The Question Without An Answer

And If I Said I Don’t Know?

Up until taking this class, I’ve never questioned what it meant to be human. But then again, I’ve also never truly thought about how to define humanness, and whether it could apply to entities that don’t fit the biological criteria. Does our humanity only lie within our flesh, or does it transcend the vessel and rest within consciousness? But then, who or what does consciousness belong to? The issue happens to be so nuanced, that the answer to a question is another question. The genre of cyberpunk serves to answer what it means to be human by redefining it(humanness), often pushing the boundary by merging biological forms with technology. However, it makes you wonder when one stops being human? Is it directly tied to our biological composition or something more? Such is explored in the film Blade Runner, directed by Ridley Scott, and the novel Neuromancer written by William Gibson.

The Replicant or a Divergent?

In the film Blade Runner, we are introduced to a society in which we have a supreme division between humans and the ‘non-human’ replicants, which are synthetic beings created to imitate human life and serve as slaves. However, even though the replicants are synthetic and non-human, they often exhibit human traits in an enhanced capacity. This applies to their increased strength, eyesight, speed, and intelligence but also their empathy, which I personally find to be the most interesting. In society I feel as though we often assign entities importance based on how close they are to humans, specifically how susceptible they are to sensation and how deep their emotional understanding might be. With that said, in the film, we have these synthetic beings that were created by humans to imitate humans, but yet are somehow managing to surpass human capability. A major example is Roy Batty in his final moments; not only did he save Deckard, his enemy, but he reflects on his existence and his memories that have shaped him into who he is today. This shows that the replicants, even if not natural, are still able to grow and develop through experience. One would think that maybe this means the definition of human would need to be expanded or modified to include these replicants. Just like humans, they are created, they live, they experience, and then they expire, even if it is done methodically differently. There is without a doubt a split from the square idea of humanity, however I feel as though it would be an injustice to refer to these bioengineered peoples as replicants, as if they are copying humans, rather than just being divergent from our traditional understanding of what it means to be human.

AI Is To Orange as Human Is To Black

The novel Neuromancer, written by Willaim Gibson, also seeks to poke a stab at what it means to be human. In this universe we’re immersed in a society that is run by mega corporations and wealthy families rather than governments, in which their power grows through a global network instead of territory. Furthermore, we once again have these technological entities, the AIs that are created with the purpose to serve humanity but at times show more compassion and purpose than the average human individual. So, much so, we have those in power constantly trying to keep two super AI’s apart out of fear for what they may become and how they might overpower humanity if they come together. However, what I will say is that there is still more of an openness to technology in the story of Neuromancer, compared to Blade Runner, as we have characters who constantly merge themselves with technology. These modifications however are not seen as moving away from humanity but simply enhancing the biological features of the human body. This narrative without a doubt aligns with the theory of post humanism, in which to be human in future spaces means to merge with technology. However, we also see other perspectives towards human embodiment in which Case, the main character, refers to his body as meat, as if it is this valueless and inevitably rotting prison that keeps him trapped. Instead of modifying his body, Case seeks to simply be an unattached consciousness, however I don’t think Case is necessarily trying to escape his humanity. Thus once again, the question of what it means to be human is posed.

My Answer Can’t Be Yours

Both Neuromancer and Blade Runner explore what it means to be human. Each source provides instances in which the artificial beings of the universe display traits of humanity in ways that humans are incapable of. Furthermore, there are moments in which the human characters question their resolve and the foundation of their society. However, I don’t believe that the film nor the novel serve to give a concrete answer as to what it means to be human, and I don’t think they can. At the end of the day, the answer will always resonate differently with every individual. But we are not afforded the luxury to simply live by our own beliefs, there is always a societal standard that must be followed or else we face the consequence. So, I guess the real question isn’t what does it mean to be human. The real question is: Who gets to decide what it means to be human?

*AI was not used in any way or manner to create this post. It also was not used to help with structure or formatting.

Citations

Scott, R. (1982) Blade Runner: The Final Cut Warner Bros Entertainment

Gibson. W. (1984) Neuromancer Ace Books