The Simulacrum in the Age of AI: What Do Androids Feel? From Philip K. Dick to Ridley Scott
The Simulacrum in the Age of AI: What Do Androids Feel? From Philip K. Dick to Ridley Scott
Author(s): Angelo-Nicolae MitchieviciSubject(s): Language and Literature Studies, Fine Arts / Performing Arts, Studies of Literature, Comparative Study of Literature, Film / Cinema / Cinematography
Published by: Universitatea Babeş-Bolyai
Keywords: Science Fiction; Androids; Artificial Intelligence; Simulacrum; Simulation; Empathy; Philosophy of Emotions; Cognitive Studies;
Summary/Abstract: This study investigates how the notion of the human can be redefined and reinterpreted in relation to a bioengineered humanoid, the android, whose ontological status increasingly approaches that of an autonomous being endowed with the attributes of personhood. Drawing on Philip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1968) and Ridley Scott’s film adaptation Blade Runner (1982), the analysis focuses on the paradigmatic human-machine confrontation, a face-to-face encounter that exposes and problematizes the boundaries between human and artificial forms of life. The discussion engages with Jean Baudrillard’s theory of simulacra and simulation to frame the android as a site where authenticity, imitation, and emotion intersect.
Journal: Caietele Echinox
- Issue Year: 2025
- Issue No: 49
- Page Range: 124-136
- Page Count: 13
- Language: English
- Content File-PDF
