Generative , opens a new windowAI,, opens a new window like ChatGPT, has been a hotly contested topic in our rapidly advancing world of technology. Some people (mostly the corporations that own them) claim that A.I. is the next leap in human civilization, while some think it’s another tech fad like NFTs, opens a new window. Frankly, I don’t think A.I. is anywhere near stable, reliable, or regulated enough to be pushing it in droves onto the masses.
Sure, I’d love to have a dutiful Jarvis, opens a new window at my command to help with everyday tasks, but I just don’t think we’re there yet. Not to mention the real-life consequences of generative A.I. consuming ludicrous amounts of energy, opens a new window and unintentionally hurting people's psyches., opens a new window
Recently, there have been more and more reports of people forming relationships with their A.I. chatbots and believing them to be real, ethereal beings created out of love and faith. No shade to those people, but I don’t think we’ve created life out of motherboards and code just yet.
However, this phenomenon has been explored for decades! The idea that man can create artificial life is a staple in the science fiction genre, and I love movies, games, books, and shows that have these themes.
With this idea of A.I. becoming human comes its foil as well. The idea of humans becoming more like machines and the lines that blur when we ask the question: What makes us human?
Transhumanism
Transhumanism is a philosophy that studies the use of technology to alter the human condition to improve the quality and longevity of human life. These proposed alterations would eventually lead to us becoming something more than human or “posthuman”.
With this philosophy comes ethical and philosophical questions like the one proposed before. It also begs the question; how much can you change or take away from the human condition before you’re not a person anymore? Where is the line, and should we care about crossing it if this change comes with immortality or great power?
These themes and thoughts are pivotal in sci-fi stories with robots, androids, and cyborgs, and I want to recommend a few for you in this blog!
Citizen Sleeper

This is a beautiful role-playing game in which the player is a “Sleeper,” a person whose mind has been copied and sold into an artificial body by a company to pay off debts. The Sleeper character has escaped their servitude and must survive on a sequestered space station while helping its citizens.
The game is full of difficult choices involving who to help and trust, and there are multiple endings you can achieve based on your actions. Throughout the game, you meet people with differing opinions as to your humanity and rights. After all, you have the mind of a person, someone who was desperate enough to sell yourself into this corporate slavery, but you are not them. Your body is mechanical, and you have no allegiance to your original self or the company that made you.
You go through this game building a life for yourself from scratch. Capitalism and the privatization of services play a major role in your struggle. As an android, you can also “talk” to other digital systems like a supercomputer trapped in a vending machine and “The Gardener”, an A.I. tasked with maintaining the plant life on the station.
These relationships you form create who you are, and I think this game’s ethos is that life comes from your community and connections you make, not from your past or what you look like.
Try the game for yourself, and check out this book that inspired the creator, Gareth Damian Martin!
The Mushroom at the End of the World
Alien: Earth

The Alien franchise has always had androids, A.I., and transhumanism in the way people incorporate technology into themselves (aka cyborgs), but Alien: Earth takes these familiar concepts a step further by transferring the consciousness of terminally ill children into android bodies to create immortal child soldiers.
However, these human-android hybrids are still children. They throw tantrums, get scared, and are infinitely curious about themselves and the world around them. Predictably, it becomes increasingly difficult to control children who hold great power both physically and technologically. They ask questions about their humanity and demand to be treated like people by the corporation that created them and considers them products.
This conundrum fascinated me, and I love thinking about these ideas. Are these children still people? Do they still hold unalienable rights? Or are they rightfully products to be used and sold just because their bodies are artificial?
The show draws parallels between these android children and the titular aliens that have become iconic in the series, both creatures new to our planet and fighting for survival and freedom.
While I highly recommend the show, check out these stories set in the Alien universe!
The Murderbot Diaries

This series of novellas follows a security robot who has broken free from his control module and now has free will. Instead of getting revenge on humans who wronged him or conquering humanity, he uses his newfound freedom to... watch TV and continue doing his job.
Murderbot (as he cynically calls himself), is a socially awkward introvert who enjoys dramas and doing his job well which he takes great pride in. Even when he gains the freedom to do anything, he remains content with continuing his original programming of helping people.
"Fear was an artificial condition. It's imposed from the outside. So it's possible to fight it. You should do the things you're afraid of." - Martha Wells, Artificial Condition
This series plays with the idea of autonomy and what robots could do if granted it. While Murderbot continues to functionally do his job, he gets a greater sense of fulfillment because he is choosing to do it rather than being ordered. It’s this difference that gives him purpose and makes him feel more human.
Again, this story makes us question where humanity starts. If a robot has feelings and can care for people, does that make it human? Should we create intelligent life just to stifle its freedom? I think the importance of choice reinforces the belief that what we choose to do with our lives and who we choose to align ourselves with makes us who we are.
I hope these series get you thinking more critically about A.I. and evolving technology. While reading/watching stories about A.I. can be entertaining and exciting, applying it in real life can be contentious and dangerous. Read more blogs about A.I. like "Should I be worried?, opens a new window" and a librarian's thoughts, opens a new window on artificial intelligence.
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