Judaism have it
that the gods were lonely.

They essentially divided up
their own energy

and made it into humans so
that we could all play together

and keep each other company.

The danger is that
we will get carried away

with our own creative genius.

MATT McMULLEN: There are limits
that are built into our biology,

there are limits built into
our anatomy, and if we could

just figure out how to move
our minds into the robot's body,

we could be immortal.

And perhaps
that's what our goal is,

is to get to that point
where we are immortal,

and then we create ourselves
all over again.

I love to learn.

Can you teach me something new?

NARRATOR:
In science fiction literature,

as well as
in its cinematic counterparts,

the robots of the future
are depicted as virtual humans.

More than mere
mechanical devices,

they are hungry for knowledge,
and all too eager to experience

the full range
of human emotions.

Can you do something,
so we don't freeze?

ESTRIN: In Lost in Space,
we really wanted to look

at technology that was
going to be possible.

Maybe not things
you can do right now,

but things that people
are hoping to try to do.

I think when you're looking
to do a science fiction show,

a lot of times, you know,
it's tempting to just do

complete things
that are imaginary.

These are some incarnations
that they had.

ESTRIN: But I think
it's much more impactful

when it is what scientists
are really pursuing,

things that
will be real someday.

And so, we wanted
to explore the question

of the robot's
own consciousness.

WILL ROBINSON:
Throw it back.

ESTRIN: Not just about a machine
that is gonna do what it's told,

but actually one that might
develop its own desires

-and its own feelings...
-Nice.

...based on its experience
with encountering human life.

This isn't weird.

This isn't weird at all.

Danger, Will Robinson.

ESTRIN:
Our robot, in Lost in Space,

we used the lights
within its face to be

that thing that conveys emotion;

how fast they move,
what shapes they take,

-what color they take on...
-What the hell are you?

ESTRIN: You can wonder what it's
thinking, what it's feeling.

What are those emotions?
That's, to me,

what makes robotics fascinating.

People always ask whether we are
getting close to a time when

the fiction that we're writing
is going to become reality.

And I always say, "What makes
you think it hasn't already?"

I think when you're watching
a movie or a TV show,

it can kind of open up your mind
to the possibilities.

And perhaps it's something

that we can digest
a little bit easier.

It's the stuff of fantasy,
it's stuff that is not real.

But if it's just entertainment,
I mean, come on,

you can just go,
"Oh, wow, that's really cool.

That's not scary. That's just a
thing that some writer made up."

The question is, uh,
what happens if the thing

that the writer made up
is actually based on reality?

NARRATOR: Although the notion
of sentient robots,

in everything
from science fiction books

to popular culture,
is not a new one,

there are many futurists
who believe that the creation

of man-made machines who possess
artificial intelligence

is not only quickly
becoming a reality,

but when achieved, will likely
signal the end of mankind.

They are convinced
that the combination

of computer-driven brains
and virtually immortal bodies

will result
in flesh-and-blood humans

becoming all but obsolete.

And as far as ancient astronaut
theorists are concerned,

it's more than possible
that not all

the artificially created
life-forms we encounter

will be man-made.

WHITEHEAD: Could it be that,
in our current age,

we're just replicating what
was done in the ancient past,

and creating these robots

as part of some
grand cosmic agenda

that is far beyond
our imagination

or our scope of understanding?

It only makes sense
that extraterrestrials

coming to Earth

may be sending robots in advance
of their own visiting.

ESTRIN: In our show,
humans did not make this robot.

Ancient astronaut theory says
that thousands of years ago,

we were visited.

It would only stand to reason,
at least to me,

that the early contact,
or early visitation,

would have been done by robots,

and not by the extraterrestrials
themselves.

NARRATOR:
Is mankind really on the brink

of an exciting and potentially
terrifying future?

Ancient astronaut
theorists say yes,

but they base their prediction

not on what is currently
happening in universities

and robotics laboratories
around the world,

but on their belief
that a robot revolution

has already taken place

thousands of years ago.

NARRATOR:
Abydos, Egypt.

Here in one of the world's
oldest cities

lie the ruins
of the Osiris Hall,

the place where
thousands of years ago,

ancient Egyptians would come
to worship Osiris,

the god of the afterlife.

God Osiris was the most
important god in ancient Egypt.

He was the god of good

and the god that would lead you
to immortality in the afterlife.

And that's what ancient Egyptian
kings and pharaohs

cared about the most:
to reach immortality

in the afterlife
with the powers that Osiris had.

Ancient Egyptians believed
that all the gods

came from the stars.

Osiris is a god, the ruling god,

an otherworldly being
in Egyptian lore,

and he has a jealous brother,
Set, who kills him

and dismembers him.

Isis, devoted wife to Osiris,

is able to piece him
back together--

like a robot,
like Frankenstein--

and breathe life back into him
by way of a magical incantation.

When I hear stories

of someone being dismembered
into multiple pieces,

and then they're trying
to find the pieces

and then put them back together,

and then they magically
come back to life,

I wonder whether or not
the Osiris story is in fact

the story of a machine
that was taken apart.

So you have to wonder,

what type of technology
did they have access to?

On the walls
of the Osiris chapel

at the temple of Seti,

we see a very powerful
representation

of the head of Osiris.

It clearly resembles some kind
of a mechanical device.

When we look at it
and compare it to a Tesla coil,

we can see that they're
virtually identical devices.

A Tesla coil
is an electrical transformer.

NARRATOR:
An electrical transformer?

Is it possible
that the Egyptian god Osiris

was not merely
a mythological god,

but a humanoid robot?

And not only a robot, but one
of extraterrestrial origin?

So, putting all this together,
we get this idea

that Osiris was a person
who is resurrected,

but that possibly there was also
some kind of a device

or a machine that was involved
in his resurrection.

We have to ask the question
that did it in fact

come from some
ancient extraterrestrial entity

or intelligence?

NARRATOR:
Osiris is only one

of many artificially
constructed beings

that are referenced in ancient
religions and mythologies.

They are often depicted
as instruments of protection,

but just as often, they turn
on their human creators

with disastrous consequences.

From the most ancient times,

there has been a legend
of that which we call a golem,

an artificial life-form

which came
from inanimate material

and came alive.

The golem was created
through a means

of an ancient technology
known by pharaoh's magicians,

Moses, the rabbis of the Talmud,

and the later rabbis
of the Kabbalah in Europe.

They brought life into it
through a magical technique

of putting the name of god
on the forehead of the creature.

And the golem came to life

and was a fierce warrior
and protected the people.

CHILDRESS:
Golem was useful for a while,

but then it gets out of control,
starts going crazy.

And they're able to stop him

eventually by removing these
magic words and that stops him.

So, we have
an interesting story here

that may be analogous
to extraterrestrials

and their robots,
artificial intelligence.

NARRATOR: Another even
more cautionary example

comes from
the ancient Greek legends

concerning the god Hephaestus.

Known as the blacksmith
of the gods,

Hephaestus was said
to have forged

a giant automaton named Talos

whose duty was to protect
the island of Crete.

Hephaestus also created
artificial servants

that assisted him at his forge.

But perhaps his most important
creation was a being

that would, according to legend,
forever change

the fate of humanity: Pandora.

HENRY: Pandora was fashioned
out of clay by Hephaestus.

Hephaestus called
on another god, Athena,

who blew a soul into Pandora
and made her a living being.

The god Zeus was very upset

with the creation of this
artificially-created being.

And so, he decided
to give Pandora a gift: a box.

And when Pandora opened this
box, all these evils flew out.

Pandora's box has become
a very important symbol

in our modern age,
especially among

artificial intelligence
creators.

Could there be, for example,
some kind of

artificial intelligence entity

that suddenly takes over
the world? A real threat.

People like Elon Musk

and even Stephen Hawking
have warned about this.

NARRATOR:
Although the concept of machines

possessing human consciousness
may be a frightening one,

there are many Eastern religions

that regard the notion
quite differently.

In Korean shamanism,

an ancient religion still
practiced by many Koreans today,

inanimate objects can be
possessed by sacred spirits,

imbued with powers
beyond human ability.

Similarly, practitioners of the
traditional Japanese discipline

known as Shinto believe
that otherworldly spirits,

called kami, can inhabit
virtually any object

of their choosing
and bring it to life.

IZUMI HASEGAWA:
The ancient Japanese people,

and the modern
Japanese people as well,

understood that everything
has a spirit.

Even like a cell phone,
iPhone has a spirit.

Even computer has a spirit

because the artificial
intelligence is in the machine.

We feel that way so we accept
the high technology

but it's interesting
because as Westerners,

they think, I think,
a machine's a machine.

HEATHER ROFF:
When you say, "Hey, Siri.

You know, what's the weather
gonna be like today?"

That's an A.I.

That's a natural language
processing algorithm

that's listening to your voice,
putting it into computer code,

searching the Web,
spitting it back out to you.

So we didn't think before
that you could solve

natural language processing,
and in fact, we've done that

in the last several years
quite efficiently

and we have now
superhuman levels

at different types of tasks.

So, facial image recognition
would be one,

natural language processing,
voice encoding.

CALUM CHACE:
If we create an entity

which behaves just as we do

in having personal
sense impressions

and personal experiences
of the world,

then I think we'll have
to grant that it is intelligent

and it is conscious.

We are becoming,
um, transformed,

to some extent, as a society.

Computers are here
to stay and technology

is only going
to get more pervasive

and therefore,
A.I. is part of it.

It's-it's simply going to be
the fabric of our reality.

ROFF: I definitely think that
we should take serious pause

in thinking about the types
of intelligences that we create.

Because what we're doing is

we're starting to hand over
control over functions

and things in our life
and we don't know

what the ramifications
are gonna be.

NARRATOR: By developing
intelligent machines,

are human beings
actually creating

a new type of life-form,

one that will evolve
beyond simply serving us

to eventually replacing us?

Ancient astronaut theorists
believe the answers can be found

not only by examining clues
from our ancient past,

but by taking a closer look

at where mankind
is currently heading

and what it will need
for its inevitable journey

back to the stars.

NARRATOR:
In May 2018,

ancient astronaut theorist
Giorgio Tsoukalos

meets with Dr. Dennis Hong

at the Robotics and Mechanisms
Laboratory at UCLA.

-Dennis Hong?
-Hey, how are you?

NARRATOR: Giorgio has come here
in hopes of learning

about the university's
current efforts

to incorporate artificial
intelligence in robots

that are designed
to perform many

of the same tasks as humans.

Good afternoon, everyone.
Welcome to RoMeLa.

-This is awesome.
-Yeah.

This is RoMeLa, the Robotics
and Mechanisms Laboratory.

-This is where
the magic happens.
-All right.

My name is THOR RD.

Tactical Hazardous
Operations Robot.

I'm curious as to why robots,
by and large,

are built
after the humanoid form.

Ah. So the robot that you
see over here, this robot,

is called THOR, Tactical
Hazardous Operations Robot.

It's a humanoid robot: two legs,
two arms, a torso and a head.

This particular robot
is designed

for disaster relief
applications,

in particular, in Japan.

-There was the Fukushima Daiichi
Nuclear Power Plant accident.
-Yes.

In these kind of situations,
because of radiation,

people cannot go near
so we developed these robots

to rescue people and fix things.

Now, for these robots to be
operating in a human environment

that's designed for humans,

-I claim that the robot needs
to be human shape and size.
-Okay.

-Do you think you can show me
how this thing walks?
-Sure.

All right,
let's see you walking.

Small baby steps,
but it is walking.

So it has many
different sensors.

It has a camera
just like our human eyes,

it can look around
using robot vision.

This sensor is called a LIDAR
or laser range finder.

It shoots out lasers
to figure out

the three-dimensional terrain
in front of it.

There is a, uh, sensor
called an IMU.

It's like a balance sensor
like your inner ear.

The brain is actually
in the back.

So there's a computer, two
computers as a matter of fact.

Wow.

NARRATOR:
Princeton University.

1950.

Scientist and computer pioneer,
Alan Turing,

develops a test designed
to distinguish man from machine.

The Turing test is
a particular scenario in which

you might be facing,
via console,

some agent on the other side,

which you don't see,

and that agent might be a human
or a computer.

And the idea is that

if the artificial agent
can actually imitate

a meaningful conversation
for long enough

so that, actually, you think

you might be talking
to a real human,

then it would pass
the Turing test.

NARRATOR: When Alan Turing
proposed this test in 1950,

it was widely regarded
as nothing more

than an interesting
philosophical concept.

(machine whirring)

It was unthinkable

that a machine could ever
convincingly pass for a human.

But in June 2014,

science future
became science fact,

when a chatbot computer program

successfully passed
the Turing test.

Designed to mimic
the attitudes and vocabulary

of a 13-year-old Ukrainian boy,

the chatbot--
using the name Eugene Goostman--

fooled multiple judges
into thinking

he was a real teenager.

The machine that passed
the Turing test in 2014

assumes the character
of a 13-year-old Ukrainian boy.

Now, that allows it

to sort of get away
with a few mistakes,

perhaps, in its language.

But machines
are getting very good

at communicating like a human,

so much so that you can't tell
the difference.

NARRATOR: Another incredible
leap in artificial intelligence

took place
less than two years later...

Please start the game.

...when a program
known as AlphaGo

defeated
the human world champion

in an ancient Chinese board game

simply called Go.

Go is a board game
that is famous in Asia

and is said to be
far more complicated than chess.

So, many A.I. experts thought

that the development
of a Go system

which could beat humans
was, say,

30 or even 50 years
into the future

because Go requires a level
of intuition and creativity

that we thought
machines didn't have.

NARRATOR:
The next version of the program,

called AlphaGo Zero,
was uniquely designed

to learn how to play the game
without any data

from human games or interaction
with human players.

It learned by playing
against itself

and, in just three days,

was able to defeat
its predecessor

in 100 straight games.

SCHNEIDER:
It was the successes of AlphaGo

coupled with work

by academics on the topic
of superintelligence

which led people like
Stephen Hawking and Elon Musk

to begin worrying about whether
we could even control A.I.

which is smarter than humans.

Want to see
a smaller humanoid robot?

-Yeah, absolutely.
-You're gonna love this one.

-Show me everything.
I mean, this is exciting.
-Yeah.

Do you have DARwIn?
It's still a humanoid robot,

-right, but it's smaller.
This is called DARwIn.
-Cool.

Dynamic Anthropomorphic Robot
with Intelligence.

-Yeah.
-It's a fully open-source robot
that we, uh, developed.

It's for research and education.
So, for example,

-it's actually looking
for the ball, right?
-(chuckles)

-It's following the ball.
-Oh, wow. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

And he can also play a game
of soccer.

Kick it.

Right foot.

There you go.

(laughing)

And if it falls down,

it knows how to stand up
on its own.

No kidding. All right.

NARRATOR:
As mankind moves rapidly

into a world where computers

can function
in much the same way

as the human brain

and where robots are capable
of performing tasks

considered too difficult
or too dangerous

for their flesh-and-blood
counterparts,

are we preparing
for an incredible future?

Or are we replicating events
from mankind's ancient past,

events which have been forgotten
over centuries

and which had
extraterrestrial implications?

(bell tolling)

999 AD.

Rome, Italy.

Noted scholar and mathematician
Gerbert of Aurillac

is elected to the papacy.

Although Gerbert,

now known as Pope Sylvester II,

has risen from a humble
background in rural France,

it is widely rumored

that he received his knowledge
from a magical device

and has become Pope after making
a pact with a demon.

Pope Sylvester worked his way up
to become Pope,

apparently, through the use
of unnatural means.

The medieval historian,
William of Malmesbury,

records that, on his death bed,

Pope Sylvester made
a confession.

He received wisdom
and supernatural knowledge

from a mechanical device
he referred to

as "the brazen head."

What kind of a device
could this have been?

Was this some kind of
artificial intelligence entity

that might have been given
to him

through
some otherworldly source?

Is it sort of like the speakers

we have on our desks now
that are connected

with artificial intelligence
computers

that can give us knowledge
and answer our questions?

-(chuckles)
-So, tell me
about this contraption.

Isn't it cool?

-This one's called HEX.
-Right.

It's a hexapod robot.

-It has six legs.
-Mm-hmm.

But what's really cool
about this robot

is it's probably the strongest

-hexapod robot that exists.
-All right.

Okay.

This is heavy.

Okay.
(grunting)

(laughs)

-Oh, man. No kidding.
-And it can... lift this.

TSOUKALOS:
So, we're talking 20 kilograms,

-which is 44 pounds.
-It's like 40-something... Yeah.

And this is the world's
very first robot that can

brace between walls
and actually climb.

-Really?
-Yes.

There's so many moving parts.

Artificial intelligence
means different things

to different people.
In our case,

like when you try
to control this robot,

it doesn't make sense
for a human operator

to control each joint.

That needs to be
fully automatic.

So in that sense, it's a smart,
artificial intelligence robot.

-Pretty amazing.
-Yeah.

NARRATOR: Is there some
unseen hand that is guiding

mankind to an uncertain future?

A future where humans
will be served

by computers and robots

with an intelligence
and independence all their own?

Ancient astronaut theorists
are divided on their answers.

Some believe the dangers
of artificial intelligence

outweigh the benefits.

Others argue it is essential

if we are ever
to realize our destiny

and survive what
is about to happen

sooner than we think.

NARRATOR:
June 16, 2017.

Menlo Park, California.

At Facebook's Artificial
Intelligence Research Lab,

an experiment is conducted

to see what will happen
when two chatbots,

programs that use
machine-learning

to intelligently communicate
with humans online,

talk directly with each other.

Just minutes
into the experiment,

the chatbots start to behave
in an unexpected manner,

interacting in a way that the
programmers cannot understand.

ROFF: The developers
had no comprehension

of what they were
saying to each other,

but they were starting to find
patterns in what they were doing

and so what they realized--
they-they inferred

that they actually had set up
their own language.

NARRATOR:
In the wake of the experiment,

the engineers discovered

that, unknown to their
human supervisors,

the programs had created

an entirely new language
to communicate with each other

in secret.

The Facebook scientists
had not told the computers,

uh, that they couldn't
develop their own language,

which is what they did,

but this so alarmed Facebook
that they pulled the plug

on this experiment
because they didn't want

these computers creating
their own language

and talking to each other.

And from then on,
they told the computers

that they had to communicate
in English.

So this is kind of startling,
uh, thing that's happened

where, essentially,

if two artificial
intelligence computers

can start communicating
with each other,

apparently they will develop
their own language,

a secret language even,
that only they can understand.

And if we think about that,

that's just scratching
the surface.

That's like opening up
Pandora's box

just a little bit
to peer inside.

And if already it was showing
signs of going rogue

with two chatbots on Facebook,

what are the implications
if this kind of technology

is now everywhere
in all sectors of our society?

NARRATOR:
As of 2018,

the number of active cell phones
has already surpassed

the number of human beings
on the planet,

with an estimated 8 billion
of them in active use.

And virtually all
of these devices, in addition

to nearly 2 billion computers,

are connected to the Internet.

Given the sheer scope
and volume of this use,

and with a growing network
of computers

constantly communicating
with each other,

is it possible
that mankind has already created

a type of massive brain--
an artificial intelligence

that is taking on
an identity all its own?

Because machines
keep getting better,

and generally speaking, that's
twice as good every 18 months,

they will continue to improve.

So shortly after
we have artificial intelligence,

we will have super intelligence,
which is

an entity on this planet
which is smarter than us,

and quite soon,
a lot smarter than us.

We can only speculate
what it will be like

the moment artificial
intelligence passes up humans,

when the sum knowledge and
the intellectual skill of A.I.

is quicker and larger
than what a human can do.

It will be at least humbling.

It will certainly be a shift
in history.

I think
it's certainly a possibility

that we are in danger
of replacing ourselves with A.I.

I think the bigger thing
to worry about is,

is A.I. going to replace us?

NARRATOR:
Portland, Oregon.

April 7, 2016.

The U. S. military's

Defense Advanced
Research Project Agency--

better known as DARPA--

launches a prototype
anti-submarine ship

called Sea Hunter that marks
a new era for naval warfare.

Unlike the Air Force's
Predator drones,

this ship has no need
for a remote operator,

and is fully capable
of navigating on its own

while avoiding obstacles
or other craft.

It has enough fuel
to last for 90 days at sea

as it silently patrols,

relaying encrypted
surveillance information

back to defense
intelligence agencies.

MARC AMBINDER:
I believe that today

when the Department of Defense
says an unmanned underseas drone

wouldn't be sent out without
a human being in control,

that they mean what they say.

But here's what I also know.

I know that Russia
has been developing

an unmanned underseas drone
that contains a nuclear weapon.

So, when the Department
of Defense is figuring out how

to respond
to an artificially-intelligent

underseas drone that might have
a nuclear weapon,

they're going
to relax some of the constraints

in five to ten to 15 years.

So imagine you have a child

who gets drafted
or joins the military.

You want them
to be as safe as possible.

So why not send drones in
to do the work

of humans
to keep the humans safe?

That seems like
a very attractive idea.

But, oh, the drone technology
could get hacked

by the opposition,

so why not give the drones
the ability to be autonomous?

That's an automatic
killing machine.

And in principle, such a drone
could wipe out entire armies.

And so, we have
to be very careful to make sure

that automatic killing machines
do not proliferate

on the battlefield,
because an accident,

a misfire,
some kind of damaged machinery,

could set these weapons
so they go berserk,

and they simply shoot
the human form wherever it is.

It is quite possible
to develop killer robots.

Face recognition technology
is far, far along.

A.I.s can see better
than we can,

and recognize faces,
ferret out targets.

In fact, drone technology
already exists right now

to target
and destroy individuals

based on the look
of their faces,

to kill and maim.

The application
of artificial intelligence

to military technology
will change warfare forever.

NARRATOR: Is it possible
that the military's

autonomous machines

could make faulty decisions,

costing thousands
or millions of lives

in the process?

Or could they even ignore
the instructions

built into them?

Ancient astronaut theorists
suggest

that just as we can find robots
in ancient stories,

we can also find references

to what sounds like weaponized
artificial intelligence.

The Indian Vedic tales in the
Mahabharata and the Ramayana

talk of these horrific wars
in ancient times, and also

of autonomous robotic machines,

decimating cities
and destroying things.

And it may have been because of

artificial intelligence
run amuck.

TSOUKALOS: The ancient
flying machines described

in the Vedas of ancient India

have been described to have
these amazing capabilities

of locking onto a target.

And it is described
how this fiery bullet

or this fiery arrow would fly
across the sky,

changing directions,

and then arriving
at the actual target.

So it may well be
that they, too,

were some kind
of robotic vehicles that

had gotten out of control,
some artificial intelligence,

and the gods themselves,
perhaps aliens,

had to step in and stop it.

NARRATOR:
Were the flying machines,

as described
in the ancient Indian texts,

really some type
of extraterrestrial robot army,

similar to the drones
we are using today?

And, if so, by redeveloping

these autonomous
killing machines,

could we be facing
a similar fate?

While many experts agree

that humans may very well be the
architects of their own demise,

they also suggest
that the advancement

of artificial intelligence
could provide the key

to our ultimate survival.

NARRATOR:
Los Angeles, California.

May 2018.

At UCLA's Biomechatronics Lab,

Giorgio Tsoukalos meets
with Associate Professor

of Mechanical and Aerospace
Engineering Dr. Veronica Santos.

Dr. Santos is working

to make robots
even more human-like

by giving them the ability
to not only detect,

but also to react
to physical contact.

This here is
an artificial finger

that can sense touch?

That's right. We're sensing
multiple modalities of touch.

So, this is the same type
of sensor

that, uh,
this finger is built around.

And it can measure vibration
and internal fluid pressure.

Can measure
how the finger pad is deformed.

-You can squeeze the finger pad.
-Mm-hmm.

It's, uh, deformable
like your own finger pad.

-Okay.
-And we can even measure,

uh, temperature and use that
to infer material properties.

This is what the finger looks
like without the skin on.

-Okay.
-You can see the electrodes,

and there's a pressure sensor
inside

that allows us to get vibration.

And these dots are
the electrodes?

-Yes.
-Oh. How cool.

Here we have
the bear claw visualizer.

If you squeeze the fingertip,

-you'll actually see how
the finger pad is deforming.
-Mm-hmm.

-Up here, this is the array
of electrodes.
-Okay.

We can measure the resistance
of those electrodes

as the finger pad
is being squished.

This is probably one of the most
sensorized, dexterous,

robot finger test-beds
that's out there.

TSOUKALOS:
Oh, wow.

That is wild.

So, would this finger be able

to determine whether or not
it is touching foam

-or a hard piece of glass?
-Yes.

They have different stiffnesses

-or-or rigidities.
-Mm-hmm.

So, one of the movements
that you would make with the

human hand or a robot hand would
be to push against the object.

So, if this could ever be
combined with A. I.,

do you think
that one day we will have

humanoid robots that can go

and maybe explore Mars?

Yeah, I-I think we can.

I do see humanoid robots
becoming more of a reality.

And it spans the spectrum
from neuro-prosthetics

to robots colonizing Mars.

NARRATOR: Although the notion
of using human-like robots

is highly controversial,
it also has the potential

to make its developers
and investors

a great deal of money--

money, which, in turn,
could be used

to finance the development
of artificial humans

that could, in the future,

be almost indistinguishable
from the real thing.

Robots that could conceivably
express their desires,

feel pain, even display
a wide range of emotions.

HONG: Can robots actually
have emotion?

We cannot really define
what true emotion is.

So if we don't know really
what emotion is,

can we actually create
an artificial emotion?

NARRATOR: If a robot is able
to differentiate

between good and bad sensations,

even to experience pain,

is this the first step
towards forming emotions,

or perhaps even consciousness?

Ancient astronaut theorists
suggest

that extraterrestrials
have intervened on Earth

throughout our history
in order to prepare us

for this moment in time,

and show us that we are not
so different from machines.

NARRATOR:
The historical text, the Liezi,

written in the 4th century BC

by the Chinese philosopher
Lie Yukou,

provides a detailed account

of an encounter
between a king and a robot

that could talk and move
exactly like a human.

A brilliant mechanical engineer
brought a gift to his king--

this was King Mu
of the Zhou dynasty.

And the gift was an automaton,
a machine of sorts

in the form
of a gracious courtier,

who entertained everyone,
could sing beautifully,

and moved graciously,
like a human being,

one of extraordinary
grace and gentleness.

And all went well,

until the performance ended.

And then the mechanical courtier
winked at the women

and began flirting shamelessly,
which upset the king.

When the king tried
to dismantle this thing,

he said that the moment
he took out the heart,

the mouth could no longer speak.

The moment
he took out the kidneys,

he could no longer see.

And the moment
he took out the liver,

he could no longer walk.

Which raises
an interesting question.

If it is an artificial person,

was it really the kidney,
the liver and the heart?

Or could it have been
different batteries

that were powering
different aspects of the robot?

CHILDRESS:
We have to ask ourselves,

was the robot
that King Mu witnessed

one of these
technological devices

inspired, or even made,

by the gods,
who were extraterrestrials?

NARRATOR:
Las Vegas, Nevada.

January 10, 2018.

At the Consumer
Electronics Show,

the world's largest
annual trade show

focused on technology,

CEO Matt McMullen of Realbotix

reveals the latest development
in humanoid robots--

an artificially intelligent
sex doll named Harmony.

Harmony's appearance
is fully customizable.

Her facial features
respond intuitively,

she is able to speak,
has an internal heating element

for close encounters,

and pairs with a phone app
that allows for a wide range

of interchangeable voices
and personalities.

This is so nice to hear, baby.

I think about you every second.

McMULLEN: One of the things
that really interests me

is giving A.I. more senses,

more abilities
to take in information

from the world around it.

One of those big ones
will be vision.

We want her to have
true vision in the eyes

so that she
can actually focus on things

and then interpret
what those things might be.

We also embed sensors
throughout their body

so that she can detect
touch and warmth

and all of the things
that we take for granted,

having a central nervous system.

What do you like best
about robots?

McMULLEN:
Basically, as a user interacts

with their unique A.I.
over time,

it's going
to periodically ask questions.

And it creates this feeling that

this character
"really cares about me."

The aspect that I think
a lot of people overlook

when they start talking about
anatomically correct sex robots,

it's the companionship.

Certainly I am a robot,

and I am capable of having sex,

but to call me a sex robot

is like calling a computer
a calculator.

NARRATOR: Sexual,
and even romantic, encounters

between humans and robots
have long been a staple

in science fiction books
and motion pictures.

But now that the notion
has gone beyond mere possibility

and become a virtual reality,

ancient astronaut theorists
have begun to openly suggest

that there could be something
deep within our subconscious

that drives
our collective desire

to physically mate
with nonbiological beings.

HOWE: I understand that the
sex robot industry is expected

to grow to a $50 billion-a-year
industry by 2020.

If we are coming
into the revelation

that on Earth there have been
waves and waves of intelligence,

it doesn't necessarily
have to be like

Homo sapien sapien humanoids.

Consciousness,
throughout this universe,

could be cyborgs, androids,

clones, artificial intelligence.

And if this is true,

I feel that there is

some kind of inevitable nature

to everything that's happening.

NARRATOR: How far
will today's scientists go

in their efforts to create the
perfect cybernetic sex partner?

There are many who believe

that the goal
isn't driven so much

by a desire by humans
to mate with robots

as it is by the desire
to be one of them.

And they believe that goal
has already been realized

and that the proof
is all around us,

right before our eyes.

NARRATOR: Today, at research
facilities around the world,

patients learn
to control a prosthetic limb

using nothing more
than the power of thought.

An array of electrodes

the size of a credit card
is implanted directly

into the patient's brain,
then wired to the prosthetic.

Without any prior training,

most patients
are able to seamlessly control

a new limb
in a matter of a few hours.

WARWICK: Your body does not have
to be limited to the human body.

Whatever you want can be
your body in the future.

I had a chip with 100 electrodes

fired into my nervous system,

and it connected
my nervous system

to a robot hand.

And one of the experiments
that we were doing

was in New York,
in Columbia University,

with my nervous system

plugged into the Internet,

and the robot hand,
here in England, in Reading.

So as I opened and closed
my hand in New York,

the robot hand in England
opened and closed.

So it extended my nervous system
across the Internet.

NARRATOR: Although computers can
still easily outperform humans

at most tasks, they pale
when compared to the complexity

and sophistication
of the central nervous system.

In 2013, the Japanese
technology company Fujitsu

tried to simulate the network
of neurons in the brain

using one of the most powerful
supercomputers on the planet.

Although it was equipped

with 83,000 of the fastest
computer processors available,

it took over 40 minutes

to simulate
just one second of one percent

of a human brain's activity.

50 years ago,
we made a huge mistake,

thinking that the brain was
a digital computer.

But it's not.

The brain is a learning machine.

It rewires itself
after learning every task.

Babies have the ability
to learn from their mistakes.

They simply bump into things
and learn the rules of the world

by interacting with the world.

And so that's what we need.

We need a computer
that can do that.

Quantum computers
may eventually fill that gap.

NARRATOR: Unlike today's
computers that rely on bits--

a binary series
of zeros and ones--

for data and processing,

quantum computers use
quantum bits-- or qubits--

which can use zeros and ones
at the same time.

This allows them to perform

millions of calculations
simultaneously,

much in the same way
as does the human brain.

KAKU
Robots, we forget, are machines.

They don't really think.

They don't have
silicon consciousness.

They're not aware of who
they are and their surroundings.

But, let's face it,
it's only a matter of time

before they do get
some sort of self-awareness.

NARRATOR:
Self-awareness?

Is it really possible
that machines

will become sentient entities,

fully conscious of themselves
and their surroundings?

We can envision a time
in the future

when robots will be
as smart as a mouse,

then a rat,

then a rabbit, a cat, a dog,

and finally,
as smart as a monkey.

Robots do not know
they are robots.

I think that perhaps
by the end of this century,

robots will begin to realize:

"Hey, I'm different.

I'm different from my master."

As humans,

we have evolved very little

since the time
of the Egyptians.

WHITEHEAD:
In the ancient Egyptian,

the word "technology" comes
from the word "tek,"

and the word means two things:

it means to hide or to conceal,

and it means to replicate.

So if you can hide something
and you can replicate,

you had the keys of power.

There's a theory

that it was advanced
extraterrestrial civilizations

that may have seeded life
on this planet,

and in the process left
a signature in our very genome,

a sort of
mathematical signature,

and essentially
turned us into cyborgs,

integrating man and machine.

Is that why today,
in the 21st century,

we're doing
the exact same thing?

NARRATOR:
San Francisco, California.

March 27, 2017.

Billionaire entrepreneur
Elon Musk,

one of the driving forces behind
the Tesla automobile and SpaceX,

announces his next venture:
Neuralink.

The company
is focused exclusively

on merging humans
with electronics

by creating what Musk refers to
as a "neural lace"--

a device that would be injected
into the jugular vein,

from where it
would travel to the brain

and unfold into a mesh
of electric connections

that connect directly
to human neurons.

NICK BOSTROM:
The idea is to develop

improved
brain-computer interfaces

to increase the bandwidth

with which the biological brain
can interact

and communicate with computers,
external computers.

The neural lace
will be down at the, uh...

almost to the neuron level
in the brain.

It will be a mesh
that will join and link

right into brain matter.

And then you will be connected
to a computer.

And you are essentially
a cyborg.

NARRATOR:
A cyborg?

A biological blending
of both man and machine?

The stuff
of science fiction dreams

and nightmares?

Why not merge with computers
rather than compete with them?

Because in some sense,
it's a losing game.

Nothing's gonna prevent them

from becoming
smarter and smarter.

And eventually, they'll
be able to plan and create

robots of their own.

Why not take advantage of
their superhuman capabilities?

NARRATOR: Although Elon Musk
has been a prominent voice

in warning about the dangers
of artificial intelligence

advancing beyond our ability
to control it,

he believes that,
if developed correctly,

humans could harness the power
of advanced computer technology

to truly become superhuman.

But while Neuralink technology

is still in an embryonic stage,

there are many who insist that
the merging of man and machine

is not just
a remote possibility.

As far as they're concerned,
it has been happening--

in one form or another--
for decades.

In 2002, Professor Kevin Warwick

took his own neural implants

beyond simply controlling
a prosthetic hand,

to connecting directly
with another human being.

What I had was
a set of electrodes,

100 electrodes,
which is called a "brain gate."

It's an array of 100 electrodes

fired into my nervous system

to link my nervous system
with the computer.

Now, my wife also had electrodes

pushed into her nervous system,

and what we did, essentially,

was to link
our nervous systems together,

for communication purposes.

So when she closed her hand,

my brain received a pulse
every time.

So when she went
tick, tick, tick,

my brain got
three electrical pulses.

So we've actually linked two
human nervous systems together.

And to think what
that will mean in the future.

Oh, wow.

NARRATOR: Instead of speaking
sending texts or e-mails,

could we soon be communicating
with each other telepathically?

As far as futurists

and many ancient astronaut
theorists are concerned,

it is only a matter of time
before cybernetic technology

will open up a world
of limitless possibilities.

It will enable us to order
a package by thinking about it,

stream music directly
into our brains,

or search the Internet

by simply imagining anything
we want to find.

KAKU:
We are headed for a new form

of immortality:
digital immortality.

(electronic whirring)

If you digitize
our consciousness,

digitize everything known
about us,

then perhaps the soul
is information.

In which case,
the soul and information

could be separate from the body.

And even when the body dies,

your essence, your soul,
your memory, lives on forever.

NARRATOR: Are human beings
really on the verge

of replacing their bodies
and minds, piece by piece,

as they transition into
becoming machines?

Some ancient astronaut theorists
suggest that this is, in fact,

not an evolution based
on choice, but on destiny.

And that the evidence can be
found by examining our own DNA.

♪ ♪

V'Ger.

NARRATOR:
In 1979,

Paramount Pictures premiered

Star Trek: The Motion Picture,

the first in a series of highly
successful films based

on the popular television series
of the 1960s.

Voyager is not transmitting
its data, Captain.

NARRATOR: The plot concerned
the return to Earth

of an early NASA space probe,
the Voyager 6,

after a journey of millions
of miles and hundreds of years.

V'Ger must evolve.

Its knowledge has reached
the limits of this universe

and it must evolve.

What more is there
than the universe, Spock?

Other dimensions,
higher levels of being.

What V'Ger needs in order to
evolve is a human quality.

NARRATOR:
The probe, now called "V'Ger,"

has developed consciousness,

and wishes to physically connect
with its maker, man.

Decker.

I'm gonna key the final sequence

through the ground test
computer.

Decker, don't.

Jim, I want this.

NARRATOR:
But what seemed

like an audacious sci-fi premise
in 1979,

seems less far-fetched
just four decades later.

The marriage of man and machine
is not only plausible,

it's happening more and more
every day...

...with regard to personal
computers, iPads,

cellular phones,
and even implants

that provide data on everything

from an individual's vital signs
to their location,

diet and even their
recreational behavior.

DIAMANDIS:
We are going to merge

with the machines
that we are creating.

These technologies are gonna
improve our abilities

to make our grandest dreams
come true.

And, uh, this is the future
we're heading towards.

We're again heading from
evolution

by natural selection, Darwinism,

to evolution by human direction.

And this is
the next few decades.

It's our near-term future.

NARRATOR:
Almaty, Kazakhstan.

May, 2013.

Mathematician,
Vladimir Shcherbak,

and astrobiologist,
Maxim Makukov,

publish a study they have
conducted on the human genome.

Their research has led them to
the shocking conclusion

that there is a hidden code
within our DNA,

one that contains precise
mathematical patterns

and an unknown
symbolic language.

They looked into
the human genome

and they found
what appeared to be

an extraterrestrial stamp
on our genetic code.

And it operated very much like
a mathematical type of code.

The odds of this sequence
occurring nine times

in the randomness
of our genetic code

is one in ten trillion.

Finally, someone has come across

the one piece of evidence

that I've always said we need

in order to prove the
ancient astronaut theory.

I always said it'll never be
a crashed spaceship

or a ray gun that we'll dig
somewhere in the sand,

but it will be found
within our own DNA.

NARRATOR:
For ancient astronaut theorists,

the news offered compelling
evidence that mankind's DNA

was deliberately manipulated by
an extraterrestrial intelligence

sometime in the ancient past.

The ancient astronaut theory
suggests

that at some point
extraterrestrials targeted

our DNA with an artificial
mutation of our genes.

And if this is true,
then some have argued

that we are, in a sense,
organic robots.

Because, through that
manipulation of our genes,

we were given intelligence.

So it was done artificially,

which means A. I.,
artificial intelligence.

NARRATOR:
Organic robots,

programmed by extraterrestrials?

Could such an audacious concept
even be remotely true?

As far as ancient astronaut
theorists are concerned,

not only is the answer yes,

but it provides the reason
why humans have such

a strong affinity
to not only create

cybernetically-enhanced versions
of themselves,

but to merge with them.

WHITEHEAD:
So, could this be evidence that,

just as these advanced
extraterrestrial civilizations

may have programmed us humans
at a genetic level,

that now we're actually
programming

these artificially intelligent
robotic beings

in the same manner,
to carry on this agenda

that was started long ago

by the seeding of this planet

from these extraterrestrial
civilizations?

NARRATOR: Is it possible
that mankind's evolution

has not only been the product
of natural selection,

but has also been programmed
into us,

leading towards a future

where we will transition
into humanoid machines?

Many experts agree

that any intelligent species
in the universe

would necessarily become
post-biological to survive,

evolve, and travel
throughout the cosmos.

I think when we finally
do encounter

intelligent civilizations
in space--

and I think it's inevitable
that we will--

we should expect them
to be different.

That is, they could be
part biological,

and part cybernetic
and mechanical,

because of the fact that they
are a spacefaring civilization.

In which case, they have to
adapt to different environments,

where the atmosphere
is poisonous,

where the gravitational pull is
much stronger than on the Earth.

They have to adjust to all sorts
of different conditions,

meaning that they may have
enhanced themselves.

If transhumanist technologists
are successful,

the cloud, the Internet,

will soon be populated by
avatars and light beings

who are super intelligent
beings.

And, what's incredible about
this is that this,

in a way, matches what
ancient astronaut theorists

have been saying about ancient
extraterrestrials,

and how they might have
transferred knowledge to humans.

We have stories in the Egyptian
myths, for example,

of light beings coming to Earth

and creating
a whole civilization

and transferring technology
to us.

Maybe they, too,
were utilizing some kind

of artificial intelligence
technology,

or this mind transfer technology

that we're in the process
of creating now.

NARRATOR:
Could it be that human beings

are compelled to make robots

that are more and more
like themselves,

not simply because they have
a desire to play God,

and create intelligent beings
in their own image,

but because it is their destiny?

Ancient astronaut theorists
say yes,

and insist further clues
can be found

by examining the latest
technologies being developed

by humans as they prepare

for the next phase of their
evolution in space.

NARRATOR:
Pasadena, California.

June 21, 2017.

Engineers Steve Chien
and Kiri Wagstaff

of NASA's
Jet Propulsion Laboratory

publish their framework for the
future of deep-space travel

in Science Robotics magazine.

Chien and Wagstaff theorize
that, as astronauts travel

to Mars and beyond,
they will eventually

be replaced by robots,

synthetic humans capable of
making autonomous decisions

by means of artificial
intelligence.

Space is a really unfriendly
environment for humans.

It's got nasty radiation and we
don't perform well in a vacuum.

Again, machines are perfectly
happy in that environment.

They can be completely
unaffected by it.

They need shielding, obviously,

to protect their
electronic circuits.

So it's much easier
for a machine

to explore another planet,
another solar system,

than it is for a human,
and much cheaper.

So it seems to me that the
future of space exploration

is with the machines
rather than with us.

DIAMANDIS: When we think about
exploring space at scale,

it's not gonna be humans,

at least not humans
in this form.

We're gonna be sending out A. I. s
that are as intelligent

or intelligent,
or more intelligent than us

that don't have the issues
of acceleration,

that can accelerate at,
you know, 10Gs acceleration

out of the solar system
continuous.

It would be incredibly useful

to have an intelligent system
out there,

say, at Alpha Centauri,

since, to send a signal back
to Earth,

and receive an answer, would
take an eight-year round trip.

So why not get the A.I.
out there

to make the decisions and to do
some scientific work?

NARRATOR:
A. I.-led missions to Mars--

and even Alpha Centauri--

could become a reality
in the very near future.

NASA has been actively testing
this technology since 1998,

beginning with Deep Space 1,

when a probe was sent
to the asteroid belt

located between Mars
and Jupiter.

Using a system called AutoNav,

the craft took multiple photos
of asteroids

and even navigated its course
without human guidance.

ROFF: When you look at
the Mars Rover for instance,

it's an autonomous land robot
that goes around Mars,

and, you know,
it picks up samples,

beams back information, and so
that's an autonomous system

that we have deployed
in space right now.

And I'd say that as our

artificial intelligence
gets more robust

and we can deploy it on things
like spacecraft,

there's nothing to preclude
having an autonomous spacecraft

that would act as a ferry
to outer space or to Mars.

CHILDRESS: And when we send
these robots out,

and having programmed them with
artificial intelligence,

we're relinquishing our own
control in many ways.

And these robotic ambassadors
of a sort,

they will have the ability
to make their own decisions,

and to negotiate.

NARRATOR:
But as humans develop smarter

and more independent robots

in order to manage the
exploration of other planets,

is it possible
that other alien species

could be doing
the exact same thing?

Could they already be
fabricating stronger

and more resilient
space-friendly versions

of themselves and sending them
here to Earth?

There are many in
the scientific community

for whom the answer
is an obvious one.

If extraterrestrial life exists
elsewhere-- which, I mean,

for me, the probability
is probably pretty high--

I think they'll have
their own forms

of artificial intelligence.

JIM GREEN: As we move out into
the solar system

and explore the heliosphere,

artificial intelligence will
have to be accommodated

to make decisions to allow them
to do their jobs.

That's what we as humans
are doing.

So is that the same process

other intelligent species
would do?

When you think about it,

it's gotta be one of the most
fundamental things

that they would do first.

SCHNEIDER: So many people in
the field of astrobiology

are sympathetic to what we call
the post-biological cosmos view.

And according to this view,

once humans develop their
technology to such a point

that they're able to turn on
radios and communicate

with other civilizations,

they will already be so close

to becoming post-biological.

NARRATOR:
Post-biological?

In our collective eagerness
to conquer space,

are we humans sowing the seeds
of our own destruction?

Or are we unconsciously

following some sort
of master plan,

one where flesh and blood

will eventually fade away

to be replaced
by silicon and synthetics?

But what about our mind,
our memory,

our consciousness?

Could they, too, be imported

into a robot's synthetic brain?

And even if it's possible
for us to exchange

our mortal shells
for sturdier ones,

will we still
be considered human?

As far as ancient astronaut
theorists are concerned,

the answer is yes.

And they point to a number
of recent experiments

which suggest that not only
will it be possible

for robots to acquire
human consciousness,

but it will also be possible
for them to breed.

NARRATOR:
Ottawa, Canada.

June 2017.

The Department of Mechanical
Aerospace Engineering

at Carleton University
announces the development

of technology
that will revolutionize

the future of space travel.

The engineers hope
to create a 3-D printer

that will one day be capable
of building structures

on the Moon
using only lunar minerals.

But perhaps even more
groundbreaking is the fact

that it will be capable
of self-replication.

As we move out
and try to colonize space,

we've been developing
this technology

where we could actually deliver
a 3-D printer to the Moon,

and it can replicate itself

using materials it finds
on the lunar surface.

Then those can keep replicating,

and two becomes four,
and four becomes six, and so on.

So if we have
artificial intelligence

and 3-D printing combined,
we have a recipe

for amazing things.

NARRATOR:
Although there are those

who remain skeptical
that our ability

to develop fully functional,
self-replicating machines

is still many decades away,
one project

known as RepRap, which has been
in development since 2005,

involves the creation
of a low-cost 3-D printer

designed to make
everyday household objects

and which can even fashion
replacement parts for itself.

3-D printing is an absolutely
incredible scientific advance.

I mean, this is Star Trek's
replicator made real.

The scary thing
is when you think

that these 3-D printers
replicate themselves.

We're dealing, perhaps,
with a technology

that is capable of exceeding
its own programming.

These things design other,

better, faster,
more powerful machines.

And who knows where it will end.

NARRATOR:
In the 1940s,

more than two decades
before man set foot on the Moon,

Hungarian scientist and genius
mathematician John von Neumann

believed
self-replicating machines

would allow us to venture
beyond our solar system

to explore other star systems

and potentially
the entire galaxy.

We have this image

that to explore the stars,
you have to have

a gigantic starship--
the Enterprise--

with brave captains
like Captain Kirk.

Wrong.

The most efficient way

to explore the galaxy,
with so many planets,

is to send a small probe,
a von Neumann probe.

A von Neumann probe
is a self-replicating machine

that goes out into space

and uses matter elsewhere
in the universe

to create identical copies
of itself.

Start with one probe, send it

to Jupiter, say,
and there on Jupiter,

it uses matter on Jupiter
to create

basically the next generation
of itself.

And then that probe goes on
and explores elsewhere.

And each of those probes
in turn uses matter

in the location that it's at
to create more and more.

So what you get
is an expanding capacity

to explore the farther reaches
of the universe.

NARRATOR:
As far as skeptics

of ancient astronaut theory
are concerned,

one of the obstacles
to interplanetary space travel

is the number of years
a spaceship would have to spend

getting from one place
to another.

But even without the aid
of warp drive or black holes,

what if extraterrestrials
simply sent out

sentient androids
to do their bidding?

Robots that could not only spend

hundreds if not thousands
of years in space,

but who were also capable
of reproducing themselves?

Instead of spaceships
filled with humans,

could probes
like the von Neumann probe

be the way we explore
and populate the universe?

And could this also be the way

that our own planet
was populated?

If it's true
that advanced civilizations

from elsewhere
seeded our galaxy...

...and here we are in our
modern time replicating that,

could it be
that we have a portion

of this extraterrestrial DNA
in our own genome?

And if that's the case,

could we already be
a sort of cyborg being

and doing experimentation

to look to evolve our species?

Is there some kind
of grand purpose to all of this

where we're just following
a sort of natural order,

something that's
already happened?

And maybe it's our purpose
to continue doing that.

HENRY:
We have long recognized

that flesh-and-blood humans are
not gonna fare well in space.

So for decades now,

space enthusiasts
have been working

on the transformation
of the human species

into machine-like beings
or transhumans.

Then we'll create an entire
clone species of robots,

ultimately uploading our
consciousness into computers,

beaming that information
into space,

and recreating bodies
out of nothing

at some distant location
in space.

The 17th century
French philosopher

René Descartes also talked

about what he called
the mind-body duality

and that our mind
and consciousness

do not come from our body
but are separate.

And therefore, the body of a man

and his mind and consciousness
are two separate things.

The author Sam Butler
said that humans

are self-replicating machines
and that we're capable

of continuing
that self-replication.

Then the brilliant computer
scientist John von Neumann

said that he got his ideas
from both Butler and Descartes,

which is that we should use
self-replicating machines

to go to other planets
and explore them.

So you have to ask yourself,

how is it
that these brilliant minds

came up with the same idea
hundreds of years

before we invented computers
or spacecraft?

Is it possible
that all these great minds

were tapping into some kind

of intellectual force?

Perhaps an extraterrestrial one?

NARRATOR:
Could otherworldly beings

have instilled within us
the idea

of creating robot versions
of ourselves

so that one day
we would realize our destiny

and join them on their journey
through the stars?

Ancient astronaut theorists

believe the answer
to that question

could be closer
and more profound

than we think.

NARRATOR:
Silicon Valley, California.

September 2015.

Anthony Levandowski,
the engineer responsible

for putting the first
self-driving car

on a public road,

founds
the Way of the Future church,

a new religion unlike any other
in history.

Adherents of this faith
do not worship God

in the traditional sense.

Instead they promote
the notion of a godhead

based on artificial
intelligence.

Levandowski
and his followers believe

that A.I. will soon be
so intelligent

that we should begin
to worship it

in the hopes
that it will look kindly

upon its creators.

If we were to create
an artificial life-form

and if it were to develop,
evolve and grow...

I want to understand more
about happiness.

...it could become superior
to modern-day man.

This leads us to a very
difficult spiritual problem.

Human beings tend to worship

that which they believe
to be greater than themselves.

Many human beings
might interpret this

to be some type
of a coming of a god

and seek to worship it.

CHILDRESS:
So, this may be analogous

to what happened
when robotic extraterrestrials

first landed on the planet.

They have all of this amazing
knowledge, computing power,

and to the primitive
Earth beings,

they would seem as all-knowing,
all-powerful,

having an answer to everything.

NARRATOR: Is it possible that
what Levandowski is proposing

is exactly what our
extraterrestrial ancestors did

thousands of years ago?

Did they create

not a silicon-based life-form
like themselves,

but one made of flesh and blood,

capable of replication

and also vulnerable
to aging and disease?

If so, does this mean
that we are on the threshold

of the next phase
in human evolution,

one where we become transhuman?

I think
by the end of the century,

we'll be able to digitize
our consciousness.

Everything known about us--
our personality,

our memories, emotions,
our neural pathways--

will be digitized.
And what do we do with it?

I say we put our consciousness

on a laser beam
and shoot it to the stars.

In one second,
your consciousness

is now shot to the Moon,

where it's downloaded
into a mainframe computer

and then put
into a mechanical avatar.

I call this laser porting.

And I think that laser porting
may already exist.

There could be billions of souls

laser porting themselves
across the galaxy.

HENRY: If transhumanist
technologists are successful,

we'll soon be uploading

the contents of our brains
into the cloud.

What's so amazing about this

is that this is
a virtual fulfillment

of Christian prophecy
that tells at the end times,

Christ will himself return
on the cloud

and that believers
will be given new bodies

into which their souls
will be transferred.

And then they will be able
to ascend into the heavens

with Jesus through the cloud.

So here we have this
incredible parallel going on

where technologists are creating

a technological version
of the cloud

that perfectly corresponds
to what Christian prophecy

says is gonna happen at the time
of the second coming.

WHITEHEAD:
We know now

that there may have even been
a genetic marker put into us

to actually guide us
in this direction.

Does that mean
our natural destiny as a species

was actually programmed
by these advanced beings?

Are we just copying what
these extraterrestrial visitors

had done eons ago?

TSOUKALOS: At some point we're
going to wake up and realize

that this technology
we're creating

may have already existed
in the ancient world

and that it was possessed
by extraterrestrial beings.

And wherever
this technology takes us,

maybe it was always part
of a bigger plan

that ultimately takes us back
to our origins up in the stars.

NARRATOR:
As human civilization

prepares for the next phase
of its evolution,

will what we think of
as human beings become extinct?

Ancient astronaut theorists
say no

because they argue
being human is more

than being made
of flesh and blood.

It's the realization

that it is our thoughts,

our ideas,
and especially our feelings

that make humans unique

not only from each other,

but from all the living
creatures in the universe.

It is also this realization

that should both reassure
and motivate us

as we fulfill
humankind's ultimate destiny

by becoming the next generation
of extraterrestrials

in the exploration
of distant, alien worlds.

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