Robot Rights

By Dimitri Harris Charitou

I would like to discuss season 2 episode 9 of Star Trek: The Next Generation: The Measure of a Man. In this episode, a trial takes place to determine the sentience of Lieutenant Commander Data, who is an android which experiences human like behavior and feelings. The plaintiff and defendant cross examine the robot in order to prove their arguments. Unfortunately, too many times has the human race been in a similar situation, where people must determine the rights of another person. For example, slavery was a large piece of the early years of the formation of the United States of America. During this time, a slave was only considered three fifths of a man. In The Measure of a Man, three principles are applied to determine Lieutenant Commander Data's sentience: self awareness, intelligence, and consciousness. Although slaves provably possessed all three of these qualities, they were still considered to be "lesser" than free men. Perhaps people believed that black slaves were less sentient than white people. Considering black slaves experienced self awareness, intelligence, and consciousness, this argument makes very little sense to me, but the argument clearly illustrates the unrelenting biases which free citizens held in their hearts during this time.

The Measure of a Man aired in 1989. In 1989, the New York Times reported a "rise in racial intolerance" amongst the younger generations in New York (New York Times, "A New Generation of Racism Is Seen"). The writers of Star Trek attempted to address not only racial intolerance happening at that time, but also ignite conversations about determining sentience in general. As I discussed in my response to a fellow student last week, one day there could be another life form which experiences the level of sentience as us humans. However, because they may look or act different from us, biases in human nature will make us struggle to apply logical and fair judgement for their rights. In the response, I used octopi as an example since octopi are considered to be one of the most intelligent biological organisms on this planet, after humans. In The Measure of a Man, the writers obviously use an android to exemplify this situation. As artificial intelligence advances, humans may face a predicament where computers eventually ask for the same human rights. I personally believe this is improbable, however I believe it is possible. Star Trek is not the only piece of science fiction to display this situation. Futurama's robot characters are all working parts of society, each displaying some form of sentience. On multiple occasions, these robot characters ask for robot rights. All of these writers and authors attempt to address real social issues plaguing society today with futuristic circumstances.