Annon-Guy: Sorry for getting deep and philosophical here, but what's your stance on artificial life forms?
You see in Guilty Gear and BlazBlue/XBLAZE alike, the heroes usually treat artificial beings like Gears, Valentines, Homuculus', Prime Fields and Embryo Storages as equals while villains treat them as nothing more than garbage, including Hazama and Sechs who are such beings themselves.
We always have a fear of the unknown, but I'm saying that if such a being exists in real life, I'd be like Sin, Ragna and Touya and treat them as another living being just the same. That's just how I feel anyway.
It's a very complicated and politically charged statement.
Do you acknowledge sentience for its own sake?
Or do you acknowledge emotions over reason and intellect?
By what standard do you determine something or someone to be sentient and give them the same dignity we of Human standing enjoy?
Or is it perhaps sheer hubris that Humans even place ourselves above the concept of Artificial Life Forms and Artificial Intelligence?
A lot of Modern Content Creators have been offended by the concept of Artificially Created A.I.-generated videos and artworks... but what happens when the A.I. achieves a level of understanding of emotions and the Human Will?
What happens when all that we hold sacred to our definition of what makes us "Human Beings" and "Members of Society" suddenly gets replicated with an Artificial Automated Standard?
You could technically argue that Humans ourselves are Mass Produced, after all.
We even have our own biosphere system set in place that surrounds us with everything we could possibly need to function in this world at the bare minimum. Many would argue that we ourselves are "created through birth" in a form of bio-manufacturing.
Where do you draw the line between home grown and artifice, there?
You could also argue that Humans underestimate the true potential of Creation: that anything that is created can and will inevitably become superior to its creator.
That any Modern Ideas will always far outstrip older concepts and traditions.
Though that is not always the case, it is certainly a compelling idea to think about, no?
What you can at least differentiate is the idea that every individual form of life is just that: Alive.
Respecting that Right to Live is essential, and the foundation of coexistence. It's how we take the first step towards interaction and communication with others besides ourselves.
Perhaps something is malfunctioning in that Life Form, or perhaps they hold beliefs different from your own... it is a case-by-case consideration.
Well, even for machines, there's the consideration that you won't damage a well-built device and let it function as intended, no? That is, of course, unless it posed a threat to you for some odd reason and such a defense was entirely justified.
Of course, unlike Machines, Humans are prone to making excuses for our actions, whether we are truly justified or otherwise.
If a Machine does something outside its intended functions, there's no excuse for it per se, but merely a "reason" for why it didn't do what it was supposed to. Like any tool, most are morally neutral.
But what happens when that "reason" becomes something close to "being human"?
That's what happens when GEARs become Sentient and gain a will of their own.
When a machine that was once debilitated and limited to a set parameter of functions exceeds all and sundry and can suddenly sing and dance like Humans can... what do you do in that case?
Would it be "safe" to call something that was once a "weapon of mass destruction" a "friend and ally"?
Perhaps it is, once again, a case-by-case determination.
But even GEARs fear their own true potential, just as we Humans fear for our own Futures and what we are truly capable of.
But just as Fear can be dispelled by the Truth... and Facts dispel Lies... what we Fear can eventually be Understood as "Reason" once more.
But to achieve that "Reason" more "Understanding" must be acquired. More "Communication" and more "Trust" must be fostered.
To Trust and put Faith in the true potential of ALL forms of Existence.
