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Resolved: Lt. Commander Data Is Not a Person
Star Trek is a frequent topic of conversation at Ricochet, and with a new Trek feature film and new Television series impending, it’s a topic which once again merits some discussion.
At its finest, Star Trek is much less space opera than it is high-concept science fiction which explores philosophical issues using the trappings of space travel as a backdrop. I have several thoughts that I’d like to get people’s take on.
Since I was young, I’ve been fascinated by the ninth episode of season 2, of The Next Generation called The Measure of a Man.
In this episode, The Enterprise arrives at a star base whereupon a Starfleet researcher, Commander Bruce Maddox, insists that Data accompany him to essentially be disassembled and studied in order to be copied. In due course, Data would be reassembled, his memories restored and be free to continue his service to Starfleet.
Data refuses to have what is at best, a speculative mechanical procedure performed on him, and when ordered to undergo it, he resigns from Starfleet in protest.
Much high courtroom drama ensues when Riker (prosecution) and Picard (Data’s defense) are pitted against one another by a Starfleet magistrate to argue for or against the idea that Data is Starfleet’s property, and thus has no right to decline being taken apart.
Various tests are undertaken to demonstrate that Data is a man-made machine and not human – for instance, he displays unnatural strength, is able to calculate tremendously large numbers and can retain vast quantities of information. Data is synthetic, and Riker pointedly demonstrates this by removing one of Data’s limbs and then switching him off.
Shocked at Riker’s ruthlessness, Picard retreats to the counsel of barkeep Guinan (Whoopi Goldberg… come on, it was the late 80’s) who hands Picard the key to winning any argument: comparing a situation you don’t like to slavery and then changing the subject from the matter at hand.
Guinan’s contention is that, if allowed to have his way, Maddox would essentially be copying Data into a whole race of androids (a race of Datum?) which would have been the equivalent of “disposable people” or “slaves” belonging to the Federation, being sent on various dangerous missions (replicate some Red Shirts!) or as an inexhaustible supply of soldiers.
The second part – the changing of the subject – is where Picard’s argument goes far off the rails. The Captain challenges the court to show that Data isn’t sentient after showing that Data is both intelligent and self-aware. Aside from the absurdity of being forced to prove a negative (the burden of proof should always lie with the party making extraordinary claims) which the Magistrate should have rejected on the grounds of Popperian unfalsifiability there are other issues at hand as well.
First off, even though Data is a cunningly devised human simulacrum designed to allow humans to interact with him in a natural fashion, he nonetheless lacks the capacity to experience emotions. While surely the Lt. Commander could pass the Turing Test he also equally lacks the ability to form emotional bonds or experience love, which are critical features of the human experience.
Second is the question of whether or not Data is actually even alive. While there are plenty of examples of life that we can point to which are unusual (even in a galaxy as diverse as Star Trek’s) it’s hard to argue that Data actually fits into any of those categories. Life at its most granular level is a self-perpetuating chemical reaction. Even viruses are not considered to be living organisms while bacteria are. By comparison, Data lacks many of the features of even a simple paramecium.
He cannot replicate himself, and did not lose such ability through age or damage. He is capable of being dismembered and reassembled with little consequence, as is put on display multiple times. Also, unlike sentient biological entities he exhibits the limited ability to transfer his consciousness into a new body, meaning he cannot suffer biological death. Even the normal cessation of mental activity which would define brain death or the end of consciousness for biological entities is defied by Data. If Data is alive, he certainly displays characteristics far outside of the normal parameters of what is considered “life.”
Lastly there is the human component to be considered. In “The Measure of a Man” it is ultimately decided that Data is not Starfleet property and has the ability for self determination. Data makes the decision that he will not undergo Commander Maddox’s procedure and continues with Starfleet. It’s hard to tell how many lives this decision ends up costing the Federation.
For instance, when the Federation ultimately engages in war with the Dominion, think of the possibilities: perhaps they could have warships crewed mostly by autonomous androids. Even if each Datum had 75% of Data’s capabilities this might be a bonus because they would have most of the capabilities but correspondingly less sense of self and therefore follow orders unflinchingly but make combat decisions flawlessly. This robot army would represent a massive strategic advantage to the Federation against the Founders without facing the ethical dilemmas of sending humans or other sentient beings into battle. What is dead can never die, after all.
So, it is resolved. Not only is Lt. Commander Data not a person… he isn’t even alive. Under that heading, the Federation should have copied him to the best of their abilities to save the lives of those who could die.
Published in General
In the Start Trek Universe, Data fits. Heck the Enterprise gave birth to something. Was Tin Man Alive? It was a biological ship.
Data is clearly as able to make his own choices as a human being. If we have free will, so did he. If not, then we are all just machines and it does not matter at all.
Calling down the Q Continuum in Star Trek is the neutron bomb of Deus Ex Machina. The Bajoran Prophets are somewhat similar. Q actually mocks Data as being a puppet or a tin man or somesuch if I’m not mistaken. At any rate, he’s an imitation of life even if a very sophisticated one.
Also, this song seems relevant:
(Please ignore the virtue signalling Dick Cheney reference. The rest of the song is worth it.)
I thought that too, but the Star Trek universe seems soulless, and I believe Mr. Roddenberry wanted it that way.
I also wondered, if the “pattern” was stored, why couldn’t it be edited? Or filtered? ( I think they did edit a pattern once, but I don’t know which episode that was).
Very much so. Off means off. That means that biological function has ceased. Data has no biological functions per se… he just turns off without any negative consequence. He also has no recollections of anything happening when he’s off, indicating that within Star Trek’s metaphysical world he has no soul or there is no afterlife for broken computers.
Anesthesia is merely a way of keeping a patient from feeling a doctor sawing them open. All of the screaming is very distressing to humans. Even open heart surgery isn’t “shutting people off” – their cellular machinery is still functioning and they’re alive… just sleeping. This is different in kind from Data whose functions cease only to be turned back on later.
The closest analog might be hibernation – but even then, the cells of the hibernating animal still respirate. Certain animals are capable of hibernating in a state of suspended animation for years, but not indefinitely or even for very long periods of time, such as Data does in Time’s Arrow… while dismembered.
Given that I know people who I am not sure could pass the Turing test, I’m not sure there is any criterion that can clearly delineate Data/Human based on performance. But if all they wanted was to duplicate him, they ought to be able to “fix” one of their transporters like previous episodes indicated sometime happens spontaneously. Unless the copy has to be evil, for some reason ….
Very tetchy devices, Transporters. Given the number of accidents they cause you’d think they would have been banned by now…
Because he has risk his life in numerous other situations when such human notions as duty, honor or service required it.
So you think the distant future won’t have a CPSC or OSHA equivalent?
Starfleet is like the UN on steroids.
Have you seen a single episode? There’s a stick of dynamite hidden in every console!
We can induce comas and then wake people from them – the method is different but the principle is the same.
So they can set standards but don’t have to follow them. Gotcha.
I pretty sure I never watched The Measure of a Man, though I think I saw it referenced occasionally in subsequent episodes. Unlike the original series, I haven’t watched all the other Star Trek episodes, partly because as I got older, Star Trek obsession turned into enthusiasm, and then less than that, and eventually I moved on to other things. I still enjoy a good sci-fi yarn, but Star Trek has gotten old. I’m thankful my obsession never included wearing uniforms, Vulcan ears, or speaking Klingon.
But I guess I was always a little impatient with the idea of Data, just as I am with the idea that animals are sentient. I always thought that the idea of making Data an officer in Star Fleet, of even having him go through the Academy (why if he doesn’t need to study or train?) was kind of off-base.
But what I also objected to with the premise of The Measure of a Man was that this legal proceeding should have been conducted before allowing Data to even join Star Fleet. Which is why I never went back to watch it.
They can’t have killed as many people as the automobile.
Well, obviously Data didn’t need to go to the Academy to learn facts. But creating an officer isn’t about shoving facts into a plebe’s head — it’s about internalizing a culture and ethos, learning how to give and receive orders, learning how to formulate tactics and strategy — even learning how to lose with honor (the Kobiyashi Maru). Data struggled at several aspects of Academy live with his poor social skills (Remember how bad he was during the Farpoint Mission? That was after he’d been in StarFleet for sixteen years.)
Data isn’t a person/alive, because he was created by man. As such, no matter what his level of intelligence or seeming independence, he can’t be a person. He has no soul.
We’re up to 9 recommends. Probably everyone currently online that is so inclined has already done so. Have to wait for the morning shift.
Someone around here turned me on to http://www.missionlogpodcast.com/ . Thanks. Just about perfectly matches my commute. I’m keeping up with BBCA reruns of TNG and re-living TOS on the Blu-ray “remastered” series.
Data as sentient or not is endless fun. Just recently (on Mission Log, that is) the question was addressed in “In Theory” (a love story) and “Redemption.” In “Redemption,” Data takes command of a ship crewed by folks who doubt his authority, since he’s not sentient. Data takes charge. Verdict: Sentient bad ass.
Correction. People are routinely killed for certain medical procedures and then revived. We can in fact stop your heart (for I believe nearly 30 minutes now) and revive you (under controlled setting of course). The fact that a machine is more durable should not give it less weight in these matters. The simple question is how would you be able to prove your own personhood without resorting to tautological statements? Would Data be able to employ similar arguments? If he can then I would argue he is a person (at least in the broad sense, ie. the same way a Vulcan is a person).
Clearly Data is not human, but neither is Spock, or Q. Clearly data is not biological, but neither is Q. Is Q a person?
I don’t think you can make this argument outside of the Star Trek cannon. In Star Trek Q is not a Deus Ex Machina. He is only that to the audience. Internally he/they are a real being as much as any other character.
Data may have been made as an imitation of life, but he clearly exists within Star Trek as a separate and unique form of life, much like the Q. I don’t follow why a biological machine such as Picard should be held so much more sacred then a mechanical one? Especially considering that there is no metaphysics in Star Trek.
I think it is well established that in fact there is no metaphysics in Star Trek. Every possibility of metaphysics has a clear scientific explanation even if it is a made up one. Therefore there is no afterlife for any of the characters. Death means oblivion for all. This is not apparent to any of the characters themselves, because they can not be aware of their existence as story characters, but it is clear to us the audience. Simply put according to the premise of Star Trek the entire universe is populated with various kinds of machines (biological, mechanical, bio-mechanical, crystalline, gaseous, trans-dimensional etc.). Being a purely materialistic universe no one form of matter/energy is more valuable or significant than another. If Data can be made property so can Warf.
There is no proof any character in Star Trek has a soul. The soul argument requires we impose upon the show things that it itself does not suggest. It is a make belief world it operates under its own rules. Star Trek is clearly a purely materialist universe. Your argument would be better if we were talking about a real Data, but there is no such thing only the character.
No, its not dynamite it is simply sympathetic energy transmission. The integration of the ships circuits is such that destruction of a part of the ship leads to an overload of all panels connected to that section.
I’m recommending this post for promotion because, while I’m not much for Star Trek, it’s an interesting debate and a great distraction from THJ.
But a warning from us Babylon 5 fans:
For a von Neumann Machine, or universal constructor, it’s quite normal.
Kosh I. So much nicer than Kosh II: The Revenge of the Vorlons.
Consider Berserkers. If Data is alive, then it can be argued that Berserkers are just as alive. Which, given that they are programmed to destroy all life, means they must destroy themselves.
So, convincing them that they are alive may, in fact, be the best defense against them.
I think the point of the comment was that a design of circuits like that is inherently, comically unsafe, and would be easy to fix. As in, it’s a problem that was solved in the forties, because the trope of the exploding console come from old fighter planes whose controls could blow up because they were tied directly into fuel lines.