This is the introduction cinematic from Konami’s well-renowned video game, Metal Gear Solid 4.
The dialogue in this video brings to light how technology is slowly beginning to fuse with humans and the way they use them. This very fact that technology has become so integral in the military changes the way we perceive war, and how the war itself is fought.
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Technology has always offered military advantage. The problem is that it also offers false glory because the spirit within the soldier must survive the brutality of his own making. When the armour comes off, who stands before us. Do we want a cold blooded killer… or a follower of orders… or an ideologue? I think we hope there’s a human inside the armour…. and if there is, what protects his sense of humanity?
Post traumatic stress, depression, guilt, confusion, shame…. these are the hidden wounds… the soft machine remains vulnerable. God save us all if we perfect robots or automatons without a sense of shame and guilt.
The game touches on an interesting topic regarding the side-effects of being too over dependent on machines within the human body.
The soldiers in this game are physically and emotionally enhanced by nanomachines, enabling them to suppress thoughts such as guilt and fear. But the problem arises when the nanomachines are turned OFF, and all the fear and guilt they’ve experienced come back, and what’s left is an individual who’s an emotional wreck.