Thursday, November 20, 2008

Data: human or robot?

In the StarTrek episode that we watched in class today, the question was if Data was a person or a robot. He is defended well and it's very convincing in the episode to take his side that he should have the right to choose for himself. And this is ultimately the decision that is made. However, after thinking about the subject again, I still think that robots should not be considered as humans and they don't ultimately have the 'right' to choose. I don't think that a robot has a soul and can therefore not be considered human.

5 comments:

Tricia.Partin said...

I also agree with Sara. The defense to determine whether Data was a person or a human was very convincing, however, I also do not think that robots should be considered humans. They do not have a beating heart, and they are just given intelligence rather than years of studying and practicing. Also, I do not think robots are humans due to lack of emotion. I do not think they have this right to choose, which in turn does not give them the distinct qualifications of being "human."

jordan logan said...

I also agree! i don't think robots should be considered human. The only reason i don't believe data should had been researced was because the man really didn't seem like he had enough intelligence at the time to researcnh data. If he was more prepared, then i think that data really doesn't have a say in whether he wants to be dismantled or not. The bottom line is data isn't a person. He is a robot. Just like any other technology, he was made to make life better for HUMANS! he is not on the same level of importance as a human!!!

Colton said...

I agree that robots should not be considered humans because they do not have the ability to be smart themselves, their intelligence is just given to them whereas real humans have to work at being able to learn and remember things that they have learned. Robots also do not have signs of life that are characterized by biology, they also do not have any real organs that keep them alive.

Todd C. said...

Data is clearly a robot. He does not have a regular brain, but rather he has a polytronic brain that is made to mimmic the human brain. This is best scene in the part when the commader bluffs Data. Data knows the odds are in his favor and keeps raising the stakes. What Data's synthetic brain does not know is how to detect if someone is lying too.

Nick Dew said...

I would have to agree as well. Robots are a creation of man. They can be designed by humans to any certain specifications that we desire. This is what will stop them from ever achieving equal rights. There is a simple principle that is tied into this entire argument. Humans are humans and robots are machines. Regardless of how much emotion or cognitive ability a robot has it will remain a machine. This is not to say that if we created a robot like data we would not have feelings for him. It simply means that if we ever got ourselves into a situation where we had to decide whether or not a sentient robot has rights it would be of our own design.