Journal #1: Cybernetic Organisms

A Cyborg is a being whose psychological functioning is aided by or dependent upon a mechanical or electronic device. Cyborgs cannot empathize. An Android is a synthetic being created from biological material. Thus, Data from Star Trek, Sonny from I Robot and T-1000 from Terminator 2 are Cyborgs. Each of them is a synthetic organism that is able to analyze through complex rationalization. Humans are carbon-based beings that exhibit emotion; whereas Cyborgs and Androids can do neither.

In the book, Do Androids Dream of Electronic Sheep?, the Androids are called “replicants” because the human body becomes the host for the Nexus 6 brain. These Android are not capable of feeling any type of emotion or compassion for human beings. And it is only through examination of the pupils that anyone can distinguish an Android from a human being. However in the book, the Androids are still far superior than humans.

Cyborgs inherently adapt to the way humans live and interact with one another. Data is a Cyborg. In Star Trek, he portrays the same mannerisms and traits as a human being but he becomes very inquisitive about the way that human beings live their lives. For instance, when humans exhibit emotion, Data wonders why they act the way they do. In one episode, Data asked Jordy how do humans dream? Jordy found it hard to explain the emotional complexities of having a dream. So Data read about the various emotions that humans have during dreams and created his own program for dreaming. However, the results were not what he was looking for. He discovered that emotions couldn’t be duplicated and considered dreams to be irrational.

In I Robot, Sunny had the same mannerisms as Data, and was as curious as Data about human emotions. All of the Cyborgs (NS-5) in this movie were programmed to obey “three laws:” (1) do not harm or kill any human; (2) obey all human commands as long as the command did not conflict with the first law; and (3) do everything necessary for self-preservation as long as it did not conflict with the first two laws. However, Sunny was programmed slightly different from the other Cyborgs. Unlike the others, Sunny had a “ghost” in his programming that allowed him to evolve and ultimately bypass the “three laws.” For instance, while sitting in an interrogation room, Sunny noticed that detective Spooner winked at another detective. Sunny asked Detective Spooner why did he wink at the other detective. And Detective Spooner replied that it was “a sign of trust” between them and that Sunny would never understand. But at the end of the movie, Sunny used this same technique when he pretended to harm another human. Thus showing he did understand the emotion of trust.

However whereas Data and Sunny were naturally inquisitive about human beings, the T-1000 Cyborg in Terminator 2 was literally heartless and ruthless. The T-1000 did not care if a human lived or died. His mission was to kill a certain woman and her son. To fulfill this mission and get close enough to his targets to kill them, he had to continually kill other humans, replicate their forms and became the carbon copy of the dead person.

We are now in the beginning stages of cybernetics. For instance, there are artificial limbs, hip replacements, pacemakers, and cochlear nerve implants that replace the damaged organ or limb. However, there are two aspects of cybernetics that are somewhat perplexing: (1) the strength factor; and (2) the speed of their thought process. Somewhere down the line, Androids and Cyborgs have the potential for evolving into a life form that would become higher on the food chain than humans.