In this blog post, we’ll explore the essence of humanity and the limits that science cannot overcome through the movie ‘Bicentennial Man: The Man Who Lived 200 Years’.
‘Bicentennial Man: The Man Who Lived 200 Years’ tells the story of “Andrew,” a robot designed for home use. Unlike ordinary robots, Andrew thinks and feels emotions like a human, and he longs to express them. As these traits are combined with the knowledge and experience he has accumulated over the years, he gradually becomes more human-like. He comes to yearn for and understand the values humanity holds dear—such as “freedom” and “love”—and eventually strives to marry the person he loves and be recognized as “a human, not a machine.” However, his first trial to be recognized as human is dismissed on the grounds that “human society cannot accept an immortal being as a human.” After modifying his body to age and die naturally, he files a second trial and is recognized as “the world’s first human to live 200 years.”
Robots that think and act like humans are a fascinating topic. Although artificial intelligence and humanoid robot technology have advanced significantly today, actual robots still operate based on predetermined goals and algorithms or make judgments only within the scope of what they have learned. While a being like Andrew from the movie has not yet become a reality, the debate over whether he can be recognized as human remains a meaningful philosophical question.
The biggest difference between Andrew and humans, emphasized throughout the film, is the constraint of time—that is, the issue of death. Andrew is a semi-permanent machine; as long as his malfunctioning parts are replaced, he can continue to live. That’s why, at first, he brushes off even severe injuries—such as having a finger severed—with a laugh, assuming he can simply be repaired, and he doesn’t pay much attention to the passage of decades. However, as he witnesses the deaths of his loved ones and those around him, he comes to realize that time flows and everything changes. Unlike himself, humans can die at any moment due to illness or accidents, and he gradually comes to understand the meaning of living within a finite span of time.
The biggest difference between Andrew’s first and second trials is that he has become a finite being, just like a human. It was precisely that difference that changed the outcome of the verdict. In other words, the film presents the key criterion for being recognized as human not as “Can you produce genetic offspring?” or “Is he a social animal?” but rather “Is he a finite being?” Of course, social turmoil and issues of perception were likely also taken into account in this ruling. However, I believe that Andrew’s free will, self-awareness, and efforts—rather than the criterion of “finitude” presented by the film—are more important grounds for recognizing him as human. Before examining this in detail, I would first like to explore the meaning of “finitude” as presented in the film.
The scene in the film where Andrew stands trial most directly illustrates this criterion.
If we examine various European mythologies, including Greek mythology, gods are depicted as beings very similar to humans. Like humans, they love, grieve, feel jealousy, and seek to act according to their own will. Aside from whether they possess absolute power, there are not many criteria that distinguish gods from humans. Thus, while mythology portrays gods as beings very similar to humans, it presents “immortality” as the most significant difference. Humans grow old, grow weary, and eventually die as time passes, but gods never die. Because of this difference, humans cannot ultimately understand the world from a god’s perspective, nor do the gods accept humans as their own. Similarly, the film’s logic is that humans, who are “finite,” find it difficult to think from the perspective of robots, which are “immortal,” and therefore do not accept robots as human.
However, I do not believe that “finiteness” is the decisive criterion for distinguishing humans from robots. The “immortality” possessed by robots is fundamentally different from the immortality of gods in mythology.
Robots, too, are not absolute beings that exist eternally under any and all circumstances. They can be destroyed at any time by disasters, wars, resource depletion, or fatal malfunctions. In other words, just like humans, robots live with various uncertainties throughout their existence. I believe this is why robots share common ground with finite humans, even though they may live much longer than humans.
In fact, the primary reason why human “finitude” is cited as a limitation lies precisely in this uncertainty. No human knows when, where, or why they will die. Because of the possibility that death could come at any moment, humans are conscious of death and recognize themselves as finite beings. The same is true for robots. Of course, their uncertainty is far less than that of humans, but they can still live with uncertain factors that threaten their existence and may even feel fear toward such factors. Therefore, I do not view “finitude” as the most important criterion distinguishing humans from robots.
Since God is an immortal being, He cannot be considered human.
The grounds I wish to present are Andrew’s free will, self-awareness, and effort. Let’s examine free will first. Free will generally refers to the ability to choose one’s own actions without being subject to external coercion, control, or constraint. Whether Andrew studied the properties and characteristics of wood to create a sculpture as a gift or designed artificial organs to make his body more human-like, these were not tasks he carried out because someone ordered him to. They were all actions he chose to do of his own volition.
A slightly bolder attempt was his demand for “freedom” from his owner. This was a highly unconventional act. To use an analogy, it is akin to a human demanding to live freely, without further interference from God. Such an attempt is an action that a machine—which merely calculates logically or executes only built-in programs and commands—could not undertake. However, Andrew made this choice on his own. In this regard, Andrew can be viewed as a being with free will.
Furthermore, through years of relentless self-exploration, Andrew develops a clear sense of self-awareness. Self-awareness refers to the ability to recognize and understand oneself. It means reflecting on one’s inner self and understanding oneself, going beyond external factors such as physical characteristics, social relationships, or religious affiliations.
According to the mirror self-recognition experiment, often cited in psychology, most animals—such as dogs and cats—perceive their reflection in a mirror as another individual. In other words, they do not recognize the existence of “themselves.” Humans, on the other hand, recognize the image in the mirror as their own. That is, they possess self-awareness. Similarly, Andrew also recognizes himself through the mirror, and in this sense, he can be said to possess self-awareness. However, Andrew’s self-awareness does not stop at simply recognizing himself as a being. He develops a sense of self that identifies him as a human being.
Over the years, as he encounters various robots in the world, he realizes that no other robot exists like him. He then begins to believe that he is not merely a robot. He constantly asked himself, “Who am I?” and as his desire to become human—driven by his love for a special person—grew deeper, he came to see himself as human. Furthermore, when the judge asked him why he had given up eternal life, he replied, “I would rather die as a human than live as an eternal machine.” He wanted to live as a human—not as a machine—and to die as a human. Through this constant self-reflection, he comes to recognize himself as human.
Thus, Andrew possesses free will and self-awareness, traits traditionally considered unique to humans. However, I believe these two elements alone are not sufficient to make a human truly human. One more thing is needed: “effort.”
For example, let’s assume that Andrew’s artificial brain was perfectly replicated and transplanted into another robot. Would that robot also be recognized as human? If so, would it truly be “Andrew,” or would it be a completely different being? Even if we assume that all experiences can be replicated exactly in the form of data, these questions cannot be easily answered. When I think about this, I come to believe that the reason Andrew was recognized as human is not simply because he possesses free will and self-awareness. I wonder if there isn’t some barrier that technology alone cannot bridge and that science alone cannot overcome.
I believe there is one more factor beyond free will and self-awareness that led to Andrew’s recognition as human. That factor is his “effort.” From the moment he realized he could think for himself, Andrew has ceaselessly asked the question, “Who am I?” He worked silently and tirelessly for a long time to find the answer to that question, gradually transforming himself into a being closer to a human. Such effort was likely made possible by his strong desire to become human.
He experienced joy, sorrow, anger, and love—emotions thought to be exclusive to humans—and in the process, he was deeply wounded. Amid these experiences, Andrew must have faced many opportunities to give up his quest to become human. Yet he did not give up. Instead, he redoubled his efforts and even relinquished, one by one, the strengths and abilities he possessed that humans lack. He gave up his ability to live forever and chose to become a being capable of growing old, falling ill, and dying. This choice was not merely a change in function but the result of his relentless effort to become the being he sought to be.
Ultimately, what made Andrew human was not merely his human-like appearance, exceptional intelligence, free will, or self-awareness. I believe it was the very process of choosing to become human, striving for that goal over a long period of time, and constantly transforming himself that made him human. Science and technology may be able to mimic the human body and replicate human intelligence, but it remains doubtful whether they can fully replicate the process of constantly reflecting on one’s own existence, making conscious choices, and striving to become a better person. Therefore, I believe that it was Andrew’s strong will and long-term efforts that allowed him to be recognized as human, and I believe this is a realm that science and technology alone cannot fill.
