What's Wrong With Using A Surrogate?
I'm conflicted as to what is so bad about using a surrogate. I can think of a bunch of fairly decent reasons as to why they are a good idea, but nothing worthwhile for why they are wrong.
Surrogates are excellent for the disabled and the infirm, be it temporary or otherwise. They are not autonomous robots that subject themselves to cold logic at the expense of humanity (after all, they are entirely controlled by humans). They allow for complete sensory feedback, whilst protecting the user from bacterial or viral infection, physical damage or poisoning, effectively meaning that you can do anything you normally could, without it being of permanent disadvantage to you. They can emote and communicate fully, so you'd still be able to express yourself. They do not age, and any wear and tear can be repaired with no pain, and quickly. They are engineered with advanced, precise technology, so you are guaranteed a full set of faculties. The film claims that since their widespread use, crime and disease has mostly vanished.
As for down sides, I don't really see that many. There's the wealth problem, where these things are too expensive for much/most of society to use, but this is never addressed in the film. I'm unsure whether they have the ability to eat for pleasure, though I don't see why they wouldn't. People could appear different from what they really are, but this doesn't seem like much of a big deal at all. There's a weapon that can kill surrogate users, but there have been weapons that can kill humans since the beginning of human history; at least this weapon is extremely expensive, highly classified, and only one exists. People can attack your body while you're plugged in, but they can attack you while you sleep already.
The film only seems to say that "If your body is completely synthetic, you're not really human." Which means that your body is what makes you human, regardless of your thoughts, personality, etc. Which makes no sense, unless you wish to say that the use of any prosthetics makes you less human, or chatting online makes you less human, because you are not physically looking at the person.
The way I see it, it can be likened to using a typewriter or using a word processor. A typewriter is a physical, real thing that stamps physical, real ink onto physical, real paper; a word processor is a virtual program that types virtual letters and words onto a virtual page. A word processor (like a surrogate) can do things that no typewriter can (correcting your spelling, allowing you to undo changes, instant changes of font and colour), but it is not a physical thing. And while a physical, real typewriter is nice and authentic, it's a far lesser tool for writing than a word processor. And the book you think about writing with it are going to be the same, which is surely the point; whether the tool is your organic body or a surrogate, your humanity is the same, it's still you.
Am I making sense here? Of COURSE I'd get a surrogate.
If you disagree with something, attack the argument , never the person .