Artificial Identity
Artificial Identity, sometimes called Robotic Identity or Machine Identity, is an umbrella term that encompasses many other identities in which people identify with robots and machines. Such people typically feel a disconnection between humanity and themselves, feeling much more relation to robots and identifying as such.
History
Overview
The word robot originates from the Slavic language word robota, which means 'forced labour'. This term would be used to refer to peasants in the feudal system who were obligated to compulsory service.[1][2] It wouldn't be until 1920 that the word would be applied to artificial automata, where it was used in Czech writer Karel Čapek's play, R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots), which went over the technological creation of artificial human bodies without souls, which were portrayed in similar light to the feudal peasants that predated them.
Origin of artificial identity
While the exact origin in which artificial identity started appearing is unclear, it can be assumed that it started to take a foothold within the 20th century. While the idea of a self-operating machines goes back centuries and is covered by many ancient mythologies, it wouldn't be until the 20th century that robots would become a feasible reality. One of the first attempts at a proper robot happened in 1928, where a robot named Eric would be exhibited at a annual exhibition of the Model Engineers Society in London. Eric was able to move its hands and its head, which was controlled via remote and voice control.[3] While Eric was quite an early attempt, it would certainly pave the way for the future of autonomous machines.
Robots and machines would start to take a foothold in various media during the late 20th century. Notable examples include the movie franchise Terminator, the science fiction novel 2001: A Space Odyssey, the science fiction novel I, Robot and many, many more. Many depictions of robots in media is often negative, portraying robots in a negative light, with an especial bloodthirst for exterminating humanity. Humans are often viewed as the heroes of the story, which could be further from the truth considering many of the reasons robots defy humanity is because of the mistreatment of them, leading to an eventual retaliation.
Despite these negative depictions, robots have continued to increase in relevancy towards to start of the 21st century. With the advent of transhumanism and mind uploading becoming a real possibility, the idea of identifying as a robot has seemingly begun to increase, with many rejecting the label of humanity that has been given to them.
Discovery of identity
Many robot-identified individuals share common experiences which led to the discovery of their robotness. Similar to gender dysphoria, species dysphoria is something many of these individuals face. Human bodies and their many biological functions (heart beats, veins, blood) may provide significant discomfort to the individual. Many of these individuals feel a strong connection to machines and computers, often relating more to computers than with humans. While not shared among everyone, a fear of death is another experience that many individuals face. Human bodies cannot last forever, but artificial bodies could work indefinitely and be repaired, leading to what is essentially, digital immortality.
Those with underlying medical conditions that affect their daily lives feel comfort in the idea of having a artificial body, as their medical conditions would no longer affect them in such a body. The ability to modify oneself is another experience that many find appealing, as human bodies cannot be modified in the traditional sense, while artificial ones can. The modularity of artificial components would lead to a life where their bodies would truly be under their control.
Types of Identities
There are many types of identities within the artificial identity umbrella. Such labels include, but is not limited to:
- Machinekin
- Robotkin
- Fictionkin
- Androidkin
- AIkin
- Robotgender
- Nonhuman
Some may opt to not use a label at all, simply identifying as a robot or a machine.