When envisioning the future, Society tends to look at the development of technology and how its influence will affect the human population over time. This vision is seen when describing any future world with androids and each individual creates specific similarity or differences in their viewpoint. By examining the works R.U.R, Stepford wives, and Black Mirror (season 2 episode 1) we can compare and contrast the androids.
R.U.R describes a world in constant war but mainly focuses on the main setting of the android factory. The main character Helena comes to give the robots human rights but is shocked to discover that they have no soul. The robots are used for various labor and tasks and are only given a gender to satisfy specific roles. The “female” robots have jobs that would be typical of the time period; The “male” robots take dominant roles. The robots are beginning to gain perceived differences and hierarchy before they even know what is happening. Haraway elaborates on how the differences in gender roles affect how one is treated and viewed and society (Haraway, 2009).
In Stepford Wives, the husbands replace their wives with their ideal versions of the women. The wives become complacent and only strive for their husband’s happiness. Not only is the personality adjusted but the woman’s looks as well. The android woman has larger breasts and tiny waists to become the man’s perfect woman. Just like in R.U.R., the society creates a specific hierarchy as described by Haraway, the woman are treated as second-class citizens with no rights (Haraway, 2009)
Thirdly in Black Mirror the wife essentially replaces her dead husband (Ash) with a cybernetic copy of him. He is unable to become the real person she desires him to imitate (Black Mirror, Season 2 ep. 1). The cybernetic enhancements of the android allow for it to heal and pick up reactions of its host and how to interpret them. Davis describes how the use of technology can be used to help those with disabilities or even improve one’s own quality of life (Davis, 2010). The “Ash” is an improvement upon certain biological features that inhibit as human beings such as healing or recognizing facial patterns correlating to specific behaviors.
A cybernetic organism is the integration of machine and organic life. Upon investigation, each of the literary and film pieces mentioned above the desire for a cyborg is greatly increasing. When looking at the effect a cyborg can have on a population it can be quite diverse such as the woman in Stepford Wives and Ash in Black Mirror. The android has the objective to please their respective owner but quite differently. In Stepford, they wives lost all of their individuality and became mindless beings (Stepford Wives, 1975). Ash on the hand, he was developed to become a replacement and have the personality of the deceased (Black Mirror, Season 2 ep. 1). The androids are only developed to become a certain specific ideal that the specific society wants or views to be appropriate. Each individual piece put into the cybernetic organism influences the outcome of their actions and the possible change in the main directive.