“The question of whether a computer can think is no more interesting than the question of whether a submarine can swim. » Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”? Get the original essay This quote from Edsger W. Dijkstra is a fantastic illustration of the issue surrounding the world of artificial intelligence. These technologies have become so accessible in today's society that we don't really think about, or consider, where we should draw the line for imposing human characteristics on artificial beings. This does not mean that we do this only with technologies; in fact, the human race has a bad habit of even trying to impose its experiments on animals. Is it our fault if we question the relational aspects surrounding artificial intelligence? Better yet, when do we consider things human? Is it our ability to form relationships through thought and passion, or the way we can hold a conversation? At some point, humans found the sweet spot where we can “recognize” and “determine” what is artificial, but there’s a good chance we’ll be wrong. In Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie, relationships and artificial intelligence are strong themes throughout. The main character, One Esk/Breq, raises many questions about the abilities that the helpers, the AIs, possess in the space world society where the book takes place. The one event that throws the AI ​​world into chaos is directly related to One Esk's ability to choose his favorite lieutenants. As the alternating chapters progress, readers see the attachment she formed with Lieutenant Awn while stationed on the planet Ors. When things go wrong on Ors, Anaander Mianaai, the leader of Radch, asks Awn to return to Toren's justice system. Mianaai then orders another aide to kill Awn, and the aide complies. It is important to note that all auxiliaries aboard the Justice of Toren share a common operating system, a unified label. Toren's Justice was their identity, but the auxiliaries themselves were still individuals capable of making intelligent decisions. This is why when One Esk realizes Awn has been killed, she is visibly upset. An Esk's ability to form and care for relationships is most evident at this point and we definitely see the definition of "human" beginning to change. If a helper can care, does that make them human? Understanding the analysis of another relationship dynamic is crucial. Breq's meeting with Seivarden marks the beginning of another interesting bond. Seivarden is obviously not one of Breq's favorites, but she is always obligated to take him with her and take care of him. Breq even throws himself off a bridge to save Seivarden at one point. His inner dialogue is thought provoking: “I didn't know why I jumped but in that moment it didn't matter, in that moment there was nothing else” (Leckie 199 ). With Seivarden formerly serving as lieutenant, this likely contributes to Breq's inability to not keep an eye on him. The relationship slowly changes as Seivarden eventually becomes Breq's subordinate figure. He follows her everywhere and swears never to leave her. The dedication Seivarden displays towards Breq is something we would define as a humanistic trait in all relationships. The connection between these two characters is reversed from the care and dedication Breq showed towards Awn. THEaspects of these two relationships are interesting to analyze and compare. Lieutenant Awn knew and recognized that One Esk was an auxiliary. Yet she still showed him attention. Although his affections were not explicit, both Awn and One Esk preferred each other over the other lieutenants and auxiliaries. Awn even states that "One Esk's singing doesn't bother me" (Leckie 181) and apologizes for One Esk thinking that it did. After Awn's murder, One Esk began his search for revenge. Desperate to kill Anaander Mianaai, she created his human appearance. Was it his ability to care for someone that made his disguise believable, or was it his skill that allowed him to hide his true identity? Regardless, when Seivarden got involved, he immediately believed that One Esk was a human named Breq. More so, do we consider Breq human? If we abandon the organic and biological definitions of human and look at all other aspects, Breq aligns. She has goals, thinks about life, and realizes that death is a possibility during her mission. Breq is a sentient entity, with just altercations changing its human makeup to technology. She appears to be human, can speak as if she were human, and interacts with others as if she were human. An ordinary citizen would not even recognize Breq's true identity. How could we as humans say that we can easily distinguish Breq from any real living thing. Our misinterpreted ways of defining humanity have bridged the gap between what is real and what is not. This concept has been around since we started imposing human characteristics on non-human things, an idea also known as anthropomorphism. Similarly, in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, life is literally granted to the dead. Victor Frankenstein is a scientist with a passion for resuscitation, almost transforming himself into a god-like figure. He tops off exactly that with the creation of his monster, an atrocious looking one stitched from random, mismatched corpse parts. Even though the monster is a breathing, biological, semi-organic human being, others have difficulty categorizing it as such. Right after creating the monster, Victor abandons it. He tells Victor that “God, out of pity, created man beautiful and attractive, in his image; but my form is a dirty type of yours” (Shelley 142). He never really received the care, love and understanding he deserved. This leaves the monster seeking some sort of revenge, much like One Esk did with Lieutenant Awn. Each creation in these novels was abandoned by someone who was important in their life. The monster was abandoned by his own creator and One Esk by his favorite lieutenant. The similarities between the characters and their relationships in both novels continue to build. The monster ends up changing and enhancing its humanist qualities. To do this, he moves into a cabin behind a family who lives in a chalet. By analyzing the way the family interacts and behaves with each other, the monster begins to learn. He gains knowledge of language and speech by reading books such as Paradise Lost; thanks to this education, the monster ends up finding Victor. Victor learns all of this as the monster tells its story. Their relationship begins to change at this point; due to Victor gaining a newfound respect for the monster. There's a new level of understanding and acceptance between the characters that wasn't there before. The monster is now more "human" as for Victor, much like Breq's take on Seivarden in Ancillary Justice. Breq and the.