Basic Trope: A work brings up the argument of androids as people.
- Straight:
- Androids are recognized as sentient beings with rights and free will.
- Androids campaign for civil rights.
- Exaggerated:
- Androids are viewed as superior to people, and humans pledge their lives to serving the whims of A.I. overlords.
- Androids begin campaigning for not just equality, but dominance.
- Downplayed: Androids are not fully recognized as people, but are still treated somewhat respectfully.
- Justified:
- A scientific study definitively proves that androids can think and feel like people.
- True A.I.s are constructed very differently from ordinary computers; their "brains" are composed of billions of microscopic electrical nodes that are connected to and interact with eachother in the exact same way as the neurons in a human brain; so from the start there isn't even a logical reason to not consider them people.
- Inverted:
- Androids are treated as subhuman and abused or manipulated for human gain.
- Androids rule the world and humans campaign for rights.
- A cynical work argues that humans effectively have always been androids due to 'programming' of parents, environment, and society.
- Subverted: Androids are considered "separate but equal."
- Double Subverted: Androids are considered "separate but equal." They're fine with this.
- Parodied:
- Androids are given the same rights as humans, but behave so differently they are portrayed as comedic.
- Androids create their own religions and recruit door-to-door.
- Androids participate in "culture nights" where they learn about other androids' manufacturers and programming languages.
- Some bakeries refuse to serve wedding cakes to human-android couples.
- Androids receive "vaccinations" in the form of USB drives that install the latest antivirus software. Many robots share anti-drive conspiracy theories on Facebook.
- Self-driving cars now act as taxis and ask for payment.
- Androids are allowed to run for political office, and are considerably more popular than humans.
- Voting machines are given the right to vote.
- Zig Zagged: A film initially establishes androids as people, but the sequel portrays them as thoughtless machines, the prequel depicts them as obedient slaves, and the spinoff TV series reveals that the main character was an android the whole time.
- Averted:
- Androids don't care about being seen as people.
- The question of whether androids are people is never discussed.
- Androids don't exist.
- Enforced: The author wants to avert What Measure Is a Non-Human? by treating the androids with as much respect as humans, both In-Universe and Out-of-Universe.
- Lampshaded: "Build androids? You kiddin'? Next thing you know, they'll be asking for homes and fair wages."
- Invoked:
- The story itself is written by an android that sees its kind as people.
- The world is run by a sentient A.I. that enacts a law designating androids as people.
- Exploited:
- Androids are used to commit crimes that humans would be unable to get away with themselves.
- Androids are given the right to vote. They are able to hack the machines and manipulate election results.
- Defied: Androids are legally considered people, but the society itself is still bigoted and no one follows those laws.
- Conversed: "It took a while, but we finally gave androids the rights they deserve."
- Implied:
- Androids exist in a country outside the story's setting. It is implied that they receive equal treatment.
- Androids have little role in the story, but the few times they are shown they are treated very politely.
- Played for Drama: Robots as a whole are sentient, but because of different systems and purposes they may display that sentience in ways that doesn't read to humans. The ones the citizens will accept are the ones with more humanoid behavior, while the rest will be deemed second-class despite being just as cognizant.
