Within the story developed by Ted Chiang, I believed that the digients were often compared to humans, for example Robyn narrated the digients’ development in a way that made them analogous to infant human children. Some similarities were learning to move limbs and understanding how solid objects function. Upon closer examination of the text, it appears that the digients are intentionally depicted ambiguously in their comparisons. The digients in daycare were noted to be physically identical to the digients that were in early forms of development, meaning that they were developmentally stagnant. In addition to this, the panda digient in daycare produced a “braying” sound, which was related to how Robyn suggested that Ana’s study of primate communication would be of assistance to their program. These two events in the text suggested that the digients were incapable of nuanced human speech and thereby reduced to animalistic sounds.
Chiang portrays the digients as dissimilar to humans in being incapable of nuanced speech while sharing many similar capacities, thus questioning the consciousness of any entity incapable of communication at the average level of a human. Together they suggest the potentiality of communication being neither sufficient nor necessary for consciousness, when coupled with the fact that the reader is never given the insight of digients as focal points, leaving their status ambiguous throughout the story. Using this nebulous perspective, Chiang elaborates on real-world concerns regarding the consciousness of individuals affected by mental disabilities, children who may not be fully developed, animals, as well as future artificial intelligence that may be incapable of nuanced communication.
By considering onomastics, we may begin to further understand the rhetorical concepts with which Chiang developed the digients’ consciousness. A key component in the relationships between humans and animals that I encountered on my second read-through was the intentionality of given names, specifically on the two pages I analysed. Chiang intentionally settled on the name “Robyn,” with which the inclusion of the letter “y” renders the spelling separate from what it would share with the bird. In doing so, Chiang suggests a sort of division between humans and nature. This seemingly small detail contributes to the overarching question considering to what extent a digient is similar to humans or nature. Similarly, the company name “Blue Gamma” has an intentional relationship to the theme of human vs technology and nature. Gamma waves are neural waves specifically occurring in the human brain and monkeys. On a similar note, gamma rays are commonly used to decontaminate and sterilise lab conditions by virtue of their ability to kill living organisms. Knowing this, it becomes clear to see that Chiang intentionally selected this name to convey the idea of unnatural manipulation of life and how it affects consciousness in relation to and in replication of humans.
Throughout The Lifecycle of Software Objects, Chiang presents a nuanced perspective on personhood and consciousness that raises questions prominent in our modern ontological arguments spearheading human politics. Entire committees being formed to discuss future decisions about the moral status of nontypical life and humans affected by development or mental disability. Additionally, using onomastics, Chiang implicitly elaborates on the idea that although artificial intelligence and animals do not share human forms, they may deserve the metaphysical and legal consequences of personhood, which is a theme central to the Humanities course.
Chiang, Ted. The Lifecycle of Software Objects. (Burton, Michigan: Subterranean Press, 2010) 66-67
References
Chiang, Ted. The Lifecycle of Software Objects. (Burton, Michigan: Subterranean Press, 2010) 66-67
Wikipedia. “Gamma Ray.” Last modified August 28, 2023. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php? title=Gamma_ray&oldid=1172604748
Wikipedia. “Gamma Wave.” Last modified July 19, 2023. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php? title=Gamma_wave&oldid=1166066274
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