Just a Machine: Difference between revisions

Line 1:

[[File:just_a_machine5_2342.jpg|link=Gunnerkrigg Court (Webcomic)|right]]

Line 9:

Line 7:

'''Secretary:''' (thinking) ''When they bring in doughnuts, they have names.''|''[[Freefall (Webcomic)|Freefall]]''}}

Authors and characters in [[Speculative Fiction]] have oft pondered whether robots, AI's, clones, and other [[What Measure Is a Non-Human?|human-like entities]] can become sapient, and if so, if they also carry a [[Our Souls Are Different|soul]]. [[Do Androids Dream]]

Authors and characters in [[Speculative Fiction]] have oft pondered whether robots, AI's, clones, and other [[What Measure Is a Non-Human?|human-like entities]] can become sapient, and if so, if they also carry a [[Our Souls Are Different|soul]]. [[Do Androids Dream?]]

Well, not in this universe.

For whatever reason, the author decides that in her setting the AI's, Clones or what not may be [~~http://en.~~wikipedia~~.org/wiki/~~Sapience sapient], but never [~~http://en.~~wikipedia~~.org/wiki/~~Sentience sentient]. Basically, the [[Sliding Scale of Robot Intelligence]] can never go past brick or slightly below human... they may [[Omnidisciplinary Scientist|know a lot]], have [[Good With Numbers|incredible computing power]], but lack that final ''je ne sais quoi'' that separates the [[Empty Shell]] from a [[Become a Real Boy|real boy.]] Even the [[Deus Est Machina|godlike machine intellect]] is somehow lacking a crucial human component that gives its existence purpose and meaning. Typically, these settings have the [[Computer Voice|placidly monotone]] ship's computer help the crew when asked, but never act on her own.

For whatever reason, the author decides that in her setting the AI's, Clones or what not may be [[wikipedia:Sapience|sapient]], but never [[wikipedia:Sentience|sentient]]. Basically, the [[Sliding Scale of Robot Intelligence]] can never go past brick or slightly below human... they may [[Omnidisciplinary Scientist|know a lot]], have [[Good With Numbers|incredible computing power]], but lack that final ''je ne sais quoi'' that separates the [[Empty Shell]] from a [[Become a Real Boy|real boy.]] Even the [[Deus Est Machina|godlike machine intellect]] is somehow lacking a crucial human component that gives its existence purpose and meaning. Typically, these settings have the [[Computer Voice|placidly monotone]] ship's computer help the crew when asked, but never act on her own.

Then there's the people who just don't ''think'' they can.

Line 25:

Line 23:

It can get pretty odd when the machines themselves claim this is the case.

Compare [[Not Even Human]]. [[Sub Trope]] of [[What Measure Is a Non-Human?]]. Contrast [[Zombie Advocate]].

Compare [[Not Even Human]]. [[Sub-Trope]] of [[What Measure Is a Non-Human?]]. Contrast [[Zombie Advocate]].

Line 41:

Line 39:

** Even worse {{spoiler|they play into [[The Plan]] of the third party that would have led them to cause extinction of the human race, [[Unwitting Pawn|believing that they were destroying the Bioroids]].}}

** It's not that they don't believe that the Bioroids aren't sentient. They just believe that they will seek to dominate the humanity and create a sterile society straight out of the ''[[Brave New World (Literature)|Brave New World]]''. This is what Uranus believes, at least - Hades is just a racist.

* [[The Big O (Anime)|Roger Smith]] flip flops between believing this or [[Ridiculously Human Robots|the opposite]] regarding androids (specifically R. Dorothy Wayneright) throughout the series.

* [[The Big O (Anime)|Roger Smith]] flip flops between believing this or [[Ridiculously-Human Robots|the opposite]] regarding androids (specifically R. Dorothy Wayneright) throughout the series.

** Dorothy herself flipflops on the opinion.

* The girls in [[Gunslinger Girl]] are viewed by some to be simply machines, although they have all of the emotions you would expect a little girl to have. Jean in particular is incredibly callous to his assigned girl, Rico.

Line 88:

Line 86:

== Live-Action TV ==

* In ''[[~~Battlestar Galactica Reimagined (TV)|~~Battlestar Galactica Reimagined]]'', many humans have this attitude towards the Cylons, and are clearly wrong, but the near extermination of humanity is bound to breed hatred.

* In ''[[Battlestar Galactica Reimagined]]'', many humans have this attitude towards the Cylons, and are clearly wrong, but the near extermination of humanity is bound to breed hatred.

* Both versions of ''[[The Outer Limits (TV)|The Outer Limits]]'' adapted "I Robot" (based on thee [[Adam Link]] story by Eando Binder, not [[I Robot (Literature)|the book]] by [[Isaac Asimov]]). Each epsidoe has the robot put on trial. Part of the case was whether he was a sapient being deserving of rights under the US constitution or [[Just a Machine]]. {{spoiler|He wins the case, but dies in a [[Heroic Sacrifice]] at [[Cruel Twist Ending|the end of the episode]].}}

** For bonus points, {{spoiler|in the remake he sacrificed himself saving the prosecuting attorney who had argued against his sapience. In the original, he's destroyed while saving a little girl he'd accidentally injured earlier in the episode.}}

Line 118:

Line 116:

'''Clark:''' [[What Measure Is a Non-Human?|You're not a man]]. }}

** Then Clark kills him with a smile on his face.

* ''[[Power Rangers SPD]]'' has an episode featuring a robot (well, she's called a "cyborg", but all other dialogue in the episode indicates that she's 100% machine) who is about as [[Ridiculously Human Robots|ridiculously human]] as you can get, and yet, several characters insist on giving her the [[Just a Machine]] treatment. After Sky fires her from their military training center, he (and all the Rangers that supported him in this) gets a [[What the Hell, Hero?]] speech from Cruger, and they're forced to get her back.

* ''[[Power Rangers SPD]]'' has an episode featuring a robot (well, she's called a "cyborg", but all other dialogue in the episode indicates that she's 100% machine) who is about as [[Ridiculously-Human Robots|ridiculously human]] as you can get, and yet, several characters insist on giving her the [[Just a Machine]] treatment. After Sky fires her from their military training center, he (and all the Rangers that supported him in this) gets a [[What the Hell, Hero?]] speech from Cruger, and they're forced to get her back.

Line 129:

Line 127:

** All of this is subverted to Hell in ''[[Mass Effect 2 (Video Game)|Mass Effect 2]]'' with [[Spaceship Girl|EDI]] (your ship's AI) and {{spoiler|Legion, your geth teammate, who reveals that the geth you've been fighting are a splinter faction.}}

** ''[[Mass Effect 3 (Video Game)|Mass Effect 3]]'' continues the theme; both sympathetic and antagonistic characters have trouble with the idea of synthetics being truly "alive". You expect it from [[Mad Scientist|Admiral Xen]], but it's more of a shock to hear from [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_VGuf7OpzE& Dr Chakwas].

* [[Mega Man Zero]]: For this reason alone, {{spoiler|[[Big Bad|Dr. Weil]]}} started the Elf Wars, which more or less caused a post-[[Colony Drop]] world to become an even more [[Crapsack World]]. And because of this, {{spoiler|he}} is actually directly responsible for almost everything bad that ever happened in the whole series and the rest of the things are indirectly responsible {{spoiler|such as Copy X being made because the original X's body was being used to seal the Dark Elf}}. This is more [[Fantastic Racism]], though, as Reploids are [[Ridiculously Human Robots]].

* [[Mega Man Zero]]: For this reason alone, {{spoiler|[[Big Bad|Dr. Weil]]}} started the Elf Wars, which more or less caused a post-[[Colony Drop]] world to become an even more [[Crapsack World]]. And because of this, {{spoiler|he}} is actually directly responsible for almost everything bad that ever happened in the whole series and the rest of the things are indirectly responsible {{spoiler|such as Copy X being made because the original X's body was being used to seal the Dark Elf}}. This is more [[Fantastic Racism]], though, as Reploids are [[Ridiculously-Human Robots]].

* [[Super Robot Wars]]: What Vindel Mauser thought for the overall of Lemon's W-series. Before his [[Retcon]], Axel Almer used to have the same mindset (only maybe more extreme), but after [[Retcon]], [[Unexplained Recovery|he got better]]. Duminuss also utters this to Lamia Loveless if they ever meet in battle, which she vehemently denied.

* [[Tekken]]: Jin's response after Alisa getting beaten to crap by Lars to the point of shutting down is this. "Good riddance. I should've built one that protects me better". [[Tranquil Fury|Lars doesn't take it well.]]

Line 172:

Line 170:

[[Category:You Hate What You Are]]

[[Category:Just A Machine]]

[[Category:Trope]][[Category:Pages with comment tags]]