The artificial intelligence is very intelligent indeed
Set in a parallel present, Humans features synthetic humans known as 'synths', robot beings that are designed to help.
They sweep leaves, they pick produce and man train stations. Some live with families; serving breakfast, carrying in the shopping and reading bedtime stories. Although the technology on-screen is high-tech (synths bond with their human owners by taking a DNA sample while shaking hands), in Humans they are about as novel as the latest iPad. Impressive, but decidedly normal. The crux of the drama lies in what happens next; what happens when synths evolve thoughts and feelings; what happens when robots can dream, feel pain, anger and rage.
The Synths are "mesmeric"
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** Gemma Chan (Fresh Meat, Secret Diary of a Call Girl) is Anita, one of a group of rogue synthetics, and she makes for very uncomfortable watching. All of the AI actors attended "synth school", run by choreographer Dan O'Neill, prior to filming; the result is not robotic movement, but something weird and chillingly other. No flinching, stooping or twitching here, just creepy, smooth, efficient moves. Described by co-star Katherine Parkinson (The IT Crowd) as "mesmeric", Chan's performance was convincing enough to give her co-star nightmares (Parkinson dreamt Chan was stealing her new-born baby).
Humans will explore the seedy side of AI
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** Not all AI relationships are seedy, and the series does explore how genuine human-synth relationships can form, as well as companionship between the robots themselves. It is inevitable, however, that synths described as "perfect in every way" are put to some sort of sordid use. You might feel comfortable with your battery-charged sex-toy, but what about the idea of life-size robotic sex doll brothels? One thing's for sure, you don't want to be trapped in a sex cubicle when a sentient sex slave decides that enough is enough.
*With influences from Swedish TV, AMC and Spooks, * it's bound to be great
Channel 4 has co-produced Humans with American TV network AMC and British production company, Kudos. Given that AMC is responsible for Mad Men, The Walking Dead, Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, our level of expectation is set rather high.
Sweden has also developed a reputation for its high quality TV series (think The Killing, The Bridge,
Borgen, Wallander), so the fact that Real Humans (the original source material for the Channel 4 series) was produced by Swedish powerhouse Sveriges Television (SVT) raises the bar even further.
Throw in the fact that the narrative has been adapted by Sam Vincent and Jonathan Brackley - the writers of MI-5 drama Spooks, and its Kit Harington-starring film spin-off *Spooks: The Greater Good * - and it's hard to imagine how Humans could be anything other than excellent.
It won't end well...
Whether you're a fan of Isaac Asimov or not, the fact that Stephen Hawking only recently warned that AI "could spell the end of the human race" means that
Humans can't possibly end well. Where will people find purpose once all jobs can be completed by machine? What will happen when sentient robots decide to rise up and refuse to fill the roles we allocate to them. Watch to find out...
Humans will air on Channel 4 at on 14 June