Coats; Ghost in the Shell

The anime Ghost in the Shell, by Mamori Oshii, elaborates on the issue of sentient artificial intelligence and the blurred lines between biological humans and androids. In today's modern day society, the defining line between humans and machines is very clear as our current technologies have not yet reached those found in this particular anime. While we have developed prosthetic limbs to replace lost or under-developed limbs for human beings, this does not compare to the technological acheviments found in Ghost in the Shell. For instance, Batou's arms look human-like, but are in fact super-strength, mechanical limbs. He also sports bionic eyes, great for tactical advantage in the battle field. Batou's cybernetic qualities are not quite as impressive as Major Motoko Kusanagi's "parts". It is stated in the film that she is almost entirely robotic, besides the few human cells found in her head. Kusanagi is fully aware of her mostly mechanical chassis, which also raises one very major issue in this film: identity. Kusanagi debates whether or not she exists as an artificially made machine or the farthest point away from humanity one can be while still being human. She contains a "ghost" (hence the title) that serves as a substitute for the human soul, but is it the soul that makes us human? Or is it because we are naturally existing sacks of meat with flesh and organs? Or is it simply because we can reproduce and inevitably, die. I believe it is a combination of all these things. You could argue that Kusanagi is human because she is aware of and questions her own existence, thus illustrating self-reflection and free will. On the other hand, one could also argue the opposite. Kusanagi is still succeptable to virtual infection from the Puppet Master's virus, a quality unique to machines. Or the fact that after Kusanagi is nearly permanently destroyed, but has her A.I. transferred to a new cybernetic chassis, thus demonstrating how much of a machine she truly is. Unfortunately, all these points are what make up the gray area between humans and machines. We can only hope that when we do achieve the technology of artificial sentience, it chooses to coexist with us, rather than some unattractive alternative.

"Kill all the humans"