The tragedy of an AI world

Screenplay by
James Ma & Zachary Yan

story by
James Ma & Zachary Yan

December 2018
FADE IN

ENT. Doncaster Hills Neighbourhood- Day

Clock alarm to 6: 00 am on a sunny Monday morning. Birds are chirping, flying through the sunrise.

Howard Mccarthy(39) walks to his balcony and sees his neighbors with their AI robots.

Simon Hart, 57 years old and a retired businessman entrepreneur, talking to his robot about today's
schedule.

Chappie:
Simon, I just rescheduled your meeting with Mr. Brown today.

Simon:
Thank you, Chappie. Please get me a green tea latte. I want it to be cold and I also want a cheesecake
along with that.

Chappie:
Here you go, sir.
Simon’s neighbor to the left is Kathy Ross, 35 years old and a full time mom. She is in the gym with her
fitness AI trainer Jessie early in the morning.

Kathy Ross:
What is my workout plan for this week?

(MORE)

Jessie(CON’D):
This week, we have push-ups. Your push up plan for this week is...3 sets x 6–8 reps. Eccentric-only

pushes up 3 sets x 4 reps. Lat pulldowns: 3 sets x 8–12 reps. Triceps pushdowns: 3 sets x 12–15 reps.

High plank: 3 sets x max time (stop just before your hips drop or elbows bend)

As Kathy is doing her push-ups, Jessie is counting her pushups and motivating her through the exercise.

Jessie:
1,2,3,4,5,6...Come on!... Almost there!...Last one!... Congrats you have completed your fitness routine
for this week your average heart rate was 71 BPM and 1432 calories was burnt.

While Kathy was in the gym AI robot Sussie is preparing breakfast for Kathy’s son Bradley (9), a smart
young boy with a lot of potentials. Bradley quickly finishes his breakfast and Susie is doing a final
check on Bradley’s school bag.

Susie:
Pencil case check… English book check… Math Homework check… Home lunch check… Water bottle check… You are
ready to leave Bradley.
Bradley and his AI helper Susie is waiting for his school bus on the street alongside with his friends
and their AI robots.

Howard came out of the front door and went to the car.

Howard:
Unlock the car and open the door.

The Car automatically opens the door. Howard went in the car and closes the car door.

Howard:
Bring me to the fifth avenue street.

The car automatically took off to work.

As the car is bringing Howard to work, the AI build inside the car is Notifying new email notifications
Howard received during the night.

CAR AI (ROB):
Your boss Kathy Evans wants to see you today to talk to you about the latest project…

Howard:
Please send an email saying that I am available at 1:20 today and meet me in my room.

CAR AI (ROB):
Copy that...Email sent at 8:23

Howard
Rob. Tell me about today.
 Car AI (ROB)(CON’D):
Today, you will have a meeting with CEO Smith at 4:00 pm about Elderly housing PROJECT.
Howard
Right. Rob, play relaxing music from Spotify.
(MORE)
CAR AI(Rob)(CON’D)
Playing...Hello by Adele Laurie with Spotify Premium.

EXT. Future Building’s Carpark - Day

The car is going to the carpark underground, the car is slowly parking to Howard's parking slot.

Howard
Rob. Park the car to the same spot from yesterday.

CAR AI (ROB):

You have arrived, sir. Good luck today!

Howard going into the lift and scans his eyes and said: bring me to the 158th floor.

INT. Future building’s elevator- Day

Lift AI:
Today the Reagan stocks have dropped 3 percent.

Howard:
Ah… please tell me how much the Fearsgun stocks are today.
 Lift AI:
....Today the Fearsgun stocks have risen 8 percent.
(MORE)

Howard(CON’D):
Show me the news highlights for today.

Lift TV:
Breaking news! Donald Trump has been impeached today at Trump Tower by the federal officials from the
House of Representatives.

Howard:
Oh, snap!

The elevator arrives on the 158th floor.

Lift AI:
Have a good day sir!

Howard:
You too!

INT. Inside Howard's office room - DAY

Howard:
Please prepare a presentation on the housing project we’ve been working on these few years for the
meeting later.

Office AI:
Do you mean the public housing project you’ve also been working these years?
 Howard:
Yeah, something like that…
(MORE)
Office AI(CON’D):
Making a presentation on the housing project.

Howard:
Fantastic! You get on with that and make it good, while I will have some fun with this new horror game.

Howards puts on his virtual reality goggles and started playing ‘Arizona Sunshine’

Office AI:
Sir, your meeting with CEO Smith is going to start in approximately 10 minutes please get ready.

Howard:
Ah, shit! Send the presentation to me now.

Howard takes the lift to the 156th floor

INT. Meeting room - DAY

Howard’s boss Mrs. Kathy Smith, 55 years old a rich California-born lady introduces Howard to the board

Mrs. Smith:
We all are very excited to see your project, Howard!

Board member(65):
So Howard. Show us what have you been working on?

Howard:
Right. Last month, our company purchased a lot in Newport Beach in California.
 (MORE)
AI(CON’D):
It’s actually in Manhattan Beach. Not Newport Beach

Howard:
And we had a lot of … arches and we plan to use this lot to build an elderly house for the elders in
Manhattan beach.

AI:
It is actually 1.2 acres arches.

Howard (enthusiastic and nervous):

2 arches.

As Howard is getting nervous about his bad start, Kathy and the board feels skeptical about Howard’s
presentation.

Howard projects his powerpoint on the screen and it shows a photo of the house in New York City.

Howard:
As you can see here, this is the sample of the construction of this project. As you can see, there are
four floors and a pool facing the ocean with benches and a bar.

Howard turns to the next slide, unaware that the powerpoint is presenting a different project.

Howard:
On the inside of the house, we will provide a game room full of classic games such as Settlers Of Catan,
Monopoly, Scrabble, and any name. Furthermore, we have a…
(MORE)
 Kathy(CON’D):
Howard, why is your powerpoint presenting a view of Manhattan New York?

Howard’s face is getting red and he turned towards the powerpoint, realizing that his AI made a
powerpoint based on a different project on New York.
Kathy:
Howard, can I talk to you in private?

Howard:
Uh...uh...yeah...

Kathy:
If you are thirsty, there is coffee outside. You can ask my secretary if you need it.

Howard and Kathy leave the office and talk outside

INT. Outside meeting room- DAY

Kathy:
Howard, what’s going on?

Howard:
Um… let me explain.

Kathy:
No i'm serious! This isn't a joke! You know how much effort I took to gather all these investors to look
at the project? The project you’ve been working all these years. I was so proud of you but look at you-
you just stuffed up! You mixed up the name of the beach and your powerpoint is full of pictures that are
irrelevant to our project. This is a huge opportunity that we had but now I think that the board will not
 approve our project anymore. I don't think to feel like taking this chance, I will choose someone else
more suitable to continue this project.

Howard(CON’D):
I spent all these years doing this project and there is no one more suitable than me! I am fine! 100%
positive, It was just something wrong with the AI.

Kathy:
Fine. You will be watching!

Howard and Kathy return to the meeting room

Kathy:
Sorry for the delay folks. Let’s start from where we pick off, Howard.

Howard:
Thanks, Kathy. In this project, we might have a problem when we propose this project to the real estate
government. The problem is that the government might force us to use our land to make more carparks
because of the number of rooms we have in our building. The government is scared that we don’t have
enough car parks, and our residents will park their car on the side of the street. So what we purpose is
that...um...um...um...

AI:
What is Howard trying to say is that our senior housing is built too high. Hence, it will cover the beach
view of our neighbors in the back. Our purpose is that we upgrade our breakfast spot and food quality.
This will make up the decreased price made by short wall ceilings.

Board:
This plan sounds good. How about we talk about it tomorrow?
(MORE)
 Kathy(CON’D):
Absolutely.

INT. Howard’s office - DAY

Howard:
Thank you very much! You save me on that presentation!
(MORE)
AI(CON’D):
It is my pleasure, Howard.

Howard:
Please make a presentation on the housing project in Miami. Don’t mix it up with other projects.
(MORE)
AI(CON’D):
Will do sir. Making housing project on Florida.

Howard (stretching and put feet on table):

Ah… I love this job. Not only can I make big-time money, but I also had an AI who makes everything for
free.

Howard got a phone call from Kathy, who is peeking through his office partitions.

Kathy:
Hello Howard!

Howard:
Hi Kathy. What’s up?
(MORE)
Kathy(CON’D):
I want to call you about the meeting. I know you are under a lot of pressure so I can totally understand
your struggles back there.

Howard:
Thank you, boss.

Kathy:
So, are you working on the housing project for Miami?

Howard (Playing Tetris):

Yeah, I am.

Kathy:
We are so close from hitting the stock market and we can’t miss a beat.

Howard:
Don’t worry. I am working on it right now.

Kathy enters Howard’s office.

Kathy:
Oh really?

Howard looks behind and realized Kathy is calling outside of his office the whole time. Howard’s face
went red and he turned off his Tetris Battle game.

Kathy:
I thought you are working on the Miami project. Why did I catch you playing Tetris on Facebook?
 Howard:
I am just taking a break. I feel I can think better if I take my mind off work for a short moment.

Kathy:
If you are taking a break, why don’t you tell me so and lie to me on the phone?

Howard:
Well…

Kathy:
Tell me. Which county of Miami is this project on?

Howard:
Wade County.

Kathy:
How many rooms the does board want us to build?

Howard:
50

Kathy:
When did we buy the lot?

Howard:
Um…
(MORE)
Kathy(Speaking in a furious tone)(CON’D):
Enough Howard! Are you aware that every answer you give me is false? You know. I wanted to give you a
promotion, but your colleagues said all you do is sit down play games.
 Howard:
But…

Kathy:
I am not finished! Your colleagues also told me that you asked your AI to write your powerpoints and your
reports. I believe you don’t even know what those projects are about.

Howard stayed silent and he is out of excuses.

Kathy:
I don’t think you are a good fit to our company. Pack your stuff and leave before I call security.

Howard:
You can’t fire me. Who will follow up on these projects?

Kathy:
The AI. The AI was very impressive in that meeting room. I will follow up your work and the AI will help
me write my reports, and I will proofread every one of its work before we take it to our investors!

Howard:
Kathy, let me explain…

Kathy (shouting towards Howard):

Get out of this office at once!

Howard packed his office and barges off.

INT. Bird’s Jazz Club- Night

After Howard is fired, he went to a small pub with very little people to get drunk.

Howard(Smashing beer bottle to the table with anger):

God dang... How dare you fire me biatch! If it is not that stupid AI, I should be in front of that
office, making big deals.

Suddenly, a man next with red eyes to him (45), wearing a shirt with broken sleeves overhears Howard’s
words and starts to talk to him.

Man:
You are not the only one feeling this way. I lost my job a couple weeks ago.

Howard (not paying serious attention):

What about it?

Man:
I used to work in the Agriculture Industry, in charge of harvesting vegetables. My boss decided to
dismiss all of the farmers and replace us with Artificial Intelligence robots.

The man caught Howard’s attention. He put down his beer and listen to the man

Man:
What is the government doing right now? Currently, the unemployment rate in the United States is 10%, and
80% percent of those are from the labor business or the agriculture industry. In the darkest times for us
lower class, where is the government? You know, they can charge taxes for uses of AI, stop AI selling in
the states.

Howard(CON’D):
 You know, I got fired this morning because I asked my AI to make a presentation on a project. The AI
mixed up the two projects I am working on. I humiliated my entire company in front of all of those
investors before my AI save me. My boss decided to fire me and use an artificial intelligence robot to
replace me.

The man starts to cry.

Man:
You know, my daughter is in her junior year of college. I promised her that before you get to college, I
will find a way to pay her college fees… What should I tell her now? All I can imagine is the tears in
her eyes when I tell her this shit.

The bar manager turned on the TV and the news is talking about the benefit of artificial intelligence.

(MORE)
Report on TV(CON’D):
Today, Lee Kum Kee dismissed all of his employees. Lee said he will try to use the newest Artificial
Intelligence robots and use it for factory purposes. The purpose of using AI robots us reduce the budget
on factory production and improve the consistency of quality in its oyster flavor sauce.

Reporters are interviewing ex-workers in Lee Kum Kee.

Worker 1(35):
I am not surprised by the dismissal and I saw it coming for a couple of weeks. I am not sure what the
future will be but I am confident it will be waiting for me.

Worker 2(60)(Very emotional):

I don’t understand. I did not do anything wrong… Now I am dismissed, what do I do? My rental contract is
up. What should I do?
(MORE)

Report:
 Do you know what will your future be?

Worker 2(60)(Very emotional)(CON’D):

I don’t know...I don’t know.

The interview dissolved back to the News Report

ENT. Doncaster Hills Neighbourhood- Night

Howard took a cab back home. He walks to his front door and found a lock on it.

Howard:
Wait. What?
(MORE)
Howard holds the lock and tosses it to the door.

Howard:
Why is there a lock on it?

The landowner Jenny (67) came out hr car.

Jenny:
Because you did not pay no rent.
(MORE)
Howard(CON’D):
I am sorry. There must be a mistake. I did pay my rent.

Jenny:
No, you didn’t. When I went to the bank this morning, it says that you have no earnings.
 Howard:
Can you wait for 5 minutes?

Jenny(Annoyed tone:
Fine.

Howard goes to his car on AI.

Howard:
Rob, check my bank account on HSBC.
(MORE)

Rob(CON’D):
Entering Howard McCarthy HSBC account. Please type in the password.

Howard types in the password.

Rob:
Please scan your fingerprint.

Howard puts his finger towards the scan for fingerprint scanning.

Rob:
HSBC account opened.

Howard saw that his account earnings are in negative numbers.

Howard:
Check my purchase history!
 Rob:
Checking purchase history.

The AI opens the purchase history. It shows a long list of products he bought.

Howard:
Ah shit!

Howard puts his head on the front of the car. Upset with himself for his mistakes.

Howard got out of the car with beer and sits in his front door.

Howard stands up and walks in the middle of the highway… BANG!

CUT TO BLACK

THE END
James Ma Rationale:

In this IDU project, my partner and I had the option to either make a story, screenplay or a newspaper article. When we first started
our IDU project, my partner and I wanted to make a newspaper article. However, I found that the process of making a newspaper
article requires a lot of research in the search for statistics and information. Adding to that, transferring skills is not a strength of
mine and I struggle to transfer information of an unfamiliar topic into a newspaper. In conclusion, we decided to make a screenplay
for our IDU project because I learned the format of screenplays in my addition language class. In addition, I watched an episode
from the Black Mirror and both Zachary and I understood clearly the flow of a screenplay. Therefore, we both feel very confident in
writing a screenplay.

My partner and I made a screenplay that explores the pros and cons of using Artificial Intelligence in our society. Our screenplay
follows the format of the Black Mirror, where the setup of the screenplay portrays the benefits of using artificial intelligence, and the
eplot twist and second climax creates a conflict between characters and it portrays the disadvantage of AI. The aim of the last two
acts is to have readers/viewers think among themselves of how harmful can this innovative technology be towards human society.
For example, artificial intelligence is bad for our society because it is very capable that it can potentially replace humans in jobs.
This is important because if that is the case, many people in the world will find themselves in the position to struggle to find another
job. Furthermore, human beings have to prove to companies why is it the better choice to hire them rather than using Artificial
Intelligence. Therefore, Zachary and I hope that our audience can think about the harms of artificial intelligence.
We decided to have the setup of the screenplay in a working environment and a neighborhood environment. In the setup, we aim to
display the benefits of using artificial intelligence. In the Black Mirror episode of The Entire History of You, it displayed the benefit of
using the “Grain” in environments such as during immigration to identify criminals and also at home when we can look back at
previous events and analyze a situation. In most of the movies I watched, the setup started with a positive vibe and it talks about
the goods of the character or the product. Therefore, I wanted to replicate it into this screenplay that the setup of the screenplay
starts with a positive vibe and show how AI informed our lives positively.

For the plot twist, we wrote that the protagonist gets fired because he relies on his artificial intelligence computer to help him make
his presentation and his other work. During a phone call, the protagonist’s boss is staring into his office and she knows that the
protagonist is lying about working on the project. In this screenplay, we aim to explore how artificial intelligence can affect us.
According to BBN Times, humans are being more and more dependant on AI machines to do their work. In our case, the AI robot
help the protagonist prepare for his presentation. However, the AI misunderstood what the protagonist said and it made a
presentation based on another project. We decided to use this example because it is shows the liability of AI in the society. This
case indicates how much people rely on AI technology, that they expect the AI will be perfect all the time. Furthermore, this also
shows that human in our society will not improve because humans rely on Artificial Intelligence so much. Therefore, human will
decrease their use of thinking skills and our society will not improve and it limits us from discovering new innovative technology.

Finally, we decided to finish the screenplay by having the protagonist discussing with a man about AI. In the last scene, the
protagonist is locked out from his house because he can not pay the rent. In the process of writing the last two acts, my partner and
I were trying to be as cautious as possible. This is because, in any movie or screenplay, the climax in the last two acts plays a
significant role to determine the success of your screenplay. Furthermore, I struggle to write the climax and ending, in which the two
does not link to the themes and story of the start of the screenplay. In that case, we decided to make the finish the screenplay
based on our research. According to BBN Times, it states that human jobs will be replaced by Artificial Intelligence machines in the
future, so Zachary and I decided to make our screenplay focused around on unemployment, which shows more and more people
are losing jobs because of AI and it also shows that AI forces human beings into a situation of economic struggles. This is because
it is realistic and this problems an potentially happen in our world in the future. Therefore, we wanted to end our screenplay with a
tragedy and show how far can AI affect an individual.
Word count: 860

Bibliography:

Jacobs, Eloise, et al. “Pros and Cons of Artificial Intelligence.” Connects Decision Makers to You, Badr BERRADA, 20 Nov. 2018,
www.bbntimes.com/en/companies/pros-and-cons-of-artificial-intelligence.