Made from Scratch

Do Androids Grieve For Electric Children?

Data is famous for being an emotionless machine. 

So, let’s take a look at that...is he really devoid of all emotions? 

Or, does he have some emotional capacity when it really counts? 

Data :

Sir -- The Purpose of 

this gathering confuses me; 

Picard :

How so? 

Data :

My Thoughts are not for Tasha but for myself; 

I keep thinking how empty it will be 

without her presence -- 

Did I miss The Point ...? 

Picard :

.....no you didn't 

Data, you got it. 

[Music] there is a word in Mandarin she do it is a word used to describe the parents of a single child who has died there is no word like that in the English language we have widowed widower and orphan but not a word to describe the parents themselves as someone who has lost an only child she do losing a child is arguably one of the most impactful and unrecoverable pains in life there is no greater blow to the fundamental way one lives their life than to lose a person you uniquely brought into the world it is the opposite of the great joy one feels to know that they've had a hand in creating life one may not always decide to conceive a child but one always makes the deliberate choice to be a parent and there are all kinds of parents for example let's consider data my positronic brain has several layers of shielding to protect me from power surges it would be possible for you to remove my cranial unit and take it with you you want me to take off your head yes sir unauthorized use of Department resources is blind yeah like Mary Poppins is custard the scary left Lieutenant Commander data is an Android just ask him he'll tell you you're not quite human are you no sir I am an Android I'm an Android I'm an Android I am an Android well then have you seen any good looking computers lately I am an Android mistress though anatomically I am a male he is presented as a humanoid male programmed in multiple techniques I am programmed in multiple techniques data is also a curious being he is curious about music painting interesting thank you cosplay ain't in the mood for games Sheriff science this is indicated that I am damaged in some fashion I must find the malfunction teakettles Shakespeare I think the king is not a man as I am comedy I come from a town so small we had a fraction for a zip code this Lee [Music] beards did you damage your face data it is a beard Geordi dancing you get the idea data is also curious about humanity in general he's like a pale Pinocchio looking at being human as something you achieve something to reasonably aspire to but Dana also knows he is a machine a sentient Android with human characteristics he breathed he blinks his hair grows he can eat and drink walk and talk but he'll creator went to a lot of trouble to make you seem human he's batting pretty high with meeting or excelling at things most humans can do and while we did end up seeing the complete and total end of his character the reasons for such to be debated in another arena it is reasonable to think that data could have gone on living forever contrast to that it is not also unreasonable to think that data was aware of his own mortal an awareness of one's mortality is not unconnected to the act of becoming a parent so you believe that having children gives humans a sense of immortality it is a reasonable explanation to your query sir one day data was curious about something else something beyond painting pictures or playing the violin he yearned so to speak to extend his existence beyond what he was to himself meaning that data wanted perhaps on some level needed to create life to become a parent so he created a daughter Wow he did everything by the book he studied hard even went to a vocational seminar to learn all he could 

According to Dr. Spock -- The Child psychologist, 

not the guy with the pointy ears -- quote, 

"The more people have studied different methods of bringing up children 

the more they've come to the conclusion that what good mothers and 

fathers instinctively feel like doing for their babies is best after all --"

-- Dr. Benjamin Spock

Data concluded that by combing through multiple methods of parenting, 

he could create a method or algorithm to successfully 

parent his child to maturity. 

Parenting is A Science to Data at first, 

Questions that need answering 

Picard :

You have taken on quite a responsibility, Data --

Data :

To prepare I have scanned all available 

literature on parenting --

the child needs instructions so data provides them explaining along the way how to interact how to use proper etiquette how to play catch and creating reasonable boundaries data also establishes himself as a progressive parent allowing for loud to choose her gender and aesthetic appearance this was a choice denied to him in his design so by allowing Lal to choose data is already providing law with more opportunities than he had as a new Android himself by using the scientific approach data molds the parameters of laws overall worldview when she believes herself to have mastered humor data bluntly corrects her the children were not laughing with you they were laughing at you explain one is meant kindly the other is not he plainly spells out the sometimes irrational responses humans have two things they do not fully understand according to data's own design his sensory input patterns become accustomed to the presence of certain people the input is eventually anticipated and even missed when absent 

The continued input of Lal's presence enriches Data's existence;  

she provides a fulfillment Data did not know as possible --

Data :

Until now, I have been 

the last of my kind; 

if I were to be damaged or destroyed, 

I would be lost forever --

but if I am successful 

with the creation of Lal, 

my continuance is assured --

Data may have begun with The Science 

but he comes to appreciate 

The Art of Parenting --

Data :

It is The Struggle itself t

hat is most important; 

We must strive to be more than we are Lal; 

it does not matter that we will 

never reach our ultimate goal -- 

......Then, Lal dies --

Data is no stranger to the loss of life; 

he has watched people die before --

His Lover his father.... 

he even had to kill his 

own brother [several times]

sort of when the wounded doctor soon is taking his last breath he tells his son that data will grieve for him in his own way who else would know better he had a distant and troubled brother and in a way a mother with an idealized view of what her sons and husband were all this to say that data should understand loss in the absence of key people in his life data also understands that life is precious even volunteering himself for dangerous missions to communicate that to others in a very real sense data should clearly understand the stakes of loss birth and eventual death when law begins to malfunction data uses science to try to stop what is happening his hand while moving faster than I could see trying to stay ahead of each breakdown he'll refuse to give up he was remarkable yet he is unable to stop the inevitable so data abandons the science and the focus is back on the art he simply comforts his daughter as she goes I feel do you feel long I Love You Father we know that data mourns the dead he has keepsakes and does miss people when they're gone mourning is a process but grief is what precedes it dr. Alan D Wolfe help describes morning as grief gone public mourning is acclimating in his reflection introspection which we know data does he even has the Dead in mind when making certain choices Tasha Yar and their intimate relationship is a prime example I would prefer not to answer that question sir I gave my word no circumstances I don't think Tasha would mind she was special to me sir we were and perhaps he is the dead in mind by hesitating to make another Android after law during an important time of personal discovery for data data's mother Juliana flat-out asks do you think you will ever try to create an Android again perhaps I created law because I wish to procreate despite what happened to her I still have that wish then Juliana tells them of how much it hurt to lose the prototype androids before lure the ones that data had not been aware of and indeed data would later meet one of these prototype androids b4 perhaps he could see the limitations of dr. soon's designs limitations of his own design is this data finding evidence of his programming being inherently flawed is he weighing the meaning of passing on bad DNA as it were to his offspring we'll come back to this in a moment first there is the famous model of the five stages of grief by Elisabeth kubler-ross and david kessler denial anger bargaining depression and acceptance not to disagree with the collective but these five stages were originally applied to ones responding to the news that they have a terminal illness these stages were later given to grieving people as the two processes were similar lull had a terminal illness her programming replicated off her father's design had a flaw that data could not foresee by the time the cascade failure was an inevitability Lal had come to accept what was happening to her perhaps she did indeed cycle through the five stages when data transferred allows memories and experiences into his own neural net perhaps a bit of that understanding found its way into data's programming do you remember how we all felt Tasha died I do not sense the same feelings of absence that I associate with lieutenant yar although I cannot say precisely why just human nature dinner human nature sir we feel a loss more intensely but it's a friend if data's grief is what keeps him from trying again is he aware of that grief or is it one of those programs that goes unnoticed if he is aware of a kind of electric grief then maybe data is responding to this profound loss by resigning to the notion that he may be the last of his kind does that mean he is giving up everything we've come to know about data up to this point and beyond suggests otherwise data is determined to reach every goal he set whether it be acting whistling were simply uncovering a Romulan conspiracy he does not seem the type to resign himself when things get tough or has data put his parental ambitions on hold due to his family history is he hesitant because he does not want to see another child die so quickly or repeat his father's mistakes and inadvertently create another lure or another before dr. Sims attempts to create artificial life didn't always go according to plan that can't be an easy family history to live with even for an Android before she deactivated Wow branched out of the confines of her programming and felt genuine human emotions perhaps some of that sudden development that sudden evolution was imparted to data when he transferred Laos memories and experiences into his own programming perhaps those experiences braced data for his own emotional journey years later and maybe having the extra human ability to store the essence of your own child in your head just maybe that made coping with the grief the Shi do a little easier in a way while never really died which could be another reason why data never felt compelled to create again crew is saddened by a loss I thank you for your sympathy but she is here thank you for watching if you like this and other essays on this channel then subscribe you can get notified directly when the next essay goes up by turning on notifications or by signing up for our email list more importantly consider supporting us through patreon patreon is the best way to help create more better to expertise you can find all the relevant links in the Subspace below and while your way out here at the end of yet another youtube video maybe consider watching our strange little video postcard from New Zealand thanks see you soon [Music] boy shot I hope come back Emilio