02 Jan 2023

Marvin: “You can blame the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation for making androids with GPP…”

Arthur: “Um… what’s GPP?”

Marvin: “Genuine People Personalities. I’m a personality prototype. You can tell, can’t you…?”

  -- The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

So... cybernetic organism (cyborg).

You might be thinking of the movie Terminator, and if not, you should be, since Arnold Schwarzenegger's quote, "I'm a cybernetic organism. Living tissue over a metal endoskeleton," has earned its place in pop-culture and science fiction history.

But what is a cybernetic organism? Technically, a person whose physical abilities are extended beyond normal human limitations by mechanical elements built into the body.

Simply, a human made to look machine.

So... android.

You're probably thinking about the open-source mobile operating system that I and all my nerd friends are using.

But what is an android? Technically, a mobile robot usually with a human form.

Simply, a machine made to look human.

Then is The Terminator really a cyborg or an android?

A human made to look machine, or a machine made to look human?

There are a ton of scenes in The Terminator franchise where the T- series machines are fully operational without the "living tissue over a metal endoskeleton," so I call BS on the cybernetic organism spiel. They are clearly androids and not cyborgs - thanks James Cameron.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cyborg

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/android