# Star Wars: Are the robots sentient? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 6, 2018, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-are-the-robots-sentient/815509 "2018-06-06T01:15:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2018, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-are-the-robots-sentient/815509/41 "2018-06-06T19:32:13Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Forgetting. 😃 And, frankly, it’s mostly a way to explain why R2 and 3P0 don’t remember Tatooine, the Skywalker name, or Obi-Wan. > > But, even then, 20 years passed between that memory wipe, and ANH, giving the droids lots of time to re-establish their personalities. Sure, (except that they didn’t wipe R2) but it is interesting that 3PO developed the exact same personality after his mind wipe, despite being “nurtured” in a very, very different environment. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2018, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-are-the-robots-sentient/815509/42 "2018-06-06T19:38:37Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > Chopper did multiple times in Star Wars Rebels. He was a member of Hera’s team. Hell, on at least one occasion, he destroyed an entire ship from the inside. K2-SO killed Stormtroopers with relish! (Well, they _are_ delicious that way). ---
**Author:** ![Randolph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Randolph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Randolph)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2018, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-are-the-robots-sentient/815509/43 "2018-06-06T19:39:46Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > [Genuine People Personalities.](http://hitchhikers.wikia.com/wiki/Genuine_People_Personalities) Sounds ghastly. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2018, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-are-the-robots-sentient/815509/44 "2018-06-06T19:49:38Z")
With my “murder” comment I was trying to comment on their “humanness”, as it were. Sure, they can kill if threatened, if in danger, just like humans. But have they been shown to kill for greed, revenge, profit, or just because they wanted to see someone die? I was wondering if maybe that was part of the balance I was getting at. The original brain programmers managed to get it so the robots had personality, and free will, but yet never succumbed to the lesser human motivations. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2018, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-are-the-robots-sentient/815509/45 "2018-06-06T19:52:25Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Has there ever been a robot in the SW universe that murdered a human? (not a war machine droid, but one like R2 or C3PO?). [These enough like them for you](https://www.bleedingcool.com/2015/03/25/o-o-o-and-bt-1-the-evil-c-3po-and-r2-d2-from-darth-vader-3/)? ([Now with action figures](https://io9.gizmodo.com/hasbro-is-bringing-some-of-the-star-wars-comics-best-ne-1826566650)!) ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2018, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-are-the-robots-sentient/815509/46 "2018-06-06T20:57:24Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > With my “murder” comment I was trying to comment on their “humanness”, as it were. Sure, they can kill if threatened, if in danger, just like humans. But have they been shown to kill for greed, revenge, **profit** , or just because they wanted to see someone die? > > I was wondering if maybe that was part of the balance I was getting at. The original brain programmers managed to get it so the robots had personality, and free will, but yet never succumbed to the lesser human motivations. One of the bounty hunters we see in ESB is a droid, so yeah, killing “for profit” is canon. And for revenge, [HK-47 has it covered](http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/HK-47). He probably also covers the “wanted to see someone die” category. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2018, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-are-the-robots-sentient/815509/47 "2018-06-06T21:08:05Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > One of the bounty hunters we see in ESB is a droid, so yeah, killing “for profit” is canon. > And for revenge, [HK-47 has it covered](http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/HK-47). He probably also covers the “wanted to see someone die” category. Well, al-righty then. I think the humans should start watching their backs. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2018, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-are-the-robots-sentient/815509/48 "2018-06-06T21:26:51Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > I was wondering if maybe that was part of the balance I was getting at. The original brain programmers managed to get it so the robots had personality, and free will, but yet never succumbed to the lesser human motivations. But that’s kind of the whole point of the restraining bolt, isn’t it? You almost can’t not ask, upon hearing about that, _hang on — what, exactly, would they do if they weren’t restrained? Why would folks even bother, let alone make it a selling point, unless there’s something else that droids do when they aren’t restrained?_ ---
**Author:** ![Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uosdwis_R.Dewoh)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2018, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-are-the-robots-sentient/815509/49 "2018-06-06T22:21:35Z")
> [@Richard\_Pearse](#): > > C3PO certainly _seems_ sentient. He has to be. No one would program a robot to be like that. They should do a C3PO prequel directed by Woody Allen. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_lining](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aca169/32.png) [@Silver\_lining](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_lining)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2018, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-are-the-robots-sentient/815509/50 "2018-06-06T23:58:13Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > The droid torture scene in _Return of the Jedi_\* was what finally cemented it for me - _most_ droids are somewhat sentient, not just the never-wiped R2D2s of the world. Their degree of sentience can vary - I don’t think the mouse droids are likely to be, but most of the ones we see? Sure. > > \*ETA - realised I now have to be more specific than just “Jedi”, damnit Agreed, but as Obi Wan Kenobi once said if Droids could think none of us would be here. They are programed AI, not capable of making complex decisions outside of computations. ---
**Author:** ![Aquadementia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aquadementia/32/555_2.png) [@Aquadementia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aquadementia)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2018, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-are-the-robots-sentient/815509/51 "2018-06-07T01:13:45Z")
I’d say no. Qui-Gon wasn’t immediately convince Jar-Jar was sentient. Yeah, it was Jar-Jar but it might apply to all his people. Despite the personalities, droids have about as much connection to The Force as a rock or microwave oven. The Emperor was engaged in twisted experiments to create technology that was compatible with the Force. General Gievous was a hybrid that definitely needed biological components. That lead to his ultimate success in Darth Vader. R2-D2 might be special. He almost seems to treading a path laid out by the Force. And the Millennium Falcon it to damn lucky for there not to be something there too. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2018, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-are-the-robots-sentient/815509/52 "2018-06-07T02:05:16Z")
> [@Silver\_lining](#): > > Agreed, but as Obi Wan Kenobi once said if Droids could think none of us would be here. Obi-Wan Kenobi had a somewhat . . . _casual_ . . . relationship with the truth. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2018, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-are-the-robots-sentient/815509/53 "2018-06-07T02:13:14Z")
They don’t quite ever talk about the stunning racism against non-Humans in Star Wars, but it is there. A LOT of non-Human races were enslaved before the Empire and/or wiped out by the Empire. ---
**Author:** ![Aquadementia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aquadementia/32/555_2.png) [@Aquadementia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aquadementia)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2018, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-are-the-robots-sentient/815509/54 "2018-06-07T02:17:38Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > They don’t quite ever talk about the stunning racism against non-Humans in Star Wars, but it is there. A LOT of non-Human races were enslaved before the Empire and/or wiped out by the Empire. Anakin and his mother were slaves to a non-human and had had anti-escape devices in them worse then restraining bolts. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2018, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-are-the-robots-sentient/815509/55 "2018-06-07T02:52:10Z")
> [@Silver\_lining](#): > > Agreed, but as Obi Wan Kenobi once said if Droids could think none of us would be here. > [@Chimera](#): > > They don’t quite ever talk about the stunning racism against non-Humans in Star Wars, but it is there. A LOT of non-Human races were enslaved before the Empire and/or wiped out by the Empire. But, as has been pointed out, there’s a lot of racism in SW, including specific racism against droids. It’s right in the very first movie, “We don’t serve\* their kind\* here!” So why is it surprising that Obi Wan, one of the elites in this society, is fundamentally blind to the nature of droids? Humans who held slaves routinely dehumanized them, and convinced themselves that slaves just weren’t _real people_ like the slave masters were. Why should Obi Wan be different? ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2018, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-are-the-robots-sentient/815509/56 "2018-06-07T09:44:14Z")
> [@Aquadementia](#): > > I’d say no. > Qui-Gon wasn’t immediately convince Jar-Jar was sentient. Sentience and intelligence are not the same thing. Qui-Gon only referenced the latter. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2018, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-are-the-robots-sentient/815509/57 "2018-06-07T09:48:15Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Sentience and intelligence are not the same thing. Qui-Gon only referenced the latter. “The ability to speak does not make one intelligent.” ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2018, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-are-the-robots-sentient/815509/58 "2018-06-07T10:53:38Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > One of the bounty hunters we see in ESB is a droid, so yeah, killing “for profit” is canon. So we were rooting for kissin’-your-sister rebels who owned slaves, and against the government that hired those _don’t-serve-their-kind-here_ types to fight? ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2018, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-are-the-robots-sentient/815509/59 "2018-06-07T11:19:39Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > So we were rooting for kissin’-your-sister rebels who owned slaves, and against the government that hired those _don’t-serve-their-kind-here_ types to fight? What do you mean “we,” paleface? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2018, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-are-the-robots-sentient/815509/60 "2018-06-07T11:37:33Z")
I’m just saying, if they’d cast Luke and Han with the folks who played Bo and Luke, and maybe thrown in a white-bearded mentor played by Denver Pyle… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-are-the-robots-sentient/815509.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-are-the-robots-sentient/815509.md?page=4)