In the movie Blade Runner, replicants have similar physical and mental characteristics to humans, but they are created for a specific purpose, treated as tools, and often eliminated. In this article, we’ll discuss whether they can be considered human beings and whether it is ethically justifiable to use them only as a means to an end.
The movie Blade Runner presents a setting where a company mass-produces and sells replicants for a variety of purposes, including combat, sexual fulfillment, and general work. They are artificial beings designed for a specific purpose, acting on implanted, manipulated memories and programmed tendencies, and if they deviate from their purpose, they are “taken out” by a special police force called the Blade Runners. Interestingly, the process is never described as killing the replicants, only “eliminating” them. This reflects a social consensus to separate them from humans and treat them like objects rather than living beings. Is it right to treat them as objects in this way? I believe that they are human beings, and to use them simply as tools out of necessity is in itself unjust.
Before we get into the nitty gritty of this argument, we need to think about whether or not we can even define a replicant as a human being. If they are not human beings, but simply programmed machines, then there is nothing ethically wrong with removing them when they break down or malfunction. Indeed, the Blade Runners in the movie treat their replicants as tools and kill them without emotion. But can we say that they are not human? This brings us back to the question of what it means to be human.
To consider whether we can define a replicant as a human being, we must first define the characteristics of a human being. Humans are distinguished from other animals by their high intellectual capacity, rich emotions, upright walking, and social behavior. Rather than acting instinctively, humans have the ability to think rationally and make choices based on their high intellectual capacity. Reason is not just the ability to think logically, but also the ability to explore life and one’s existence, sometimes overriding instinct to make higher-order choices. Humans also feel unique emotions, empathize with the feelings of others, and form complex relationships. Machines and computers, on the other hand, are different from humans in that they simply react to programmed instructions and cannot feel emotions such as sadness, joy, or anger.
If we take a look at the cloned humans in Blade Runner, they are not simply clones created by copying genes. They are artificial life forms designed from existing human genes, intentionally created to mimic human characteristics. They are born as adults and have a limited lifespan of four years, but other than that, their physical characteristics are virtually indistinguishable from humans. Not only are they physically indistinguishable from humans, but they also possess high physical capabilities and agility, and can even be said to be superior to humans in physical terms. In other words, the only thing that distinguishes them from humans is that they are “designed by humans”. From this point of view, it is unreasonable to distinguish them from humans.
Mentally, they share some of the emotional traits of humans. The Voigt-Kampf test, which is used in movies to distinguish between humans and replicants, measures the change in emotions in response to questions. Replicants that are less emotional or show fewer emotions than humans have less subtle emotional changes and can be easily recognized by changes in eye color. However, in the movie, Tyrell explains that over time, replicants also develop emotions, suggesting that the line between human and replicant may be blurred through the interplay of emotions and memories. If replicants are given longer lifespans and develop emotions through memory and experience, it will be harder to distinguish them from humans.
This explanation is consistent with the formation of emotions in real humans. For example, women growing up in indigenous villages do not feel ashamed of exposing their breasts, suggesting that emotions like shame are shaped by environment and learning. In a real-life example, a boy was found in Chile in 2001 who had lived with stray dogs for 11 years shortly after birth and exhibited dog-like behavior. He was unable to speak properly and reacted differently from human society. In this way, even humans can develop emotions differently depending on their social experiences and environment.
Therefore, it can be said that there is little difference between A.I. and humans except for the difference in lifespan and age of birth, and the specificity of being created by humans. However, the issue of lifespan and age of birth can be solved through technological advancement, so ultimately, the only difference is that they are human creations. This is similar to slavery in the West during the Middle Ages or in Goryeo and Korea. Slaves were not treated as human beings, they were treated like livestock or property, and could be removed at any time by their masters, but we can never say that they were not human beings. After all, slaves were just as human as the ruling class.
And the best way to determine whether they were human or not is to place them among humans and see if they can live a social life. If they receive the same education as humans and integrate well into human society, then they have the same characteristics as humans. For example, a monkey could be educated the same as a human and placed in human society, but it would not become a human. On the other hand, a cloned human would likely have the same or similar characteristics to humans, both physically and mentally, and would be able to integrate into human society.
Opponents may argue that since they were created by humans for a specific purpose, they cannot be considered human. However, this begs the question of whether we should have the right to eliminate them because they are not human. We must first determine if they are human, and if so, how unethical it is to treat them as mere tools.
In conclusion, it is not right to judge cloned humans, who have the same physical and mental characteristics as humans, as not human simply because of differences in their birth process. They are entitled to the same rights as humans, and it is clearly wrong to use them only as tools for certain purposes. The replicants in Blade Runner are likely to be created to be more human-like as science advances in the future. The need to treat them as human beings will only increase.
