Ryan Pinckney
English 102-101
Prof. Christine Boese
01/24/99

In this century, there have been many inventions that make life easier and more enjoyable.  The television, the fax machine, the assembly line, and the computer are just a few of these wonderful inventions.  In the late 1800’s, a man who worked for the United States Patent Office said that everything that could have possibly been invented had already been invented.  Now, it seems like technology will never quit improving.  Although there have been many improvements in technology that better the world, there have also been some that can do massive amounts of damage.  Nuclear weapons have become insanely powerful.  Terrorism is easier due to automatic weapons and bombs.  In the future, human replicants might be created.  If created, these replicants could benefit society in many ways.  If they were created as slaves they could also possibly harm society if they ever became too difficult to control.  Technology is moving ahead too quickly and if human replicants are ever made, they should either be given a choice of how they live their life or be destroyed in order to avoid a possible apocalypse.

Human beings are sentient beings.  My definition of a sentient being is a being that has thoughts and emotions and can make its own decisions.  I do not, however, believe that all sentient beings have the right to live.  For example, if a human murders another human, the murderer should be punished by being killed.  In the movie Blade Runner, a futuristic world is shown where replicants of human beings have been created.  Some of these replicants, called Nexus 6 models, have superior intellectual and physical qualities.  The only way to distinguish between a Nexus 6 and a human being is supposedly by a test that monitors movement of the retina.  These Nexus 6 replicants would actually be sentient beings by my definition.  If memories are implanted into their heads, Nexus 6 replicants are sometimes not even aware that they are replicants.  If Nexus 6 replicants did exist and one was killed, the murderer (human or replicant) would need to be punished, in my opinion.  Some would say that a being is not a sentient being unless they were born as a human being.  This seems to be a true statement, these people should also consider that at one point in time replicants might be made to behave and think just like humans, with the same emotions and everything.  They would then most likely realize that other forms of sentient beings might exist in the future.  The question of a soul, however, baffles me.  I do not see how a manufactured being could be sentient if it did not have a soul.  But I do not know how a soul works or even what it is, so I am not sure whether or not manufactured beings would have souls.

Slavery has existed for thousands of years.  Whole countries have been captured and forced to be slaves.  I could not live my life being a slave.  I would either escape or die trying.  Sentient beings should not be forced to be slaves under any circumstances, in my opinion.  And because I consider advanced replicants to be sentient beings, I do not believe that they should be forced to be slaves either. Imagine living your whole life without being able to make the decisions you are able to make now.  Slavery offers cheap labor to employers.  The problem is that the slaves do not get paid for their work.  They do get a place to live and food to eat, but that is given to them only because it will keep them healthy enough to work.  I would never force another sentient being to be my slave.

If advanced replicants (cyborgs) like those in Blade Runner are created; much chaos could possibly come as a result.  As with any new technology, after one replicant is made, each new one will get better and better until there is almost no distinction between humans and replicants.  Replicant slaves could eventually rebel against their owners, as in Blade Runner.  If there is no way to distinguish between humans and replicants, replicants who escape from their owners’ control would easily be able to integrate into society.  This is why I believe that all sentient beings, including advanced replicants, should be free to choose how they carry out their lives.  If they are not given this choice, they should be destroyed so they do not have to experience their lives as slaves.  Am I analyzing this situation too much?  After all, replicants that are as good as those in Blade Runner might never be created.  Technology is difficult to predict accurately, though.  The way technology has advanced so much in the past twenty years leads me to believe that good replicants might be made in the distant future.  Even so, precautions should be taken to avoid such a foolish mistake as creating sentient beings for cheap labor.

Technology has come a long way and still has a ways to go.  Scientists have cloned a sheep already.  The Internet allows people to communicate with other people from all parts of the world.  With all the new advancements come new responsibilities to be considered.  Sentient beings must be protected.