Ying Xin Jiang
Professor Poe
FIQWS Writing
November 5, 2018
Annotated Bibliography- Detroit: Become Human
Alač, Morana. “Moving Android: On Social Robots and Body-in-Interaction.” Social
Studies of Science, vol. 39, no. 4, 2009, pp. 491–528. JSTOR, JSTOR,
www.jstor.org/stable/27793307.
This source talks about how the fluidity of the movement of the android is important to how the android is perceived. This point ties into how mimicking human behavior and actions can make the android seem “human”. In Detroit: Become Human, all of the androids are advanced to the point that they can integrate into human society, and cannot be differentiated by their appearance. Therefore, at least on the outside, the androids in the game are considered human. This source doesn’t seem to be biased and the purpose is to inform the audience about the progress of android advancement.
Blades, David. “The Pedagogy of Technological Replacement.” Counterpoints, vol. 193,
2003, pp. 205–226. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/42978067.
This source talks about how the lines between human and android have become muddy due to the close integration of technology into human lives. It also talks about mortality is an important part of what makes a human. In Detroit: Become Human, Connor has the luxury of having multiple bodies, but he loses his memories, so in both of those ways he is inhuman. This article argues that technology and human-life have become a whole. Therefore, it can’t be said that the android is wholly human or that the human is an android. The source’s purpose is to inform the audience about the integration and perhaps the eventual take over of technology.
Andrew Stein. “Can Machines Feel?” Math Horizons, vol. 19, no. 4, 2012, pp. 10–13.
JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/10.4169/mathhorizons.19.4.10.
This source connects back to one of my arguments about identity and the free thought of androids. The reporter has a conversation with an android called Bina48 and talks to her about thought and opinion provoking topics like politics and religion. It is also important to mention that Bina48 has the face of an existing human, who is the commissioner of the robot’s spouse. The robot is supposed to be an imitation of her. Therefore, the answers to the opinionated questions were not original to the robot. Despite this, it claims that Bina48’s answers are dynamic and different, and even goes as far as to say she may be a different person. The source seems to not go in depth into the artificial nature of the robot and dismisses the fact that at its core, the robot takes the identity and image of another being.
WHEALE, NIGEL. “Recognising a ‘Human-Thing’: Cyborgs, Robots and Replicants in
Philip K. Dick’s ‘Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” and Ridley Scott’s ‘Blade Runner.’” Critical Survey, vol. 3, no. 3, 1991, pp. 297–304. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/41556521.
This source defines the requirements of what an android needs to be considered a human, and for them to not be a threat to humanity. Wheale’s checklist can be simply defined as the androids having compassion and understanding for humans. If this is the case, then the deviant androids in Detroit: Become Human, would be considered human. Wheale gives examples from multiple novels that deal with the concept of the humanism of androids, so his conclusion would be based off diversified viewpoints. However, this source is an article that is targeted towards college students in order to pique their interest in science fiction. The author argues that a reason why science fiction isn’t popular in general is due to the fact that science fiction is thought to lack any sort of “developed personalities or relationships”(298). Therefore, this shows that Wheale is slightly biased and might be trying to argue that androids are capable of human-like qualities.
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