Diem-Chi Tran
Dr. Ingrao
HUMA 1301.002
November 22, 2013
Row C-2
The Frankenstein Complex: Killer Robots or Metal Friends? In it’s fifty years of age, the fields of artificial intelligence and robotics continue to capture the imagination of the general public, but with this growing interest, it also engendered a great deal of fear and skepticism. Hollywood and the media exacerbate the problem while some well-known authors and scientist lend credence to it. This fear isn’t anything new and didn’t just appear with the creation of these mechanized humanoids. Even reaching as far back as the folktales of golems to the monstrous birth of Frankenstein’s creature, humankind has feared the rise of an army of evil manmade creations that banned together to overthrow humanity. Asimov called this fear the Frankenstein Complex. With so many amazing possibilities that came with the new technological era, Asimov believed that the creation of robots and androids would benefit humanity so he formed the Three Laws of Robotics to try and calm the fears that boiled amongst the general public. He states that first and foremost, “a robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm” (Asimov 37). The second law states, “a robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders conflict with the First Law” (Asimov 37). And the third law is that “a robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws” (Asimov 37). Asimov put these laws into place and shared how robots could do good for mankind rather than destroy it by putting this laws into place into a series of stories compiled in one book titled I, Robot. Karel Čapek’s R.U.R. and Philip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep confirm the existence of the “Frankenstein complex” that is introduced in I, Robot. I, Robot is a series of short stories that introduces problems involving humans and robots that needs to be solved in a creative way without the harming of either human beings or their metal-based counterparts. In each story the fear of robot rebellion can be seen through each of the main characters’ point of view. In the story, “Reason” found in I, Robot, two humans, the main characters named Donovan and Powell, are overpowered by their robot, nicknamed Cutie. In the story, Cutie develops his own theory on how he was created and for what purpose. He believes that he was created to serve a greater being called “Master” and that he is a prophet for all the robots aboard the space station while Donovan, Powell, and other humans were just the first creations the Master made to serve his needs until the Master made more efficient beings to serve him. From the start of this story, we see a fear ignited by how Cutie was behaving against his human masters from Powell who “repressed a sudden attack of nerves. These robots possessed peculiar brains” (Asimov 46). This fear began even before the robot fully rebelled against Powell and Donovan, locking them away from the controls that held Earth’s safety and survival. We also see the same fear arise within Donovan when he announces, “’That robot gives me the willies anyway – too damned inquisitive!’” (Asimov 50). This very behavior is the definition of the Frankenstein Complex because these two have developed a fear about the robots on the ship rebelling against them and possibly ending their lives and later on allowing the Earth and humankind to be destroyed. The very core of this complex and fear of manmade forms of intelligent life comes from a fear that they’ll grow so much more intelligent than humans and overthrow mankind. Powell rationalizes this fear away by standing steadfast with the three laws of robotics and continues to believe that the laws will continue to function whether or not the robot is physically aware of this matter. In the end, Cutie does his job of maintain the space station and deflecting a deadly beam from Earth, because ultimately the first and second laws that preserve human life and the command given to the robot by humans keeps the robots from ever reaching the state of fulfilling the belief that robots would take over. This shows that although the Frankenstein Complex does exist and is a legitimate fear, the threat of a robot rebellion is truly non-existent. In Čapek’s R.U.R, he addresses how when faced with the threat that we all fear with the creation of manmade androids, we can easily fall into follow the nature of the Frankenstein Complex. He shows how man can stand on top of his creation and believe that he’ll always stand above all until the threat hits him in the face, that’s when the complex truly begins to shine through. When confronted by the idea of a robot mutiny against humankind, Domin, the director of the Rossum’s Universal Robots company, states, “A revolt among the Robots! You’d have better luck instigating a revolt among nuts and bolts than among our Robots!” (Čapek 30). This is Domin and his men’s initial view of the robots, they are ultimately no threat to the world. They are simply mindless servants just as the word “robot” hints at as the original Czech word “robota” means forced labor. It isn’t until the world was spinning into dystopia as the robots around the world actually revolt and decide to kill off all humans on the Earth do the characters display symptoms of the Frankenstein complex. This shift from the cheerful and comedic flirty banter between Helena, Domin, and his men to the more panic-filled and frightful scene of being cornered by the robot army shows how easily the Frankenstein complex can take hold of us since when faced against a creation that is so superior to mankind, how can we not be afraid? Unlike the robots in I, Robot, who are not allowed to harm humans in anyway, the robots in the play did not have such parameters that limited them. They easily killed their creators in search of their own survival. This story is a perfect counter to the idea that humans and robots could benefit each other as the fight between creation and creator rage on as they try to stay on top of one another. In Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Dick shows the readers the opposite development from R.U.R. Rather than developing the complex, the story addresses the nature of the complex and supports the idea that Asimov had that mankind needed to overcome the fear to truly reap the benefits of a symbiotic world with robots. One of the main characters, Rick Deckard, is a bounty hunter who hunts androids or Andys that happen to make their way to Earth. Deckard expressed symptoms of the Frankenstein complex as he compared an Andy to a“solitary predator” (Dick 31) that had no need for empathy. With this mindset, he found his job more palatable and allowed guilt to not hang upon his shoulders since he was simply following the teachings of Mercer, “You shall only kill the Killers” (Dick 31). He is initially using his Frankenstein complex to justify his hunting of these androids since as empathetic creatures, he is still having a hard time justifying his job although he is still putting himself first and fulfilling his marks to get the bounty to fulfill his wish for a truly living pet. Phil Resch, a fellow bounty hunter shares the same sentiments towards the “murderous illegal aliens” (Dick 136). At this time though, Deckard begins to feel remorse and even states that he wants to get out of the bounty hunting business as he has begun to notice he has developed a sense of empathy towards the androids, particularly the female ones. He feels remorse for killing Luba and finds it insane that they are killed an android that was beneficial to the planet by giving them beautiful music, not harming people in anyway. He continues to display empathy towards the Andys as he later develops depression after he returns home from taking down three of his marks and then impulse buying a goat. The contrast between Resch’s dyspathy and Deckard’s growing empathy truly puts a spotlight on his own lack of feeling but also displays how most of the humans in this world. The shift in Deckard’s perspective and behavior towards the Andys demonstrates his ability to overcome his fear and Frankenstein complex and supports Asimov’s thought that we shouldn’t really fear killer robots as much as fear the development of dyspathy and apathy that develops with this complex. In all three works, the Frankenstein complex is addressed but also acknowledged to exist but they ultimately view the world of humans and robots in different ways. In Asimov’s work, we are shown that although the complex exists, it isn’t something we should worry about, but rather we should focus on all the good that can come out of a cooperative world with robots and humans. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, follows Asimov in that although there is evidence that support the complex, it is something we should overcome to not let it overtake our lives and ultimately dehumanize ourselves. Čapek ‘s play on the other hand ultimately highlights the true fear and reason that the Frankenstein complex even exists: our robot creations banning together to destroy us. In all three works we are shown that there is a legitimate reason for the Frankenstein complex but at the same time, we should not allow ourselves to be overtaken by fear and lose ourselves to it.