The Importance Of Humanity In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

In today 's society, with the growth of scientific and technological advancement, a growth of concern over whether or not people will attempt to play God with such advancements also appears as well as a worry over what consequences may result. Advancements such as genetic modification, cloning, and the creation of self-administrating robots all draw to mind the familiar science fiction tale of the creation that has rose to overcome its master. They also bring to light the question of one 's own humanity and what it is that makes us human. Just as in Shelley 's fictional universe, today 's society struggles with artificial intelligence and the rights and responsibilities that must be imposed on it. When Mary Shelley wrote her supernatural novel,

In the novel, Victor spends so much time thinking through and preparing for the process of giving life to an inanimate being, however, when the creature is finally brought to life, Victor takes one look at the "yellow skin" and "watery eyes… if eyes they may be called" and runs from his responsibility (Shelley 35-36). As the creator of the giant, Frankenstein should have assumed responsibility for it and, if nothing else, disassembled it before it could wreak any havoc on human civilization. As it is, he ran away and let the creature run rampant. There exist so many movies and books about robots taking over the world and turning their creators into submissive beings because, once allowed to take control of themselves, they realize that they are stronger. Again, this has become a real possibility as the science of cloning and bestowing individual intelligence to robots becomes more and more popular. Just as in Shelley 's fictional universe, today 's society struggles with artificial intelligence and the rights and responsibilities that must be imposed on it. Perhaps the reality of cloning, genetic engineering, and robotic intelligence makes this theme more relevant today than when Frankenstein was first published. If someone were to create a robot, or clone a human, and it became smart enough to realize that it was stronger or smarter than its creator, what would happen? Would Frankenstein 's story become a reality? These questions have been tossed around inside the heads of scientists since the idea of AI became a real possibility. Now that people are truly cloning animals and genetically modifying everything from crops to living beings, the issue of whether or not it is socially acceptable or morally ethical to create something or change the way that something evolved has