# In Star-Trek TNG why didn't starfleet use androids for everything. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 19, 2011, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-star-trek-tng-why-didnt-starfleet-use-androids-for-everything/568160 "2011-01-19T02:50:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![noobzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/54ee81/32.png) [@noobzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/noobzilla)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-star-trek-tng-why-didnt-starfleet-use-androids-for-everything/568160/1 "2011-01-19T02:50:49Z")
I’ve recently gotten back in Star-Trek, so please excuse me if my logic is wrong. Perhaps this idea wouldn’t leave much room for the writers. And I guess it would make for boring shows/movies. Nevertheless I will propose it to see what everyone thinks. -Data is the strongest person on the Enterprise. Sorry Worf. -Data is the smartest person on the enterprise. If you consider intelligence the speed at which the brain can store, recall, interpret, and apply information. -Data is only inferior to humans in a few(personal) ways. As far as Starfleet’s concerned he is the perfect officer. Okay so here it is: Why not use Data and androids like him to do all the dangerous jobs. In the Star-Trek Universe humans seem to be put in harms more than required. The androids seem technologically advanced enough to fill almost all the lower and mid-ranked positions in Starfleet. -Instead of risking thousands of lives in deep-space on fewer larger ships, Star-fleet could use multiple smaller vessels that are crewed by androids. -These ships could take over almost all exploration, and combat duties. -The role of non-androids in Starfleet would be reduced to diplomatic responsibilities. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-star-trek-tng-why-didnt-starfleet-use-androids-for-everything/568160/2 "2011-01-19T03:02:10Z")
They didn’t know how to duplicate him, and forcing his duplicates to do something they weren’t interested in would be both slavery and likely to end up with them turning on the Federation. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-star-trek-tng-why-didnt-starfleet-use-androids-for-everything/568160/3 "2011-01-19T03:02:46Z")
IIRC (it’s been a while), Data was a one-of-a-kind creation; his evil twin brother Lore was the only other android of his type made by their creator, who was some sort of super-genius type who didn’t publish his findings. Hence one and only one Data. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-star-trek-tng-why-didnt-starfleet-use-androids-for-everything/568160/4 "2011-01-19T03:04:56Z")
> [@bump](#): > > IIRC (it’s been a while), Data was a one-of-a-kind creation; his evil twin brother Lore was the only other android of his type made by their creator Well, plus the rather painfully contrived “B4” from _Nemesis_, though aside from all being near-identical phsycally, the trio had significant variations. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-star-trek-tng-why-didnt-starfleet-use-androids-for-everything/568160/5 "2011-01-19T03:08:45Z")
There was one episode where it turned out a Starfleet science lady was one of Dr. Sung’s creations but did not know it. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-star-trek-tng-why-didnt-starfleet-use-androids-for-everything/568160/6 "2011-01-19T03:08:49Z")
See the episode [The Measure of a Man](http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/The_Measure_Of_A_Man_(episode)), where Data was declared to be a person. This caused 2 things. 1. Data\*'s unique status couldn’t be changed any time soon since Data couldn’t be taken apart to figure out how he worked without his permission - which was refused for fear of killing him. 2. Even if Maddox, Data, or someone else doing the research does figure out how to make it work, they couldn’t use the androids like that, as they would be persons, with the same rights as any other sapient. (The holographic Doctor from Voyager needs to lead a similar campaign for holograms…) - And Lore and B4, but neither of them had been introduced at this point. ---
**Author:** ![antonio107](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ea924/32.png) [@antonio107](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antonio107)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-star-trek-tng-why-didnt-starfleet-use-androids-for-everything/568160/7 "2011-01-19T03:35:53Z")
Because a robotic starfleet would put a whole lot of writers out on the street. Seriously. There’s no other reason. The whole “Data is sentient so we can’t have an army of them,” while an interesting metaphysical hypothetical, just strikes me as space opera writers hedging their bets. I mean, look at the ship’s computer. It can run autopilot on the ship, accept pretty flexible prosaic commands from the crew. It’s not sentient. Why does your standing army need sentience? Isn’t that a BAD thing? How hard is it to take non-sentient computers and have them run every system on the ship, with ONE human in a tiny living quarters maintaining the ship? Give them little R2D2 wheels with a few bio-gel circuits or whatever they call those things that the computer uses. Ooh, sorry, then we can’t have Whoopi Goldberg slinging suds, and Marina Sirtis waltzing around in a skintight bodysuit showing her intimate knowledge of method acting. Better explain that away! Similarly, both Terminator’s Skynet and Star Wars Trade Federation showed us that you can have massive armies of robots fighting your war, presumably twice as strong and twice as expendable as hu-mons! ---
**Author:** ![SirRay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@SirRay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SirRay)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-star-trek-tng-why-didnt-starfleet-use-androids-for-everything/568160/8 "2011-01-19T03:39:15Z")
OK, so we have the canon explantion of why Starfleet doesn’t have a whole crew of Data-Class androids - because they don’t know how to crank them out. But, why don’t they at least use that 200+ year old technology of remote-controlled robots? Have a crew of humans controlling dozens of robots each? This was mentioned in some Star Trek (TOS) novel (I know, not canon), as being against Federation Labor laws - otherwise everywhere would have completed automated and displaced human labor (which we have certainly experience to some degree in our own current reality). Didn’t really explain why Captain Janeway didn’t replace the Voyager crewmen who were killed during the series w/ automated repair/mantainance/service robots - these didn’t have to be Data-Class intelligent, and could have been deactivated when/if they reached the Federation (I believe they only had one mobile emitter for the Doctor hologram, which they snagged from some future timeline, so more holograms were right out) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-star-trek-tng-why-didnt-starfleet-use-androids-for-everything/568160/9 "2011-01-19T03:50:41Z")
Remember, all of the human crew are there because they _want_ to be. The Federation is a socialist utopia where everyone has their needs met, and work because it’s their “calling”, or whatever, not for the pay. So the Federation would be meeting Picard’s, Riker’s, etc. needs anyway, and they’re not only willing but eager to serve as starship crew. Not having them on board wouldn’t save Starfleet any money or other resources, and replacing them with machines would cost resources. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-star-trek-tng-why-didnt-starfleet-use-androids-for-everything/568160/10 "2011-01-19T03:51:39Z")
> [@antonio107](#): > > I mean, look at the ship’s computer. It can run autopilot on the ship, accept pretty flexible prosaic commands from the crew. It’s not sentient. Well, unless somebody says the wrong thing on the holodeck. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-star-trek-tng-why-didnt-starfleet-use-androids-for-everything/568160/11 "2011-01-19T03:57:01Z")
> [@antonio107](#): > > There’s no other reason. The whole “Data is sentient so we can’t have an army of them,” while an interesting metaphysical hypothetical, just strikes me as space opera writers hedging their bets. I mean, look at the ship’s computer. It can run autopilot on the ship, accept pretty flexible prosaic commands from the crew. It’s not sentient. Why does your standing army need sentience? Isn’t that a BAD thing? How hard is it to take non-sentient computers and have them run every system on the ship, with ONE human in a tiny living quarters maintaining the ship? [Once burned](http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/The_Ultimate_Computer_%28episode%29), twice shy… ---
**Author:** ![antonio107](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ea924/32.png) [@antonio107](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antonio107)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-star-trek-tng-why-didnt-starfleet-use-androids-for-everything/568160/12 "2011-01-19T04:06:43Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > [Once burned](http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/The_Ultimate_Computer_%28episode%29), twice shy… Ya, but they made it sentient. That’s the whole problem! Why can’t they have a fantastically strong, super fast computer system that responds to the commands of a single human, or 4 of 5 humans on board? ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-star-trek-tng-why-didnt-starfleet-use-androids-for-everything/568160/13 "2011-01-19T04:17:30Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > So the Federation would be meeting Picard’s, Riker’s, etc. needs anyway, and they’re not only willing but eager to serve as starship crew. Not having them on board wouldn’t save Starfleet any money or other resources, and replacing them with machines would cost resources. Sounds kind of like how the Roman Empire never moved toward steam engines or assembly lines because the labor-saving effects would have created more problems than they solved. Have there ever been any Star Trek stories (in any media) that touched on the implicit stagnation of their society? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-star-trek-tng-why-didnt-starfleet-use-androids-for-everything/568160/14 "2011-01-19T04:35:27Z")
> [@SirRay](#): > > OK, so we have the canon explantion of why Starfleet doesn’t have a whole crew of Data-Class androids - because they don’t know how to crank them out. > But, why don’t they at least use that 200+ year old technology of remote-controlled robots? Have a crew of humans controlling dozens of robots each? Not needed. They use outdated Emergency Medical Holograms instead, at least until the EMHs decide to revolt. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-star-trek-tng-why-didnt-starfleet-use-androids-for-everything/568160/15 "2011-01-19T05:02:05Z")
> [@SirRay](#): > > OK, so we have the canon explantion of why Starfleet doesn’t have a whole crew of Data-Class androids - because they don’t know how to crank them out. Which is pretty silly, since you can use a transporter to materialize his pattern over and over again. But then aside from a few rare episodes the Star Trek universe really avoids dealing with the logical implications of transporter technology. ---
**Author:** ![antonio107](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ea924/32.png) [@antonio107](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antonio107)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-star-trek-tng-why-didnt-starfleet-use-androids-for-everything/568160/16 "2011-01-19T05:03:48Z")
> [@Koxinga](#): > > Have there ever been any Star Trek stories (in any media) that touched on the implicit stagnation of their society? DS9 seemingly Retconned their universe by saying that it was only Earth and a few other founding nations that were quite so utopian and rich. ---
**Author:** ![Rumor\_Watkins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@Rumor\_Watkins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rumor_Watkins)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-star-trek-tng-why-didnt-starfleet-use-androids-for-everything/568160/17 "2011-01-19T05:18:08Z")
> [@antonio107](#): > > DS9 seemingly Retconned their universe by saying that it was only Earth and a few other founding nations that were quite so utopian and rich. While it is a great series - my second favorite of the bunch (and really, but for TNG being the emotional top choice, I would give DS9 the nod as it was a far better series in terms of substance and writing) - I have to think that Roddenberry would have had a complete shit fit had he been around to witness DS9’s take on all things Federation. ---
**Author:** ![antonio107](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ea924/32.png) [@antonio107](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antonio107)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-star-trek-tng-why-didnt-starfleet-use-androids-for-everything/568160/18 "2011-01-19T05:33:19Z")
> [@Rumor\_Watkins](#): > > While it is a great series - my second favorite of the bunch (and really, but for TNG being the emotional top choice, I would give DS9 the nod as it was a far better series in terms of substance and writing) - I have to think that Roddenberry would have had a complete shit fit had he been around to witness DS9’s take on all things Federation. Possibly, but frankly I’ve argued with nerds on other occasions that although I like the Star Trek universe, I don’t think very highly of Gene Roddenberry. TOS was highly concentrated schlock, and the fact that early TNG episodes such as “Code of Honor” carried on this tradition suggest to me that he’s not that far removed from Ed Wood. Good on DS9 (and late TNG gems such as “Chain of Command”) for actually putting some depth and tension into Star Trek. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-star-trek-tng-why-didnt-starfleet-use-androids-for-everything/568160/19 "2011-01-19T05:34:34Z")
> [@noobzilla](#): > > …Why not use Data and androids like him to do all the dangerous jobs. > In the Star-Trek Universe humans seem to be put in harms more than required. > The androids seem technologically advanced enough to fill almost all the lower and mid-ranked positions in Starfleet… People, people. Can we all have forgotten the lessons of the Butlerian Jihad quite so easily…? ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-star-trek-tng-why-didnt-starfleet-use-androids-for-everything/568160/20 "2011-01-19T05:37:18Z")
> [@antonio107](#): > > Possibly, but frankly I’ve argued with nerds on other occasions that although I like the Star Trek universe, I don’t think very highly of Gene Roddenberry. TOS was highly concentrated schlock, and the fact that early TNG episodes such as “Code of Honor” carried on this tradition suggest to me that he’s not that far removed from Ed Wood. Good on DS9 (and late TNG gems such as “Chain of Command”) for actually putting some depth and tension into Star Trek. Weren’t the Ferengi and their greedy “Yankee trader” ways supposed to be the new series’s _major villians_ at the outset? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-star-trek-tng-why-didnt-starfleet-use-androids-for-everything/568160.md?page=2)