Humans versus Humanoids? The Portrayal of Androids in "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" and "Detroit: Become Human"

Lukas Bay

• Publisher: GRIN Verlag
• Year: 2025
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9783389110768
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: English Literary Criticism
• Index: Literature

Seminar paper from the year 2024 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1,0, University of Tubingen (English Department), course: Contemporary Science Fiction, language: English, abstract: How does the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence influence our lives? Where do these developments lead? Will androids soon come into existence? And how might the existence of such advanced machines reshape our society? Science Fiction explores a plethora of imagined futures, many of which face these exact questions. For this reason, a closer look at the depictions of such issues in Science Fiction promises interesting perspectives on these and other questions. To be able to focus on this precise theme – the complex relation between man and machine amidst fears of being replaced – a closer look at the portrayal of artificial humanoids, i.e. androids, stands to reason. While the abovementioned developments are rather recent, androids and other forms of humanoid robots have been a staple in science fiction since its invention. "In both the 20th and 21st centuries, various SF writers illustrate characters and technological creations which cause doubts about the boundaries between human and machine." Both Philip K. Dick's classic 1968 novel "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" and Quantic Dream's 2018 video game "Detroit: Become Human" offer interesting and varying perspectives on the issue. Both are famous in their own rights for their depiction of androids and the societal issues they explore and serve as promising grounds to closely analyze androids and their societal implications in different settings. Among experts, there is no doubt that "Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics are accelerating. […] This fast-moving field of science and technology requires our careful attention." Especially in light of recent developments, questions about human exceptionalism in a world of advanced artificial intelligence intensify.