Category : Articles

Sub Category : Science and Technology

In countless science fiction stories and movies, the topic of androids are a hit with the general population. Who wouldn’t be? Robots that are designed by people to look, act and live like regular humans. Because of this, there has been a brewing debate about whether humans can create sentient artificial life. 

However, I believe that currently, the human intelligence is still not able to fully grasp the intricacies of the human life form. Because of that, it would take eons of time for people to generate artificial life from scratch. 

So where does this all lead? Introducing the ‘sentient’ android: on the outside, it is indistinguishable from humans, and is programmed with great detail such that it acts like people. It makes decisions based on programs, cry when harmed, smile when someone praises it- but actually does not have an inner soul or emotions at all. This would be the start of a larger problem at hand.

Why? How a human knows that another is sentient is based on how the other reacts to situations. A human would hug their parents in joy, look angry when their friend is hurt, confused and stutter in front of a crush. We feel that others are sentient because they react like us in those situations, so we think that they also feel emotions like us. This helps people to unite and communicate. But what if a robot is programmed to specifically exhibit emotions in those types of circumstances? They can cheat that system and pretend to be ‘human’.

What could someone do with android technology? Since the android is unmistakably human on the outside, you can essentially create another identity that is 100% under your control. Unhappy about someone? Send an android to kill him and the android gets arrested instead of you. Want lots of power, without being found out? Send androids to participate in national elections all over the world, and control the political world. With androids, you can have an invisible army doing your every bidding.

Another reason why such technology can be abused is the nature of people itself. We, as people, usually want the recognition and comfort of another human being, wanting them to show gratitude and acknowledge our existence. An android can be sent to befriend a person, and since the android does not actually have obligations and a life, the android can influence the life of another 24/7, making the person trust fully in the robot. Like this, you can manipulate people’s minds. In this day and age, having an interesting personality is crucial to fame and success. Many often respect large name celebrities, social media stars, even if they never met them before. With the android with the ‘perfect’ personality to cater to an impressionable audience, they would be none the wiser. An android can be programmed to win over the hearts of many people. 


Just think about it, what is your favorite character in a movie or storybook? Sorry to burst your bubble, but these personalities are imagined by people who might not even act like this character in daily life, and might not even exist. Just think about religion and how stories and figures from there could spark revolutions, war, miracles and love. What if people could create a great personality like that, and program it into a physical robot? Undeniably, the influence of even one can potentially change the world. 


The person who leads the android revolution can become the most powerful man alive, shaking humanity to our very core.