annotated bibliography

Annotated Bibliography

“Empathy and Artificial Intelligence in Science Fiction”

Asimov, Isaac. “Reason.” The Wesleyan Anthology of Science Fiction. Eds. Arthur B. Evans, et al. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 2010. 160-176. Print. This short story is about a debate about humanity and reason between Cutie, a robot, and humans. This is a primary source, and I plan to use this story to analyze how reason alone cannot be an indicator of humanity. The humans in the story attempt to use reason with Cutie, but it is actually empathy that is required in this exchange rather than reason. Asimov implies through his story that empathy is what builds relationships and understanding rather than reason.

Blade Runner 2049. Dir. Dennis Villeneuve. Columbia Pictures, 2017. The film is a sequel to the original 1982 Blade Runner film. The original film was based on Phillip K. Dick’s novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? In this sequel, a new blade runner named ‘K’ is tracking down Rick Deckard to find out questions about his past. Both K and Deckard may be androids themselves, but this mystery is never solved. Although K and Deckard may not be human, their empathy as well as the empathy of the known replicants is often more clearly seen than the empathy of the human characters. The film seems to be an indictment of the lack of empathy in people. This is a primary source.

Cortez, Rita. “Multiple Intelligence and the Role of Empathy.” Journal of Educational Studies, vol. 29, no.2, 2015, pp. 10-27. Academic Search Premier. The author of this article argues that the educational system needs to consider empathy as a necessary skill to be taught in schools. Cortez states that empathy is a learned skill just as other more traditionally academic skills. I plan to use this source to support my points about the message of empathy as a learned trait, possibly to support my analysis of the “The Measure of a Man” episode. This could also support my point about the empathy test as a flawed concept in my analysis of Dick’s novel. This is a scholarly source because it is published in a scholarly journal and has a long list of scholarly citations at the end of the article.

Dick, Phillip. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? New York: Del Rey Books, 1996. Print. In this novel, Rick Deckard is a “blade runner” whose job it is to track down and eliminate rogue androids. In the novel, there is a device used to distinguish humans and androids based on the ability to feel empathy. This novel raises many issues about whether humans themselves are empathetic, particularly in our treatment of other creatures. The novel also explores the relationship between humans and other animals and how caring for animals is an indication of empathy. This is a primary source.

Fung, Linda. “Can Robots Be Your Friend?” Seattle Times, The Seattle Times Company Network, 9 Oct. 2016. In this article, Fung gives numerous examples of how robots are utilized in our lives. The pertinent part of this article for my paper is that the examples Fung gives are not just how robots are convenient but actually provide companionship. I plan to use this source to support my overall claim about the message about empathy and artificial intelligence and the future of this in the real world. This might be used in the conclusion. This is a non-scholarly secondary source, but it is still credible because it is published in a newspaper.

“The Measure of a Man.” Star Trek: Next Generation. TNG. 13 Feb. 1989. In this episode, Data (an android) is in danger of being dissected by a scientist who wants to understand how he works. Picard and Reiker must go to court to argue whether or not Data is a person. Picard defends Data in court but Reiker is assigned the role of arguing against Data’s humanity although this goes against his feelings and his friendship with Data. Many criteria for determining humanity are discussed in this episode, including empathy as a determining factor of humanity. This is a primary source.

Smith, Ann. “Artificial Intelligence in Popular Culture” Time Magazine, 30 July 2019. This article sums up the popular trend of artificial intelligence in movies and television. This article doesn’t really discuss my topic of empathy, but it may still be a useful source to support my point about how the message of empathy be a reason why movies with artificial intelligence such as Blade Runner are gaining a resurgence of interest. Although the article doesn’t mention Blade Runner, it does talk about Alita: Battle Angel, and the points it makes about that movie can be applied to the analysis of my own primary sources. I may also use this source in my introduction. This is a non-scholarly secondary source, but it is still credible because it is published in a magazine.