This summer, a hotel primarily staffed by robotics will be operational in Nagasaki, Japan. Not only are these robots going to clean your space and collect your laundry, They’re going to scan for you, make reservations, mimic human behavior, and speak four languages for your dinner. TOMORROW – On Saturday afternoon, your errands may lead to the purchasing of a fully functional domestic robotic assistant who will brace your kids for school or take care of an ailing parent. The “Humans” question is set out to investigate if it is a good or a negative decision. It is not about what this technology is capable of; it is about the effect that this new technology would have on human culture. Is this new form of navigating life going to be detrimental or beneficial to us as a human race? And when this technology comes along, who are we going to become?
At the heart of the four parallel storylines explored in ‘People’ is the flawed yet loving Hawkins family. Joe Hawkins (Tom Goodman-Hill) takes the call to invest in the latest must-have gadget – a Synth – for any busy family. His relationship with his wife Laura (Katherine Parkinson) is getting increasingly strained and he hopes that a robotic servant’s addition to the household would give them the time they need so badly and encourage them to reconcile as a couple and as a family. The new Synth of the Hawkins, Anita (Gemma Chan), is an instant hit, and their dirty house is quickly converted into an oasis of healthy, clean, well-fed satisfaction. With hesitation, Laura gives in to the family demand, but soon senses that there is something unusual about Anita. There’s something not right there.
Some have rejected all cynicism for a long time, though, and embrace their synths as part of the tribe. Widower George Millican (William Hurt) has formed a close partnership with his out-of-date Synth, Odi (Will Tudor), with whom he interacts more like a son than a piece of machinery. With a new rigid elder-care model named Vera (Rebecca Front), the National Health Service forcefully upgrades him when Odi begins to malfunction, and George must conceal the relationship he has with Odi or risk forfeiting him to the authorities.
In the meantime, a young man named Leo (Colin Morgan) and his Synth, Max (Ivanno Jeremiah), are constantly searching for someone from the past of Leo. Who are they, however, and why? And why does it feel as if Max is so isolated from other synths? There is a mysterious person on their heels named Hobb (Danny Webb), who is ready to solve a secret before life can be destroyed as we know it.
Finally, D.S. Peter Drummond (Neil Maskell) is partnering with the Special Technologies Task Force to resolve Synth-related disputes to step on from his frustration over his wife’s perfect Synthetic physical therapist. Since Synths seldom, if ever, lose, Pete spends most of his days shifting papers and repairing small injuries, until he solves a case one day that defies all possibility.
For many months after the events of series one, Niska (Berrington) is still at large and in charge of the Consciousness Code. Her synth siblings, Mia (Chan), Leo (Morgan) and Max (Jeremiah), who are unaware of her status, are each trying to find their place in the universe while attempting to restore their marriage with Joe (Goodman-Hill) and Laura (Parkinson).
When unconfirmed reports of synths behaving inexplicably surface, the ripple effects of one clear but seismic decision see the past return to the door of the Hawkins building abruptly and surprisingly. Joe, Laura and the entire family are presented with a daunting choice that will put an overwhelming emphasis on the family.
The leader of contemporary research in the United States is Milo Khoury (Marshall Allman), a wealthy billionaire from Silicon Valley, the founder and CEO of a leading technology corporation. Yet he needs help and tries to attract Dr. Athena Morrow (Carrie-Anne Moss), the world’s leading expert in artificial intelligence. In her drive to create a new form of machine consciousness, Morrow is single-minded, suspicious of his motives and focused on her own work.
When an emerging form of intellectual life, the synths, and an established one, civilization, compete over their place in the cosmos, a thrilling multi-stranded storyline arises, which aims to ask: who has the right to determine what it is to be alive?
