The character of Data and his humanity in Star Trek: The Next Generation

Abstract

This study will aim to analyze the character Data, an android, in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation. More specifically, this study will focus on Data’s humanity and sentience in the episode “The Measure of a Man”. Is Data sentient? Is he just a machine? Does he resemble humans based on his actions and interaction with the other characters? The methodology applied in this study is functional semiotic approach. I discovered that while Data is a machine and an artificial lifeform, he has many human-like characteristics and he learns them by observing humans and their actions, as well as manners and traditions.