Artificial Humans example essay topic

! SSBlade Runner: Creator and Created!" What does it meant to be human? What is reality? What are the moral issues we face when creating artificial humans? These are the questions Ridley Scott seeks to answer in his film Blade Runner. As technology and science advances, we see human tries to act like god in many ways, such as creating artificial humans and animals; yet, in such action, man also encounters many consequences. In addition, questions relating to the meaning of life, the definition of human race, and the moral issues concerning creating artificial humans are also raised.

The story begins in postmodern Los Angeles with its permanent dark cloud of smog, its advertising billboards hundreds of feet high, its unimaginable skyscrapers tower over streets, and its street poverty living side by side with incredible wealth, in 2019. Rick Deckard, a main character, is a retired! SSBlade Runner, !" whose task is to terminate the replicants! Artificial humans, indistinguishable from real human besides the fact that they have no memories and only have four-year lifespans. Though created as humans, replicants are not treated as humans; therefore, this mission is called! SS retirement!" instead of execution.

In the midst of this mission, the only replicants remain are Leon, Roy, Z hora, Pris, and Rachael. In the film, the technological advancement in the future world enables us to have the opportunity in creating many things, even to the extent of creating artificial life; hence, by creating human, man is analogous in playing god's role. For example, Tyrell and Sebastian artificially create the replicants through genetic engineering. Furthermore, Tyrell intend his replicants to be!

SSmore human than human, !" which meant that they are made to represent the best of humans in their abilities. Yet, the replicants are imperfect creations, because, unlike humans, they have no memories. That is the reason why the replicants want to collect pictures, so that they can keep track of their past. Furthermore, their reactions and feelings are artificially programmed. The Voight-Kampf f test, !

SS designed to provoke emotional responses, !" can be used in order to distinguish them from human. Also, the replicants can only live for four years once they are created.! SSThe light that shines twice as bright burns half as long, !" said Tyrell, in reference to the short lifespan of his creations and that they are, indeed, made as good as they can be. With his wealth and power, Tyrell has tried to act like god not only in creating humans, but also in his living environment.

Because of his arrogance, Tyrell portrays himself as a god-like figure. He lives in a pyramid-like structure high about the rest of the population. In some ways, his home resembles that of a god in ancient Aztec culture. Tyrell is also very proud of his task because when he meets Roy, a replicants, Tyrell said, ! Show does it feel to meet your maker?

!" This shows that Tyrell sees himself in a higher social status. In spite of some imperfection, Tyrell is very satisfied with his marvelous works, since he calls Roy! SSthe Prodigal Son. !" However, Tyrell's act in!

S Splaying!" god has many consequences. After the replicants have accomplished their task in fighting for the uprising on an outer world, their execution is ordered by the police. The replicants, in return, revolt and ruthlessly slaughter many humans in their journey to locate their creators, Tyrell and Sebastian. Roy finds Tyrell, he asks, ! SSI want more life, father!

K!" Roy, knowing that his life cannot be extended, killed his creator ruthlessly by poking through his eyes. Therefore, Tyrell's creations not only lead to the death of others, but also his own death. He has created life to destroy his own race. Furthermore, due to scientific advancement, the issues concerning morality in creating artificial human or replicants are also raised. For example, though Rachael's memories are implanted inside her brain as an experiment, the memories in her mind are like building blocks of her past. They are very vivid, just like ours.

Even though her memories are not authentic, her past is real in her own mind. Are the memories any less real if they are implanted? If Rachael has a past, even though it is make-belief, doesn! |t that humanize her even more? Where should we draw the line between human and nonhuman? In order to distinguish what is human and what is not, we first have to define the meaning of life. According to the Oxford Dictionary, life is a!

SS state of functional activity and continual change peculiar to organize matter. !" (p. 580) The replicants do not grow physically in their sizes, but they do grow mentally. For example, Roy appears to realize the preciousness of life before his death, that's why he saves Decker's life. If replicants are considered alive, we, then, have to define what it meant to be human. According to the Oxford Dictionary, human is! SS distinguished from animals by superior mental development, power of articulate speech, and upright posture. !" (p. 485) The replicants have the ability to stand upright and the ability to speak. They also have feelings and thoughts.

For examples, Rachael falls in love with Decker, and Roy endures terrible pain when he pierces a nail through his own hand. Therefore, the replicants are, indeed, humans according to the dictionary. Yet, according to the film, replicants are not considered human because they are ruthlessly murdered. Even so replicants try to prove their true identities as humans. When Sebastian asks the replicants to perform some miraculous act, Roy reply, ! SS We are no computers!

We are physical! !" Sebastian also told Roy, ! SS There is some of me in you, !" hinting that Roy may have some of Sebastian's genetic heritage or having the image of a man. The replicants also have the notion of!

SSI think therefore I am. !" (Pris) Therefore, if Pris believes that she is a human, then she is one. Even though replicants are not treated as humans in the film, the ending seems to portray that Roy has finally turned human. Though Roy destroys his own creator, in the end, he saves Decker when Decker is about to fall to his death.

Roy is able to empathize with Deckard on the brink of his own death.! SSI! |ve seen things, !" he says, recalling his lifetime experience, ! Small those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain! K!" Indeed, he has turned! S Shuman!" in the end because he is not physical and passionate, but also moral and empathetic. He understands that Pris, his love, cannot come back to life again, so he chooses to save and!

SS grant!" life. Roy has been a slave and a fugitive all his life, but he finally accepts his own destiny. His last words are, ! SS Time!

K to die. !" Only humans would have such empathy and passion for lives, therefore, Roy has indeed turned human in all aspect. He is considered! SSmore human than human!" in accordance to Tyrell's motto. The ultimate relevance of Blade Runner is its challenge of questioning what it must mean to be human. It also raises the doubt as to our own humanity or lack of it.

These are also the same issues raised by many religions and philosophies in the past. Today, several states including California, have banned the notion of creating artificial humans. Yet, no one can predict what will happen or how technology will advance in the future. One day, we may have to face the same questions again as to how we define human or where we should draw the line between what is alive and what is not. Remember, though technology can benefits us in many ways, it can also become dangerous when man wants power, just like the replicants in the film or the nuclear bomb today.