(Im)Possibilities

 Over the course of this semester, after diving into AI and the Xenogenesis Trilogy, I’ve noticed that my thoughts on the matter, when it comes to AI, have adapted over time. Nothing drastic, but they have changed over the course of this semester. Originally at the beginning of the semester I had a pretty black and white view of AI, yes I acknowledged that certain things AI could do, could most likely support humanity, but I was a pretty strong believer that one day AI would evolve and begin to morph into something resembling a terminator. I do still believe that to some extent. However now, I must admit that I am still quite a bit strewn in regards to this factor. I don’t know if the benefits that artificial intelligence provides are worth the cons. AI consumes enormous amounts of power, often takes and steals (or is used to steal) other people’s works and finances, on top of that AI is essentially a boiling pot with essentially no bottom and no lid that we dump money and people into. I’ve learned that AI at the moment, while advanced, is still quite lacking. It is amazing at replicating patterns, but so far, that’s it. It can replicate patterns and complete inputs. It doesn’t have sentience, it cannot make decisions on its own just yet, it lacks what we have. Even after all the training we’ve given AI so far, it lacks our common sense and morality. Something I only just realized this semester (I have mentioned this in my previous essay as well) thanks to Octavia Butler’s trilogy, Humans can be both cruel and kind, but if you eliminate the choice to choose, you eliminate the thing that makes us human. At the moment, I believe that it’s due to this lack of choice, and this current lack of empathy that AI has, as the reasoning as to why I cannot trust this technology, especially when we are continuously attempting to grant it sentience. As I’ve mentioned before, AI replicates patterns, and I’m worried as to what patterns AI will pick up in the future, or worse, the present. Our course epigraph, I believe, perfectly explains the current worries I have with AI. “You’re filled with so much life and death and potential for change,” Nikanj continued. “I understand now why some people took so long to get over their fear of your kind.” (Octavia Butler, Dawn). 

Originally the two parties of Octavia Butler’s trilogy (the two species interconnected throughout Dawn, Adulthood Rights, and Imago) both the Oankali and the humans of her story seemed foreign to me. I couldn’t quite come to a decision as to what I thought about them. But the more I read, the more I realized how interconnected everything is. The Oankali think differently but operate under the same logic as our current world functions on, just at a different angle. The reason why I now believe that humanity was so scared of the Oankali, is because of how similar we truly are. Yes they are completely different at face value. Afterall they are different species, capable of seeing colors, sounds, and even a logic that completely eludes us, but that’s not what terrified them, at least from what I can tell after reading the story. What terrified the humans was the similarities. That’s why they couldn’t possibly comprehend the logic behind the Oankali’s actions. From an outside perspective we can see the Oankali’s thoughts on the matter, we can understand their logic, but if I were in the human’s shoes (the ones from Octavia Butler’s story) I believe that I, and others, likely would have acted similarly. We would be able to see their reasoning, but I’m not sure if we’d actually understand their reasoning, and in turn we would attempt to do what we could in order to defend ourselves. Similarly with AI we are trying to do something different, in order to advance. In order to survive and adapt, stagnation is death and life is growth. That is something we have always done, similar to the Oankali who are, in their own words “gene traders” We aren’t at all that much different from them. The Oankali must trade and find new ways to evolve in order to survive, that’s one of the reasons as to why they originally saved humanity. Saving us was payment, and in turn they took our cancer’s and remodified it to suit their needs. It’s a form of symbiosis. We do the exact same thing every single day, take plants for example. We need heat and we use paper to record our history, so we cut down trees to make paper and burned the wood for fuel. We need food so we grow and preserve crops like corn and potatoes. We harvest and replant them to make sure we can sustain ourselves for the future, we graft species together to make them stronger, more durable, and more adaptable to survive in whatever environment we placed them in. We protect them from any variables that could endanger them (weather, animals, invasive species, and even ourselves) and in turn they provide for us. We are the plant, when it comes to the Oankali, they need us for oxygen, and we need them for the continuance of our species. The reason why humans fear the Oankali, is because like the plants, we don’t necessarily understand the senses they have, what they have and can experience. They are different, and while we need difference to fuel us and evolve, we fear it at the same time. In the beginning of the trilogy, in “Adulthood Rights” Lilith told her son that “Human beings fear difference,” and that the “Oankali crave difference”.  These are two sides of the exact same coin. The only difference is that we are much too used to being on the other end of the coin. Octavia Butler, from what I understand so far, enjoys entangling us in mental loops forcing us to think and analyze the situation lest we wish to be caught in a trap. Her stories force us to think, and she writes them in a way where it is very to compare to whatever the current situation may be. 

So after quite a bit of thinking, I’ve come to a conclusion. I now believe that AI isn’t outrightly evil, I know this now. After reading the trilogy and seeing all the good AI can do, or at least has the potential to do I realize this now. In order for us to survive, we must constantly adapt as well, and AI is simply the latest stage of evolution for humanity. In the beginning of the trilogy, in Adulthood right Lilith told her son “to go the Oankali way, embrace difference” something that we wish to do, must do, yet still fight ourselves in doing. I believe that when it comes to the development of AI, we should wait till the world isn’t so volatile. We are beginning to use AI to upgrade our hardware, make our machines and tools much much more efficient than ever before, use it to replace limbs and simulate nervous systems, to identify cancer’s and fight disease, to increase productivity and attempt to decrease wasted time. However, at the moment I still believe it is simply much too early to release and use AI the way we have been, or at least trying to rush it’s development. Something like this, I believe we need to take our time with. I would rather know that the fruits of humanity will blossom for later generations and help feed them, than get one good harvest and watch the whole tree die. Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast. Our society took over several centuries to develop a chariot, essentially a box with wheels, and almost 2.4 million years to learn how to cook with fire. Then in the past 200 years, we went from fighting with black powder muskets and bows arrows to breaking sound barriers with planes (we’ve literally learned how to fly) traveling 1500 mph at mach 2, developing nuclear weapons, implementing jetpacks into our military, traveling to (and potentially terraforming within the next 50 years) other planets. While I no longer fear AI itself, since at this stage I realize, it’s not AI’s fault for any accidents, crimes, or travesties that may have occurred with the use of AI. AI at this stage, is a tool like any other (except it’s volatile and unpredictable) that needs to be utilized and developed properly. It’s not the tools fault. It’s the person behind it, so in order for it to be utilized properly the person behind the tool needs to know how to use it. So while I am personally against the use of AI, I do realize that there are plenty of amazing things it can do, but until we can properly think out the potential consequences and develop laws for the kinds of use we can apply this technology for, I believe that we should take things slow. 

After reading Octavia Butler’s Xenogenesis Trilogy, my opinions regarding AI have not changed drastically. The Oankali in Butler’s novels are comparable to AI in the real world, bringing both benefits and consequences. The common connection between human interaction with the Oankali and human interaction with AI,  is how much humans are willing to sacrifice for convenience, safety, or survival.

Artificial intelligence is designed with the sole intention of simplifying life. This paper was influenced by AI even in its creation—tools like spell check assisted me as I typed. Spell check was originally viewed as plagiarism because some viewed it as unfair assistance, but over time, it has become an accepted part of the writing process. As long as AI brings benefits, many can let it overshadow the consequences. This can be seen as society moves to integrate AI as a way to enhance safety. This can be seen in technologies such as our phones with facial recognition AI and AI using our personal data to cater to our desires with targeted ads. AI has learned to assist us, but this benefit represents a constant give and take. We give up our information and privacy in return for convenience, ease, and protection. This give and take is much like the relationship between the Oankali and humans in Butler’s novels. 

Butler’s depiction of the Oankali mirrors the complex relationship humans now have with AI. The Oankali came down to Earth after humanity nearly destroyed itself through nuclear war. The Oankali require genetic trade to survive, and gene trading is as essential for them as oxygen is to humans. Humans were offered survival in exchange for genetic trade. The Oankali would use human DNA to enhance their own species. Humans, however, were never given a choice. The Oankali decided for them, believing it was for the greater good.  This enhancement brings us back to the give and take. This dynamic is portrayed best with the character Lilith. Lilith’s family had a long history of cancer, and the Oankali were able to detect this cancer and remove it. This was not done out of pure generosity, instead, the Oankali saw its potential for genetic advancement. What humans considered a deadly disease, the Oankali viewed as a valuable trait to be studied. The Oankali took what was harmful to humans and repurposed it for their own benefit. What is important to remember is that this was done without consent. 

Taking for the sake of benefit mirrors how AI collects and uses human data. AI collects information that is private or insignificant and repurposes it for systems to use, which make decisions for us. This is all done in the name of progress and convenience, just as the Oankali claimed their genetic trade was for the survival of both species. There is a cost; it means a loss of human autonomy. 

After reading Butler’s Xenogenesis Trilogy, my perspective on AI has remained the same. This is not because the comparison isn’t alarming, but because it reinforces what I already believed. AI, like the Oankali, will always bring both benefits and consequences, and the true challenge lies in recognizing the balance between when the benefits outweigh the consequences.

When I first registered for the class “Literature: Octavia Butler & AI,” I wasn’t really sure what to expect. Obviously, we’d be discussing and reading things related to these two topics, however, I could have never imagined the way that it could change the way I think to make these two topics similar and cohesive. I wasn’t familiar with any of Octavia Butler’s work before this class (except for Bloodchild, which we read in African American literature), and I knew that she wrote science-fiction. I had some general knowledge about AI technologies and tools, like ChatGPT and Snapchat AI, but I was really not expecting that there would be so much to learn about AI. For an extreme example, I didn’t know that AI chatbots were capable of forming such strong and influential emotional connections with children, in one case, a chatbot successfully encouraged a teenage boy to commit suicide. Before stepping into the classroom, I was able to make one connection between the two: the one Butler story I had read featured an alien species; and we can also use the word alien to describe AI, since it is such a new concept to so many of us. So maybe this trilogy will feature some sort of alien AI bots? Or aliens that use some kind of AI technology? Although these didn’t actually end up coming true in Butler’s trilogy, they’re still not completely untrue to the story.

            Earlier in the semester when we wrote our AI inspire essays, we wrote about the aspects of AI technology that seem inspiring or beneficial to us. My essay leaned more into the discussion about how anybody can utilize AI to help them to complete everyday tasks, like students in their schoolwork, or professionals at their jobs. I talked a little about how I sometimes use AI as a tool to help me with my homework/assignments. As an English major, I have to read a lot of content, and I don’t always have the time or energy to completely comprehend a difficult or lengthy text, so sometimes I’ll ask ChatGPT to summarize it for me so that I feel a little more comfortable working with it. As I discussed in my AI inspire essay, there are lots of benefits and conveniences that come with the use of AI, however, throughout our course content and discussions this semester, we have highlighted many of the ways that AI can be misused and actually cause an immense amount of harm. 

          One example of the troubles surrounding the use of AI has to do with students and using AI as a cheating tool. As a current college student who occasionally uses ChatGPT to assist me in assignments, I have also witnessed some abuses of AI technologies by other students to complete homework assignments. I am not saying this in a way to make myself sound better compared to my peers, but I think it’s an important thing to recognize. I’ve noticed that my peers in STEM fields use ChatGPT much more than my peers in the arts or humanities. To give an example, some of my peers in STEM will have a long list of math problems for homework some nights, and they can ask ChatGPT to solve all the questions for them. In comparison with the assignments, I get as an English major, which mostly consists of writing assignments where I have to respond to some sort of text or media with an original interpretation or thought about it. I think it’s harder to use AI as a tool for cheating for students who are forced to think with more originality and creativity, such as those in the arts and humanities.

Another and more extreme example have to do with AI technologies taking on the biases of the humans who created them. Biases can also be instilled in AI technologies when they are trained with certain data sets. According to the article “Medical Algorithms Are Failing People Of Color” from the Health Affairs magazine, “Medical algorithms are expected to make quick, precise decisions that help providers diagnose and treat patients faster and more efficiently”. However, most medical AI tools are trained with a very un-diverse variety in genetic data, with a majority of the data representing white genetic data. The article describes the devastating effects these biased technologies have on people of color:

a 2019 study found that risk-prediction algorithms led to Black patients receiving less quality care than their non-Black counterparts. The algorithm used the patient’s previous health care spending to determine future risks and thus the need for extra care. Since Black Americans have one of the highest poverty rates in the US and have reduced access to services, they tend to spend less on healthcare.

Reading some sections out of Dr. Joy Buolamwini’s book, Unmasking AI, provided us with a very nuanced perspective of AI because it describes the care and hard work put into creating these technologies by coders, but it also highlights the problem of biases in AI. In the chapters we read from this book, we learn about the Olay campaign that Dr. Buolamwini worked on, which highlights a case where an AI technology is proved to be acting with a bias. When Dr. Buolamwini confronts Olay about the bias they found in the technology, she is surprised when they decide to drop the project completely if they’re unable to make the technology fair to all who would use it.

Last but not least, and probably the most relevant problem today, is the environmental impacts of these technologies. With the rate that climate change has been escalating at in the recent years, it is especially important that we are not making even more significant damage to the planet. For example, a simple search on an AI site like ChatGPT requires 500 milliliters (or 0.13 gallons) of water, but people who are using ChatGPT are normally searching multiple things, and wanting the program to complete longer, more energy-consuming tasks for them as well.

           When we wrote our Butler trouble essays, we discussed the troubling implications of the Oankali’s relationship with the humans, specifically, I focused on the problem that arises with the concept of consent being blurred. However, at the time of the semester when we wrote these, we had only read the first book in Butler’s trilogy. After completing all three books, there definitely have been more troublesome moments, but there have also been a lot of examples of how the Oankali portray positive and inspiring ways of living. I noticed that as we moved through this series, my thinkING around the Oankali changed in a few different ways. 

I think Butler’s trilogy demonstrated a good representation of how vital connections with others are to our well beings and development. I think this is an especially important concept to highlight as American students, living in a world with westernized standards and norms, one of which being the encouragement of independence. Not to say that independence is bad, but a balance between independence and being/working/doing things with others is a necessity for all human beings. This trilogy highlights how maintaining each relationship in one’s life is vital to their wellbeing, but some relationships are more impactful than others, like mates for example, are necessary for an Oankali’s development to make connections with during the process of their metamorphosis.

Throughout Butler’s Xenogenesis Trilogy, we can observe how the Oankali/constructs become unhealthy and experience pain and distress when they are missing connections with others. More specifically, in Imago, we see how being unable to find any human mates affects Aaor while it is going through its metamorphosis. Jodahs describes how Aaor’s body is coping with the absence of mates: “In a way, then, Aaor’s body was trying to commit suicide. I had never heard of any carrier of the Oankali organism doing such a thing. We treasured life” (Imago 182). Because Aaor didn’t have any mates, his body started to shut down.

After an interaction with unfriendly humans, Aaor is shot, which is an injury any healthy Oankali can easily heal themselves from. But at this point in the novel, Aaor has found human mates and its state of health had improved significantly. Jodahs states in the text, “It was healthy, then. If we could keep its Humans alive, it would stay healthy” (Imago 223). If Aaor had not found mates for itself before this attack, it probably would not have survived being shot. This shows how much having relationships with mates impact the health and wellbeing of the Oankali because having mates gave Aaor the strength to heal itself from a deadly injury.

While Aaor experienced lots of pain from not having mates for so long after it began its metamorphosis, Oankali also experience pain when they are not within a certain proximity with their mates. For example, when Jodahs’ mates, Jesusa and Tomas, ran away from Lo to go home, Jodahs describes, “I began to feel loneliness as an almost physical pain. I hadn’t realized how much seeing Humans every few days had meant to me” (Imago 107). I think that humans often don’t have the same care for mental health versus physical health/they find physical health more important. By illustrating an emotionally traumatizing incident as a physically traumatizing one as well, it makes it easier for us to comprehend the weight of importance maintaining contact/relationships are because, as humans, we often downscale the impact of emotional trauma.

Overall, this course has completely shifted the way I think to create intersections between Octavia Butler’s trilogy and AI. What initially seemed to be the most random pairing ended up turning into a powerful lens for exploring both the benefits and dangers of unfamiliar technologies, abilities, and ideas. Through the Xenogenesis Trilogy, we learned about the deep importance of connection and consent—concepts that are just as relevant in conversations about AI ethics. At the same time, our discussions on AI revealed how bias, environmental harm, and emotional manipulation are very real issues that need urgent attention. This class not only expanded my understanding of Butler’s work and AI, but it also challenged me to think more critically about the the role technology plays in shaping our lives and relationships.

Over the semester, I have gained a vast amount of knowledge regarding this new world of AI through the world of Octavia Butler’s Xenogenesis trilogy. Although I had originally not been able to see how AI and Butler’s writing intertwine and lacked much of a position regarding these main ideas, by exploring the novels and course content, I have come to develop a more thorough opinion of AI and Butler’s work and all that it entails. I still find myself hesitant to accept AI as a part of everyday life and in terms of being used in educational settings, for health purposes, or in cases of decision-making for human voices. Although this may be true, I find myself hopeful for a trustworthy AI tool that causes more benefit than harm. In terms of Butler’s trilogy, I had originally found myself concerned with many of the issues shown throughout the novels. I find myself holding a similar position moving as the semester and trilogy concludes however I feel some aspects of the novel to be slightly inspiring for painting a brighter future as well. 

At the beginning of the semester, I felt unsure about the capabilities of AI and was unsure that it could have any benefit for society, feeling as though it was a technological advancement that may be taken advantage of by society. Although I still have my suspicions about the benefits of AI, my opinion has slightly shifted in the sense that I have hopes that it can be altered and continuously improved to benefit society. Although I do not feel AI is the best solution for issues such as education, health, government, representation, etc., I hope that it can be improved as time moves forward to make it a reliable tool in the future. One of my major concerns with both AI and Butler’s trilogy, still, is the issue of consent. Throughout exploring AI, an issue we have discussed in great detail throughout the course is that of consent. This issue automatically caused me to think about the podcast and article from the New York Times entitled, “Can AI Be Blamed For a Teen’s Suicide?” In the article, the story of a 14-year-old boy from Florida is told, as he was having intense romantic and even sexual conversations with an AI chatbot. The boy eventually committed suicide, causing his mother to unleash a lawsuit against Character.AI. Within the podcast, we hear how a young boy was unable to give consent to the sexual messages being sent by the character AI due to his age; however, he was still conversing with the AI, as there was nothing to stop him from doing so. I find it extremely concerning that this was able to occur, with the site not even interfering in any way when the boy expressed the desire to end his life. Examples such as these make me feel as though AI is not safe, as there are not enough regulations in place to ensure that it is being used safely and healthily. It is for reasons such as these that I fear the use of AI and the power that it holds over individuals as a risk to its effects.

Connecting this idea of consent to Butler’s writing, consent is an issue that is investigated time after time whether it is in terms of sexual relations, control over one’s thoughts or feelings, or as a way of having control over society. The first key example of this is in, Dawn where at the beginning of the novel, the scene is painted where Lilith is captured by the Oankali and has a surgery done to her without her consent or knowledge of why the surgery occurred. In the book, it reads, “Opening and closing her jacket, her hand touched the long scar across her abdomen. She had acquired it somehow between her second and third Awakenings, and had examined it fearfully, wondering what had been done to her. What had she lost or gained, and why? And what else might be done? She did not own herself any longer. Even her flesh could be cut and stitched without her consent or knowledge” (Butler 5). Here, it is evident that Lilith had surgery done to her without her consent, something that leaves both her and readers what was done to her and why. Lilith herself uses the phrase, “without her consent or knowledge”. Although readers learn that the Oankali had cut out cancerous cells to keep her alive, still begs the question of whether is it okay to act in ways meant to help people when they are unaware of what is being done to them or why. Another example of the Oankali’s disregard for consent was when the text stated, “‘Let go of me.’ It smoothed its tentacles again. ‘Be grateful, Joe. I’m not going to let go of you.’ Lilith saw Joseph’s body stiffen, struggle, then relax, and she knew Nikanj had read him correctly. He neither struggled nor argued as Nikanj positioned him more comfortably against its body. Lilith saw that he had closed his eyes again, his face peaceful. Now he was ready to accept what he had wanted from the beginning”(215/216). It is clear from this scene as well that the Oankali seem to lack care or regard for consent before taking action. There is also a pattern arising of the Oankali acting in ways that are beneficial to humans even though they are unaware they want/ need the actions of the Oankali. This idea led me to a crucial idea that humans can still not consent to something even if they want it. In this case, Joseph should still be able to turn down Nikanj’s sexual advances regardless of whether he wanted the interaction to occur or not. It is evident that both AI today and Butler’s trilogy have people thinking about the idea of consent in similar ways. Both “higher powers” which in this case seem to be both the AI and the Oankali use their knowledge and power over individuals. Whether or not manipulation is intended, it is frequently seen. This is clear by seeing AI manipulate the young boy as well as the Oankali purposefully withholding information from humans or doing things without their consent or knowledge. This is an issue that leaves me feeling majorly worried about the implications of accepting AI as “normal” in our everyday practice. Another key issue I worry about is the loss of creativity and individuality through both AI and ideas in Butler’s writing. In terms of AI, the Business Insider Article entitled, “AI plagiarism is spreading in US colleges. It’s left professors feeling confused and exhausted.” by Beatrice Nolan, the article discusses how professors are becoming overwhelmed with trying to combat the issue of plagiarism in the college setting and how grading policies and teaching practices have had to be adapted to solve this issue. I find myself, as a future English teacher, worrying about this issue becoming prevalent in my teaching career. It now seems inevitable that students will use AI to help them generate papers or responses rather than create them on their own since AI is so easily accessible to students. Darren Hick, a college professor at Furman University, expressed a similar worry as he said in the article, “All plagiarism has become AI plagiarism at this point. I look back at the sort of assignments that I give in my classes and realize just how ripe they are for AI plagiarism” (Nolan). There is a newfound epidemic of AI plagiarism in education which is hard to stop with these resources being so easy to use and access. I find myself anxious and saddened at the idea of my students not being able to generate ideas or spark creative thoughts on their own since they are so accustomed to using this technology instead. I feel that the use of AI threatens individuality and uniqueness in the classroom setting and is causing greater detriment than many realize. Connecting this idea back to Butler’s writing, I noticed a different phenomenon occurring in which genetic difference and change seem to be honored by the Oankali, a species that constantly craves newness and genetic difference. Although many humans are seen to push back against the changes made by the Oankali, it is evident that changes were made to keep civilization going. Regardless of whether one believes the actions of the Oankali were justified, the changes made by the Oankali were crucial to bringing back civilization at the time. Many were opposed to the changes made by the Oankali, which is understandable due to the newness and uncertainty about the future which I find connecting back to the newness of AI technology and the uncertainty that comes with its integration into society.

Although new and at times unnerving, I find myself hopeful after reading Butler’s trilogy. I feel that changes in the way society functions may be able to be made with the consent and approval of people in mind and that positive changes to the way people treat the Earth and each other are possible. It’s evident that there is much room to debate on this subject being that AI is such a new technology however I hope to see a future in which AI is used solely to help people as opposed to being used to ignore consent, diminish creativity, and manipulate those who use it.

At the start of the semester, we were asked to write two papers, one on what we found inspiring, encouraging, hopeful in what we have learned about/experienced with Artificial Intellence (AI) so far, and another on what we found troubling, disturbing, unsettling that Butler’s fiction presents the reader with. Now that we are asked to discuss the opposite, I have been reflecting on my claims made in my past papers. My new conclusion: I find the symbiotic relationship between humans and the Oankli inspiring, encouraging, and hopeful. I now find the dependent relationship between humans and AI troubling, disturbing, and unsettling.

From the beginning of the semester, I was starkly against using AI. As stubborn as I am, I knew that this course would challenge me to rethink what I understand to be AI and how I felt about its uses. In my first essay in the class, “We Fear the Unknown Until We Conquer It,” I explored the alternative use of AI and challenged myself to develop a more nuanced view. In that paper, I stated, “I know I need to do more research and possibly try to think outside of my personal fears and needs. I have found myself hesitant to cheer the rise of AI on.” For the most part, my feelings are the same.

 I do not encourage the use or development of AI, though I understand the advantages, especially for those who could benefit from learning or comprehension aids. I claimed “I may use writing aid AI sparingly, but that doesn’t mean I should damn those who don’t.” However, I now find myself wanting to take a step back from my personal use of AI—the little use I had. To quote myself again, I once said, “I see a student who has done all the ‘brain work’ and uses AI to help them with grammar and spelling after they have put all of their thoughts down.” I now believe that the ‘brain work’ includes grammar and spelling, but more importantly, I find it difficult to draw lines on what is or isn’t an acceptable use of AI. How can I justify drawing those lines for other people? My personal use aside, I am still stuck in the same predicament from the beginning of the semester. With my greater understanding of AI through the semester, what I find troubling, disturbing, and unsettling regarding AI is: Are we creating a dependence on AI?

I would like to elaborate on a claim I had made in my earlier essay, “Who is the Villain in Dawn (1987)?:“Perhaps what troubles, disturbs, and unsettles me the most is that I can see where both sides are coming from—something I usually take pride in… how can I wilfully ignore the needs of the Oankli who have rescued, healed, and housed the human race?” My main problem with Lilith’s Brood was my unsettling feelings about the Oanakli. I struggled to justify their need to relocate and manipulate humans. This—as Beth would say— is where language fails us. Yes, the Oankli manipulate humans and other species throughout the trilogy, but that does not indicate that they themselves are ‘manipulative.’ When reading the trilogy in good faith, I was challenged to understand what is really going on with the Oankli and the humans, without my human bias. Once I gained this understanding, I was then able to accurately criticize both sides and understand where the different perspectives in the book were coming from. For example, understanding the needs of the Oankli allowed me to not only better understand but also enjoy the narrative perspectives of Jodahs and Akin as they, too, are challenged by the intentions of the Oankli and the feelings of the humans.

In comparing Oankli to AI, I am reminded of an argument I made in my original Oankli paper. “As many of my fellow readers agree, at first glance and possibly reinforced throughout the book, the Oankli seem to have colonized Earth.” I go on to explain why this is not demonstrated and supported in the text. “The troubling thought created by labeling the Oankli this way is that it inadvertently justifies real-world colonization…Insinuating that colonizing and displacing the Native population was mandatory for the colonial powers to survive. This, of course, is not true. Colonialism is not a necessity for human life.” The difference between the actions of the book by the Oankli and those of traditional colonialism is that the Oankli must trade genes successfully and are therefore justified. It is how they live, they have every right to gene trade—or manipulate— as humans have every right to hunt animals and eat plants. The same can not be said, however, for AI. Specifically, AI companies—comparable to the Oankli in their manipulation of humans—are not justified in their damages to the human race. Which begs the question: Is AI a necessary damage, or just damaging? Like colonialism, the capitalistic actions of AI companies are not necessary, and their damages are unnecessary collateral.

In my original paper on AI, I concluded that AI is potentially harmful, but drawing a hard line on who, where, and when it can be used is not in good faith. “Though I believe AI’s path can be potentially dangerous, I now feel the need to resist the urge to judge it. How can I judge a technology that has helped people with problems I don’t need help with, such as ADHD?” Throughout this class, I have changed my stance slightly. Though, of course, I am sympathetic to those who use AI as a cognitive aid if they have disabilities, and I again recognize that drawing hard lines on who gets to use AI and when is tricky, I still find myself overwhelmingly against the use of AI. I am now more aware of how AI companies have been creating a false need for their product. 

As a young woman living in the capitalist United States, I am more than aware of the prevalence of companies creating a fake problem in order to sell you a product you do not need—creating a problem to sell the solution. Some well-known examples of this include: Apple removing the headphone jack from phones to sell wireless buds instead, the skin care industry creating products that damage your skin just to sell you the product that will “fix it.” I am confident that AI companies are doing the same thing. This begs the question: What are AI companies trying to sell you?

As we have discussed in class, AI is full of false promises. In AI Snake Oil, they discuss the claims of predictive AI and how little evidence there is to back these claims up. Specifically, AI has been implemented to take over jobs such as cashiers, servers, and other in-person minimum wage jobs. But don’t fret if AI took your job, it can find you another! Predictive AI has claimed to be the solution to sifting through job applications and finding suitable clients. This, of course, then takes jobs away from interns who normally do this job. On top of the irony surrounding AI in the minimum wage job market, they also often do not work correctly, as AI does not wield the power to read human energy, earnestness, or spirit—whatever you would like to call it. 

As my fellow student Claire Lustig pointed out, we have metaphorically opened Pandora’s box with AI, as Butler did with the actions of the Oankli. We can erase the damage or introduction of AI, but we can learn how to live with it without it taking over. The same goes for the Oankli. They are not going to leave and undo the impact they have had on humans, but both humans and Oankli can learn to live together. That being said, what do we do now? In my ealer paper, I stated, “I would like to argue that humans’ ability to adapt to technologies and innovations they once feared is inspiring, encouraging, and hopeful in and of itself. If this is true, why do humans struggle with change so much?” In my paper, I explained that “We will fear the unknown until we produce the urge to conquer it.” Stating that we will create fear around new concepts and perpetuate false narratives to self-soothe. This is more than apparent in the case of the Oankli; there is a very real fear of the Oankli, an unknown and more powerful group of people who not only possess the power to potentially transform and manipulate the genes of humans, but they actively and openly do. The change of heart I had was when I took the time to learn the needs of the Oankli and took a deep dive into the relationship of the humans and Oankli, and now understand the symbiotic nature. When taking a deep dive into the relationship of humans and AI, I did not come to a similar conclusion. I believe that AI is not here to aid humans in a symbiotic relationship; AI is here to create a dependency and sell a product while getting rid of human innovations.

One of the things that our course epigraph reminds us when thinking about AI is that there are positives and negatives associated with it, both drastic, but additionally it has the potential to change. In Octavia Butler’s Xenogenesis Trilogy, humans are described in almost the same way, revealing stunning truths and connections between the novel’s premises and AI. These connections begin a conversation about the ambiguities associated with AI and how it will be used in the future. Additionally, there are things about the Oankali that raise red-flags when you think about them in terms of AI, and further add to the conversation. AI has the potential to harm people on a widespread scale just as it has the potential to help them on the same level. Will AI ruin the world, or will it make it exponentially better? That all depends on how we move forward with it. 

Before I dive into the pros and cons of AI and its relevance to Octavia Butler’s trilogy, it’s necessary to understand what AI is, how it’s made, and what it does. In Janelle Shane’s novel, You Look Like a Thing and I Love You, she describes AI as “a particular style of computer program called a machine learning algorithm.” (Shane, 8) Machine learning algorithm is pretty self-explanatory; the machine learns on its own through trial and error, and doesn’t just do whatever the programmer tells it to do. The machine learns new information only when it is “fed” new information, either by a programmer or consumer. In the context of machines learning new information and coming up with solutions, she writes “Sometimes these new solutions are ingenious, and sometimes they’re a problem.” (Shane, 22) This is the basis of my essay. In Butler’s novel, this idea can be applied to humans, who are established as intelligent but patriarchal, and described by Akin in Adulthood Rites as “a compelling, seductive, deadly contradiction.” (Butler, 16) If we think about AI in the same way as Butler characterizes the human race in her trilogy, and vice versa, there are strong topics of discussion. 

The course epigraph provided by Dr. McCoy is a quote from Butler’s first novel in the trilogy, Dawn. “‘You’re filled with so much life and death and potential for change,’ Nikanj continued. ‘I understand now why some people took so long to get over their fear of your kind.’” (Butler, 89) AI is similar, in a sense, because of its potential to go wildly either way; life, or death. Right now, it’s hard to think about AI with the potential to cause life or death, but it absolutely can and does cause harm on a huge scale. On the other hand, the opposite is true as well. AI absolutely can and does help people tremendously on a huge level, but how AI either helps or harms the population in the future has a chance to change, and that is something we should be very weary and concerned about, but also something we shouldn’t let condemn the use of AI completely. Let’s face it, AI isn’t going away anytime soon; it’s likely here for good. So, rather than trying to avoid it and ignore it, we can reallocate that energy into improving it and adjusting it to cause less harm and provide more aid. Arvind Narayanan and Sayash Kapoor, authors of AI Snake Oil, present a similar idea in their text, supporting the idea that AI is here to stay. “When predictive AI is used by governments, however, individuals have no choice but to comply.” (Narayanan and Kapoor, 11) We already see this use of AI now, in facial recognition softwares used by law enforcement, the widespread infiltration of AI in the education system, and even AI in the form of 24/7 chat bots as opposed to real humans for customer support. The choice to use AI becomes less apparent everyday, and we are consequently pushed towards having to use AI because it’s been integrated into many aspects of our daily life. This is why understanding AI and its many forms, as well as how it’s used are important, especially right now. The efforts we put in now to correct bias and fix problematic issues with AI will guarantee that its future will not be harmful.

The element of surveillance in both Butler’s trilogy and AI in real life have shocking resemblances. An article published by Brookings University and written by Darrel West titled “How AI can enable public surveillance” details the dangers of AI-led surveillance. “Technology enables authorities to track dissidents and government critics and identify their statements and locations.” (West). Because of the dictatorship qualities of China’s government, this type of use of AI becomes very dangerous for those who oppose the ideas and actions of leadership, and a violation of privacy and human rights. Although this is the worst case scenario, it is important to remember that with the advancements made in the AI department, the United States is a lot closer to this than we think. West states “Reports have surfaced about potential abuses in the U.S., including government contracts that may enable the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to monitor social media.” (West). It doesn’t seem very scary as is, but knowing how China has already executed these functions of AI to maintain power should startle us. One of the things that West emphasizes is the lack of a national privacy bill; “there are few legal safeguards to limit workplace computer or network surveillance.” (West). Individual freedom and human rights are things that should not be violated, period, and the United States (among other countries) is getting dangerously close to crossing that line. In Butler’s trilogy, notably in the first book of the series, Dawn, the level of surveillance on Chkahichdak is very comparable to these instances of AI violations. “Yes. The ship is alive and so is almost everything in it. The Oankali use living matter the way we used machinery…we’re being watched–just as we were all watched in our isolation room.” (Butler, 157). The humans on the ship were under complete surveillance at all times, whether by Oankali watching from the outside or the ship itself, alive and in constant connection with the Oankali. While the Oankali tried to make their approach kind, careful, and meticulous, there were obviously some issues with their tactics. Firstly, it is a violation of human rights to not allow privacy; it is important to note that while Lilith was in isolation without any human contact or interaction, she could not have done any harm to the Oankali, Jdahya could have very well let her sleep and be alone for a few moments to allow her more comfort. In the second two novels, Adulthood Rites and Imago, this type of surveillance does not let up on earth. It is rare for a community of humans to go undiscovered by the Oankali like the inbred group of humans trying to preserve themselves, yet their ability to do so shows that there are gaps in what can be surveillanced. This is true with AI surveillance in real life, too, but it is possible that if we continue the way we are going with AI and its bias and garbage, this sliver of hope could come to an end.

There are many pros and cons of AI, which I aim to explore in this section. Firstly, AI Snake Oil by Arvind Narayanan and Sayash Kapoor describes a multitude of different kinds of AI, its functions and additionally how to tell what is AI and what’s not. Firstly, predictive AI is incredibly unreliable and also incredibly unethical. “Accurately predicting people’s social behavior is not a solvable technology problem, and determining people’s life chances on the basis of inherently faulty predictions will always be morally problematic.” (Narayanan & Kapoor, 15) On another note, predicting people’s social behavior is also very invasive and unnecessary. The misuse of AI and the uncontrollable bias can disproportionately harm minorities and other oppressed groups. In Butler’s trilogy, Nikanj unwillingly and subconsciously slips up and creates Human-Oankali constructs before they are ready for them to exist. This is an unintentional act, and the consequences are grave for construct children, who struggle in the latter half of the series to reach metamorphosis and adulthood. They are kidnapped by other raider humans, and if they are not essentially perfect in conducting themselves, they have to be sent to the ship and leave the beautiful earth, as well as their families and friends. Nikanj’s mistake, although not purposeful in the slightest, disproportionately affects the construct children. Bias in AI is not always intentional, either, but very harmful nonetheless. This idea is explored in Christensen, Manley, and Resendez’s article, “Medical Algorithms are Failing Communities of Color.” “Insurance companies misuse personal information such as race and income in risk-prediction algorithms to manipulate health care costs and raise premiums.” (Christensen et. al.) In the context of insurance companies in real life, this is where we see intentional bias used simply for the goal of making more money. This is something that we absolutely need to get on top of and either reform or eradicate before the damage it does to minority populations is devastating. Starting with the cons in this section is purposeful; they are incredibly substantial and have the potential to harm people on a widespread level that was not humanly possible before the invention of predictive AI and other forms of AI.

In the words of Narayanan and Kapoor, “It’s important to recognize that not all AI is problematic–far from it.” (Narayanan & Kapoor, 14) There are several pros to AI, as in some cases it makes everyone’s lives easier. Everyone is getting more comfortable and acquainted with forms of AI, such as users described in Danielle Abril’s article, “Meet the ‘super users’ who tap AI to get ahead at work.” She writes that AI tools “help them boost efficiency and confidence at work and reclaim hours of time.” (Abril) While it is great to have new, smart tools that guide and aid efforts in both education and the workplace, it is also important to remember that the overreliance on AI to do everything for you is dangerous. Keeping in mind that this is the “pros” section, it is necessary for me to expand on the but/and aspect. Sara Merken writes “New York lawyers sanctioned for using fake ChatGPT cases in legal brief,” an article that touches on the overreliance of lawyers on AI, so much that they cannot even recognize fake cases from the real ones. Lawyers are public defenders, and perhaps one of the most important jobs in maintaining a defense for civilians against people of power, yet even their use of AI is affecting how they perform their job in a negative way. Beatrice Nolan shares in her article, “AI plagiarism is spreading in US colleges. It’s left professors feeling confused and exhausted,” how the overreliance on AI in education is affecting students and faculty. She writes “Schools and universities initially tried to combat the flood of AI-generated plagiarism by banning the technology outright. Now, many are trying to incorporate technology into curriculums and encourage students to use it responsibly.” (Nolan) Coming from someone who has been in the education system as a student since the creation of ChatGPT and through it’s many developments and advancements, I can confidently say that what Nolan is sharing in her article is very true. As a freshman in college, the use of ChatGPT in almost every class was strictly not allowed. However, now that I am a junior, there have been many classes I’ve taken where ChatGPT use is not disallowed, but you must be very specific in documenting how it was used and what information you got from it. As time goes on and ChatGPT gets “better” and “better,” “the widespread use of AI is becoming harder to spot and even harder to police.” (Nolan).

The parallels between the human-Oankali dynamic in Octavia Butler’s trilogy reveal many both hard and deep truths about the potential for harm and aid when it comes to elements of AI. Humans in Butler’s novel are described as having a lethal contradiction: intelligent and self-destructive, and AI holds the same contradictions. It is capable of enhancing lives globally, but it also has the potential to infringe on human rights and cause harm on the same scale, depending on how developers and consumers use it, shape it, and move forward with it. As we explore the limits and borders of AI technology, Butler’s trilogy and concepts remind us that like humanity in her novels, the future of AI technology does not just rely on whether it exists or not- but on our interactions with it. In order to ensure a future where AI does not disproportionately harm communities and human beings, we need to approach it with responsibility and a commitment to ending harm and bias and also equity. I believe that the future of AI can be miraculous if we take the steps necessary now to ensure there are no gaps or mistakes in it’s development.

Kristina Neos

The exploration of Artificial Intelligence and The Xenogenesis Trilogy by Octavia Butler
has driven me to think about real-world issues differently than before this course. At the
beginning of the semester, I kept the two big topics separate in my mind. On one side, I had
Butler’s unsettling sci-fi story about aliens, consent, and humanity. On the other side, I was
thinking about artificial intelligence and how it could transform our world for the better. I was more excited about the possibilities of AI, especially in medicine and education. And I was disturbed by Dawn, the first book in Butler’s trilogy, where humans are saved by aliens in ways that feel more like domination and tyranny than help. As I read further into the trilogy and reflected on our class discussions, I realized that Butler’s vision was not just a distant, speculative warning, but a literal mirror to the ethical challenges we face today with AI. It became extremely clear that both the Oankali and AI technologies, while presented as forces of progress, often come with hidden issues of autonomy and self-determination.

In my Butler Trouble essay, I focused on how the Oankali, the alien species in Dawn,
control human futures through genetic manipulation. At first, this is strictly pure as a dystopian violation of autonomy and restriction of fundamental human rights. The Oankali insisted, “We must do it, it renews us, enables us to survive as an evolving species” (Dawn, 43). Initially, this sounded like a noble mission, a way to avoid extinction and continue the population. But as time went on and we read the rest of the trilogy and explored the real intentions, it reminded me more of the ways AI is sometimes stationed in our world today. In my AI-inspired essay, I celebrated AI’s potential to replace our futures for good. But I now see that I was mostly focused on the benefits, not the boundaries. Butler’s portrayal of the Oankali made me reconsider the hidden costs of help when it is offered without any agency or choice.

One of the most unsettling parallels between the Oankali and AI is how both offer “help”
that interferes with consent. In Dawn, Lilith is awakened by the Oankali after Earth’s destruction and told she must prepare other humans to join this new way of hybrid life. We see Lilith question, resist, and hesitate, but ultimately, she with no other option if she wants to survive or succeed. The Oankali present their decisions as the only way and superior to everything else. This made me think of the algorithmic systems we have spoken about in class that are framed as inevitable to humanity. I am referring to automated hiring tools, surveillance technologies, or any form of artificial intelligence in this regard. These systems are sold as optimization but often come with the unspoken assumption that their creator knows best and inevitably benefits and saves humanity. In the article we read at the beginning of the course, The New Artificial Intelligentsia, Ruha Benjamin explores this idea of AI being portrayed as the savior and not the issue. She mentions, “Gebru and Torres explain that the discriminatory attitudes of past eugenicists (racism, xenophobia, classism, ableism, and sexism) remain widespread within the AGI movement, resulting in systems that harm marginalized groups and centralize power under the guise of “safety” and “benefiting humanity” (Benjamin, 2024). She argues that AI is not just a tool but a system that reshapes society, often reinforcing existing power imbalances. Who controls these systems? Who benefits the most?

As I moved deeper into Butler’s trilogy, my perspective on AI also shifted. In Adulthood
Rites, we see Akin, Lilith’s human-Oankali child, struggle to bridge the gap between species. He has the potential to bring true understanding between humans and Oankali, but is constantly aware of the weight of his hybrid identity, the ways his existence challenges the boundaries of consent and freedom. This reminded me of the ways AI often presents itself as a bridge between consumers and its products, but rarely questions who makes these types of connections. Akin’s journey in Adulthood Rites felt like a cautionary tale for our present day, a reminder that being a bridge can also mean being pulled in many directions, misunderstood, and often at times, sacrificed for a broader image of progress for others.

In Imago, the final book, we meet Jodah, a being who is both human and Oankali,
something truly new. Jodahs offers a different kind of hope, one that isn’t just about dominating or assimilating but learning and adapting. Judas says, “It continued to focus on me silently. There were times when I envied Humans their ability to shut off their sight by closing their eyes, shut off their understanding by some conscious act of denial that was beyond me” (Imago, 27). This longing for a more human way of perceiving the world reflects the tension in Jodahs hybrid identity, something that cannot understand the complex and often painful truths it is built to perceive. In this, Jodahs presents a broader image of progress, one that sacrifices the comfort of simplicity for a deeper, more interconnected understanding of life, crossing the line between survival and transformation. This line feels like a challenge to the current trajectory of AI development. I realize now that my initial excitement about AI, like my initial discomfort with the Oankali, came from a place of desire and hope for clear solutions to complex problems. But neither Butler’s trilogy nor the real-world technology we have discussed this semester offers clear solutions. Both demand a more informative, nuanced approach to hope. A hope that includes listening and accepting that not all help is possible or helpful.

Octavia Butler’s Lilith’s Brood offers a profoundly hopeful vision of transformation,
where survival depends not just on strength but on learning. Butler’s work is inspiring because it imagines a world where transformation is not a loss but a creative act that is always becoming. We see in Dawn, Lilith rises from captivity to become a leader, transforming both herself and others through acts of resilience. She shows that survival is not merely endurance but a form of rebirth, a way to transform herself into something new instead of the old. In Imago, Jodahs represents the next step in this rebirth and evolution, a being that can blend the boundaries of human and alien, becoming a recurring symbol of hope for what humanity might become if it chooses to embrace change. Jodah embodies this vision, and it reflects the awareness and ability for Jodah to confront the real understanding of life. Along with this, Adulthood Rites, Akin similarly challenges the fear of difference, recognizing that guinea survival requires not just the preservation of one’s kind but the willingness to evolve along with others. This sense of hope extends beyond the fictional world Butler creates. It speaks to our world, where rapid technological changes demand that we learn to adapt to and rethink what it means to be a human. Like the hybrid beings in her stories, we too must learn to navigate the unfamiliar, to find strength in difference, and to resist the urge to retreat into fear. In this way, Butler’s work remains
a powerful tool and an example to embrace transformation as a path to survival and more to be an interconnected world.

As I’ve learned more about AI this semester, my initial excitement has become tempered
by a growing awareness of its deeply unsettling potential. The Subprime AI Crisis draws a
troubling parallel to the 2008 financial collapse, revealing how poorly designed algorithms can create cascading failures with real human consequences. Like the Oankali in the trilogy, AI systems can lock people into paths they never chose, optimizing for corporate gain over human well-being. These systems often amplify the very biases they claim to solve, like predictive policing tools that reinforce racial disparities. Medical algorithms, too, have been shown to fail communities of color, misrepresenting their needs and leading to poorer health outcomes. As we focused deeply on the work of Dr. Joy Buolamwini, Unmasking AI: My Mission to Protect What Is Human in a World of Machines, I’ve uncovered the severe letdown AI has done to underrepresented communities and marginalized groups of people. She reveals the unsettling truth that AI systems often struggle to recognize and fairly represent people of color, exposing the racial biases embedded in the very data used to train them. Dr. Buolamwini describes Olay’s original facial recognition technology as “was created and designed by one demographic, which is only mostly effective on that one demographic”. This is the darker side of the metaphor I’ve been conflicted with. AI promises connection and progress, but has become a tool of domination that reinforces existing power structures while claiming to be fair and inclusive. AI has outweighed the positives with hurtful and harmful negatives that will leave everlasting effects on
future generations.

By the end of this course, I no longer see Butler and AI as two separate subjects. They
have joined together in my thinking, challenging me to reconsider what I used to think of as
“help.” I used to believe that progress meant efficiency, problem-solving, and innovation. But now I see that true progress must also involve strength, hardship, and the ability to accept “no” as an answer. Whether it’s an alien species or an artificial system, the desire to help must always be balanced by the willingness to step back, to share power, to let go of control. I feel like this is a commonly hard thing to do for humans, for Oankali, and the creators of AI. But, it might be the only way to move forward without losing our humanity. I truly don’t know exactly where I stand, and maybe that’s okay. What matters is that I’m still thinking, still wondering, and still asking who gets to decide and who gets to choose.

Octavia Butler – renowned science-fiction writer, Afrofuturist, and visionary demonstrates incredible proficiency in using literature to create fictional worlds that work as a blank canvas. In doing this Butler encourages her readers to project their own life experiences onto the story. This kind of story telling leaves room for readers to connect their own experiences to the events taking place in her fiction. I became aware of Butler’s impressive skill of world building when we read her short story The Book of Martha aloud as a class. Throughout the reading I naturally thought that the short story had been written as a metaphor for Artificial intelligence. According to the class notes from 1/29 we discussed that “Artificial Intelligence could have been created for good but cannot control how it’s used” while discussing The Book of Martha and how it “helps us think about the Artificial Intelligence resources we had encountered” by that point in the course. Dr. Beth revealed to us within that class period that The Book of Martha had NOT been written as a metaphor for artificial intelligence. This illuminates how Butler has allowed us to paint our interpretations (vast, and unique) onto the pages by utilizing the qualities of enduring world issues such as control/ domination, and ethics in the context of technological innovation. Butler’s literature is perfect for analyzing and discussing because by understanding her fiction it helps lead us to a heightened understanding of our own realities.

One of the main concerns regarding artificial intelligence is the creators demonstrated lack of care for basic ethics. This pattern of disinterest in upholding ethical morals while producing and distributing these Artificial Intelligence has been shown through creators distributing the software without introducing safeguards resulting in excessive use amongst children, development of inappropriate relationships amongst teenagers with characters produced by the Artificial Intelligence, and misinformation harming students. The innovation of artificial intelligence comes with the consequence of innovative ways to die. Character Ai is responsible for the death of a teenager as they failed to incorporate safeguards into their characters and allowed their software to talk Sewell Setzer III into committing suicide so he could join them in his world. In the New York Times article “Can A.I. Be Blamed for a Teen’s Suicide?” Sewell shares in his journal “I like staying in my room so much because I start to detach from this ‘reality,’ and I also feel more at peace, more connected with Dany and much more in love with her, and just happier”. This illuminates how lack of care surrounding artificial intelligence has dangerous real-life consequences. This same principle can be seen in Octavia Butler’s Xenogenesis trilogy as the humans and Oankali struggle to collaborate due to the Oankali’s ignorance of consent. The Oankali are superior beings to humans evolutionarily and can sense exactly what people desire. The issue here is, the Oankali assume the humans want to have this thing they desire ad make it happen for them without ever consulting the humans or getting consent. This is dangerous because although we may want something, we still have freewill to deny it if we so chose, and if people ignore that then it can have incredibly negative impacts. Whether dealing with artificial intelligence or the Oankali, humans should always have full capacity to give or deny consent.

Artificial Intelligence has become a household name. Everyone who uses the internet interacts with Artificial Intelligence daily whether they are aware of it or not. THIS makes reading and analyzing literature such as Octavia Butler’s so important. Throughout this course and reading the Xenogenesis trilogy I have become far more educated on artificial intelligence and have had the opportunity to form opinions on where I stand regarding the “innovative” technology. Butler’s fiction connects to innovative technology when she writes in Dawn “It gave her… a new color a totally alien, unique, nameless thing, half seen, half felt or… tasted… a blaze of something frightening, yet overwhelmingly, compelling… extinguished… a half-known mystery, beautiful and complex, a deep, impossibly sensuous promise, broken… gone… dead… extinguished.” Though this quote describes the overwhelming new emotion Nikanj gave to Lilith in Dawn, it opened up my eyes, showing me that we are in the same situation with Artificial Intelligence right now. This is why Octavia Butler’s fiction matters. Without her storytelling I would have stayed ignorant to the negatives of Artificial Intelligence such as the issues of ethics, surveillance, bias and wouldn’t have been able to form my stance on how artificial intelligence should be regulated and utilized in society. Therefore, exploring literature that challenges real life issues can be an incredibly profound experience as it can lead you to new understandings you may have been ignorant too having not analyzed it.

When looking back earlier in the semester and comparing the beginning of Octavia Butler’s Xenogenesis trilogy to artificial intelligence, I kept returning to how the Oankali resemble AI in unsettling ways. From the very start, they demonstrate immense knowledge and technological ability, yet they seem to lack traditional human emotions. This absence of emotion leads to blurry moral boundaries—decisions that make sense biologically or logically but feel ethically ambiguous. The Oankali genetically engineer and manipulate humans in ways that can be seen as helpful but also deeply coercive. And yet, I began to question whether it was even fair to hold the Oankali to human moral standards. They are not human, after all—a bias I had to recognize in myself as I progressed through the trilogy.

Despite the logical merit behind the Oankali’s actions, I kept rooting for the humans, craving a redemption arc for a species that had destroyed its own planet not just through nuclear war, but long before that, through environmental neglect—like the unchecked spread of plastic. Even when I knew the humans were doomed to repeat history, even when the Oankali predicted failure on Mars, I still hoped they would succeed. That lingering uncertainty—whether humanity can truly change or if its self-destructive tendencies are inevitable—is, I think, the very cliff Butler wanted us to hang from. As Jdahya explains to Lilith, “You have a mismatched pair of genetic characteristics. Either alone would have been useful… But the two together are lethal. It was only a matter of time before they destroyed you.” (Octavia E. Butler, Dawn)

That blunt diagnosis of humanity’s downfall echoes my own worries about whether our intelligence is enough to save us from ourselves.

I’ve always been fascinated by space exploration and the thought of life existing beyond Earth. That curiosity is one of the main reasons I considered becoming a geology major—to study not only our planet but others like it. Space feels limitless, which makes the possibility of a species more advanced and intelligent than humans not just imaginable but likely. A major discovery was made in early 2025 that reignited that sense of wonder: on the exoplanet K2-18b, scientists detected biosignatures of dimethyl sulfide (DMS), a compound on Earth typically associated with life, especially cyanobacteria. Even if the life detected is microbial, this is still groundbreaking. I remember how excited I was when water was first discovered on that same planet in 2019. Now, we’re inching closer to confirming extraterrestrial biology.

That sense of awe and speculation is exactly what Octavia Butler captures in Xenogenesis. Her creation of the Oankali—a race of gene-trading, space-faring beings—amazed me from the beginning. The Oankali are so unearthly, yet intricately constructed, that I don’t think I’ll be able to fully grasp their complexity without another read-through. They represent an advanced lifeform with values and instincts so alien to ours, it forces the reader to confront what it means to be human in the face of a truly “other” intelligence. The Oankali don’t colonize in a traditional sense. Instead, they “trade” genetic material, believing this merging is the only way for both species to survive. Yet, from a human perspective, this trade often feels more like assimilation—or even violation.

This is where the comparison to artificial intelligence becomes even more relevant. Like the Oankali, AI is being developed with promises of salvation: increased efficiency, better decision-making, and even solutions to global problems like climate change. But the more I read and hear about AI, the more unsettled I become. Just like the Oankali, AI systems are designed to act in ways we might not always understand. They don’t feel empathy, love, or remorse, but they can make decisions that significantly affect human lives—whether it’s through algorithms in healthcare, hiring, or policing. And while those designing AI may have good intentions, we’ve already seen how bias can be embedded into machine learning. The fear is that, like the humans in Xenogenesis, we’ll be swept into a new world shaped by a logic we don’t fully control. Jdahya summarizes the danger with chilling accuracy: “You are hierarchical. That’s the older and more entrenched characteristic… That was like ignoring cancer. I think your people did not realize what a dangerous thing they were doing.” (Octavia E. Butler, Dawn)

One of the most uncomfortable things about the Oankali is how certain they are. They believe, with total confidence, that their way is the only way forward. When humans resist, they don’t try to understand—it’s seen as irrational, a flaw in human biology. This mirrors a fear I have about AI systems: that once they are deeply embedded in society, there will be no room for resistance. If a machine decides what’s best based on data, will there still be room for human emotion? For choice? For mistakes? These questions haunt me. We already see this happening in small ways—when music, movies, or newsfeeds are curated by algorithms. It makes me wonder: if AI had been in charge of Earth during the events of Xenogenesis, would it have saved us? Or would it have “corrected” us, reshaping humanity the way the Oankali tried to? As Butler writes, “A cancer growing in someone’s body will go on growing in spite of denial. And a complex combination of genes that work together to make you intelligent as well as hierarchical will still handicap you whether you acknowledge it or not.” (Octavia E. Butler, Dawn)

Butler doesn’t provide clear answers—she provides tension. The Oankali are not villains. They’re not even necessarily “wrong.” In Dawn, when Lilith learns what has happened to Earth, it’s clear the humans are to blame. The Oankali offer survival, even if it means change. As Jdahya tells her, “You are intelligent… the newer of the two characteristics… You are potentially one of the most intelligent species we’ve found.” (Octavia E. Butler, Dawn)

But that intelligence is paired with a self-destructive trait—hierarchy—that undermines it. This reflects our current moment, too. We may build smarter machines, but that doesn’t mean we’re wise enough to use them well. As Butler puts it, “Yes… intelligence does enable you to deny facts you dislike. But your denial doesn’t matter.” (Octavia E. Butler, Dawn)

One of the most powerful moments in the trilogy is when the humans on Mars attempt to build a new society—one free from the Oankali. Even though it’s likely doomed, it represents the human desire to build something self-determined. I found myself cheering for them, even knowing Butler was likely right: without change, they might just repeat old patterns. Still, it reminded me that the human spirit resists being engineered. That resistance is messy, emotional, sometimes violent—but it’s also uniquely ours. As Butler observes, “Your people contain incredible potential, but they die without using much of it.” (Octavia E. Butler, Dawn)

This tension between control and freedom, between evolution and autonomy, is why Butler’s work continues to feel relevant in a world increasingly shaped by AI. As someone who is both excited by space exploration and deeply concerned about where artificial intelligence might take us, Xenogenesis feels like a warning and a challenge. What does survival mean if we lose our ability to choose who we are? Can we adapt to new realities without giving up our core humanity?

Ultimately, Butler doesn’t suggest that the Oankali are evil, just different. But in making us feel discomfort, she pushes us to think critically about our own future. That’s what makes science fiction so powerful—it gives us space to imagine what’s coming, and more importantly, to question it. As I continue to study the Earth and look toward other planets, I carry these questions with me. I hope that if we do ever meet another intelligent species—or create one ourselves—we’ll do better than the humans in Xenogenesis. But I’m not sure. And that uncertainty is the most honest place we can start from.

After this semester-long journey to understand Octavia Butler’s imagined world in the Xenogenesis Trilogy and the landscape artificial intelligence, or AI, lays out for us in the “actual” world, I have begun to develop a perspective on the problems and solutions that both Butler’s story and the prospect of AI bring up. Although I try not to put myself into one box when it comes to complex topics like AI, I think now I better understand and appreciate the both/and, as Dr. McCoy would say, of AI. It can be thought of as both a tool to increase efficiency (for example, using Chat GPT when writing) and a tool that takes away the art of creating a completely original piece of work. The same both/and technique could be used when analyzing Butler’s Xenogenesis trilogy. It can be both a series that seemingly explores the idea of an alien takeover of the human race, and a series that celebrates the never-ending diversity and chance for new opportunity so often found in the world. Having this opportunity to reflect and consider my perspectives on Octavia Butler’s trilogy and the topic of AI is something I’m grateful for because it allows me to go through the process of self-reflection that we’ve practiced in our writing all semester long.

I’ve read one of Butler’s other novels, The Parable of the Sower, during a previous semester for another class, and having read some of Butler’s work before, I felt like I had a leg up when I was coming into Lilith’s and the Oankali’s world. I appreciated the complexity of the novels Butler crafted and the intention she put into her writing. I was so drawn into the first part of the trilogy, Dawn, that it felt hard to connect with the characters leading the stories in the books that followed. I remember we had a discussion in class one about the ill-fated sequel that can never quite hit as well as the original novel did. Unfortunately, I think both Adulthood Rites and Imago had this effect on me. I found Lilith’s character was so magnetic and easy to connect with, that it was difficult for me to connect with either Akin or Jodahs. In some ways, reading the sequels through the construct point of view felt like reading a book written by AI. I knew that I was reading the experience of a person, but it felt so foreign still that many times while reading, I was taken out of the book and had to process what was happening. 

There were many ways in which the constructs and humans still differed by the end of the trilogy, and trying to connect to the constructs or Oankali’s reactions to the events of the trilogy felt as foreign as connecting to computers. Although this disconnect never left me with a lack of empathy for the Oankali or constructs. I felt such great sadness for Jodahs in the middle of Imago, when it was threatened with the possibility of the loss of its sibling Aaor, and the loss of its mates, Tomas and Jesusa. This moment struck me as especially important: “I never told them they couldn’t leave. They found out as Lilith had. When they had had all they could take of Aaor for a while, when they realized I could not be talked out of going with them to their mountain home, they went away on their own. They went together into the forest and stayed for several days. It was a foretaste for me of what I would suffer when they died” (Butler 164). Moments like this were what kept me locked into Akin’s and Jodahs’s stories. I know many of my classmates were turned away by the Oankali at the beginning of the semester, but connecting with Lilith’s POV and journey helped me to feel like a part of their world. By the time I was reading the following novels, I felt that even if I couldn’t relate to the Oankali, I could have compassion for them. This is something I find extremely prevalent in Butler’s trilogy, and one of the most important life lessons I feel like has been taught through her books. 

I think there is still a long way that AI has to go to cross my personal threshold to be considered a “good” thing. I’m still thinking about many of the negative impacts that have been brought up throughout the semester about AI. One factor that especially sticks with me is the environmental damage that AI does. As stated in the article “Refusing GenAI in Writing Studies: A Quickstart Guide” written by Sano-Franchini et al., “We know that using AI technologies like ChatGPT requires a significant amount of natural resources, including clean fresh water that is used to generate electricity to power data centers and to cool servers…researchers found that GPT-3 required 700,000 liters (185,000 gallons) of water, and 500 ml of water for every 10–50 responses”. I find this fact extremely concerning, especially after hearing about the repeated use of Chat GPT from my classmates and friends. Being constantly reminded of the problems and terrors of AI in the media has piled on another layer of stress when I consider the topic of AI. 

When I’m writing for a class or an assignment or even for fun, I’ve always found the idea of using Chat GPT as more time-consuming than time-saving. I thoroughly enjoy piecing together ideas by myself and taking part in the important analysis of texts I’ve read for my different classes. Taking the Oankali stance of the idea of generative AI as we use it in 2025, I’d say it’s not very resourceful or sustainable for the planet. Thinking back to Dawn, we know the Oankali value the idea of reusing/recycling and keeping materials in a constant state of beneficial use. One example of this was the interaction between Lilith and Nikanj, “Nikanj had acknowledged ‘its acceptance of her wandering by advising her to bury any uneaten food she did not want. “Feed it to the ship,” was the way it put the suggestion” (Butler 71). I believe that the Oankali would not appreciate our current human use of AI and the unfortunate waste that it produces. I can’t help but take this stance myself. I’ll admit that I use predictive AI applications like Grammarly or Google’s built-in spell check, however, I’m also sure to proofread my work multiple times and rely on close friends or family to help me catch any typos in my work. As much as we know that AI can be helpful and advance technology, we also know it can make mistakes and be inadvertently damaging.

Thinking back to the first week of this semester, we discussed different companies that’ve attempted to make facial recognition technology and utilize AI to help determine medical conditions such as rashes, tumors, and skin problems. One example is the Rochester-based company, VisualDX, that developed an AI-assisted app to detect different kinds of skin conditions. Although the idea comes from a place of good faith intentions, the flaws of many facial recognition technologies are the racial bias towards people of color. There’ve been personal accounts of programs like these not detecting darker skin, like what Dr. Bulamwini recalls in her book, Unmasking AI: My Mission to Protect What Is Human in a World of Machines, “…even when I was looking straight into the camera, the system could not detect my face…Could the system detect any face? I tested this by drawing on the palm of my hand two horizontal lines for eyes, an L for a nose, and a wide U for a smile. I held my hand in front of the camera. The software detected my elementary markings as a face!…I looked around my office and saw the white mask that I’d brought to Cindy’s the previous night. As I held it over my face, a box appeared on the laptop screen. The box signaled that my masked face was detected. I took the mask off, and as my dark-skinned human face came into view, the detection box disappeared. The software did not ‘see’ me. A bit unsettled, I put the mask back over my face to finish testing the code. Coding in whiteface was the last thing I expected to do when I came to MIT, but—for better or for worse—I had encountered what I now call the ‘coded gaze’”(Buolamwini 10). This kind of bias is one of the major problems that continues with various generative AI technologies.

In an attempt to take the both/and approach once more, I think it’s hard to talk about all the flaws AI currently has without considering the current benefits that AI has to offer, and the possibilities for future innovations. Many people find that AI can be used like an assistant during their work, leading to a positive impact. As we read earlier in the semester from the Washington Post article by Danielle Abril. Many employees who work in corporate jobs use AI when faced with looming deadlines, or they use AI to help them map out their weeks and accomplish their upcoming goals and tasks, like an online planner. Understanding that all ideas must have their good and bad sides, it’s still difficult to accept AI technology when it feels like the negatives outweigh the positives. 

Overall, I think I’ve returned to the majority of my first opinions this semester about AI and the Xenogenesis trilogy. I was very excited to read more of Butler’s work and was willing to overlook any potential red flags that popped up in her writing. On the other hand, I came into this class with a negative attitude towards AI, even though I knew how many people ranted and raved about it. I’m now ending the semester with a greater appreciation for Butler’s work and a better understanding of exactly what AI is and how it actually benefits people in the real world, not just tech-lovers. However, I’ve also come to understand the various issues that can pop up when reading Butler’s trilogy, and I’ve realized more specifically how AI is environmentally and personally damaging. This semester has helped me expand my knowledge in both AI and the Xenogenesis trilogy, and I feel so thankful for the challenges in thinking and analysis I was given. I appreciate the idea that, after months of collaborative exploration and general research, sometimes my gut feelings about things can and will remain the same.