When thinking about what I was going to write about for my final reflection on the Xenogenesis trilogy, I had no idea what to write about. I thought that I had figured it all out then, but of course, there was so much more to learn, so much more that I didn’t know about. I began to ask myself the essential questions in order to start writing down my true thoughts: do the Oankali still maintain authority over humankind? Yes. Since then, what has changed? A lot—too much if you ask the right person. Is this a constant theme in Butler’s other literary pieces? Yes! While reflecting on these questions, I realized that the Oankali’s relationship with humanity is quite complex. As I continued to reflect on Butler’s world-building in the Xenogenesis trilogy, I realized that the power dynamics between humans and the Oankali mirror our own societal struggles with authority, consent, and identity, especially in the context of evolution. Butler’s exploration of genetic manipulation across species connects to the advancement of artificial intelligence systems in our world today. Similar to the Oankali, AI systems have the ability to influence and shape our lives, sometimes without our awareness or informed consent. In this essay I aim to explore how Butler’s trilogy raises questions about control, consent, and ethics in an unfamiliar world that continues to demand change.
As the Xenogenesis trilogy continues to expand on its journey through the perspectives of 3 generations—Lilith, Akin, and Jodahs—both humankind and the Oankali have evolved in ways they may have deemed impossible at some point. Similar to the trilogy, everything grows to become something much bigger than themselves; humans, animals, plants, technology and this also includes artificial intelligence (AI), which has been reshaping industries for decades. Dating back to the early 1950s, the birth of AI saw pioneers like Alan Turing who created the concept of machine intelligence with the Turing Test. The Turing Test, a test of a machine’s ability to exhibit intelligent behavior equal to that of a human, was a fundamental contribution of AI as Turing paved the way for other mathematicians and computer scientists to build on his work. The evolution of AI has not only changed technological narratives, it has also changed a number of industries and the methods in how they operate and serve the public.
In recent years AI has become more embedded into our everyday lives especially in industries such as education, healthcare, finance, communication, advertising, transportation and more. Although AI has provided us with more accessible information regarding healthcare, education, and communication, there are still moral and ethical implications that we must consider. Without taking the responsible measures, AI systems can take on more autonomous decision-making roles at the risk of algorithmic bias, lack of privacy and data security, and may result in job displacement as we have seen in recent years (Duolingo’s efforts to replace contractors with AI and become an “AI-first” company). As we have previously discussed, AI has the ability to exacerbate stereotypes or biases that remain present in our society and these
In my previous essay, I said, “I do not doubt that the Oankali need to trade in order to survive as a species, but I do not believe that they are being 100% truthful in how they communicate that information to Lilith and other humans on the ship, which is frightening.” After reading the trilogy, I can confidently say that I was valid in my observations and suspicions of the Oankali’s intentions, as each person is faced with dishonesty by the hands of the Oankali species.
Similar to AI, the Oankali are unable to live or operate without human interference. The Oankali need humans for breeding and gene-trading, meanwhile AI systems are dependent on human intelligence in order to mimic human abilities. Throughout the trilogy, the Oankali repeatedly insist that they are saving humanity from its own self-destructive and flawed tendencies that led to their initial destruction; but AI and the Oankali lack something that almost every human has demanded—informed consent. AI, like the Oankali, offers itself as a solution to human problems; disease, inefficiency, bias, and their “mismatched” genes that ultimately led to the nuclear war. However, both parties rely on a framework where consent is presumed, not offered or granted, but expected from those they demand it from. “‘Is it an unclean thing that I have made you pregnant?’ She did not understand the words at first… ‘You said you wouldn’t do this. You said—’ ‘I said not until you were ready.’ ‘I’m not ready! I’ll never be ready!’” (Butler 281) This is one of many examples throughout the trilogy that displays the Oankali justifying their actions without the consent of another party. Buolamwini’s documentation of facial recognition technologies misidentifying black women draws a parallel to the Oankali’s expectations and genetic manipulation of humans. “Besides facing erasure from machines, I have witnessed the symbolic annihilation of women of color and dark-skinned women. Symbolic annihilation describes the absence or lack of representation of a particular group.” (Buolamwini 253) Both parties—black women in particular, are not asked for consent, instead, consent is already expected, if not demanded by a technology deemed superior. The same occurs to the humans in the Xenogenesis trilogy as the Oankali have already established consent over the other party.
By the time readers get to Imago, we are in Jodah’s perspective, and Earth takes a stark change as the Oankali, the dominant culture, continues to presume their journey of gathering humans to fit their dominant culture. The criticism surrounding the Xenogenesis trilogy as a defense for eugenics is prevalent in even the earliest of the trilogy, “There was a lot of work being done in genetics before the war. That may have devolved into some kind of eugenics program afterward.” (Butler 161) This narrative further continues when Jodahs meets Jesusa and Thomas, two siblings from a resistor village who represent the last of an autonomous human culture. The two siblings, along with the rest of their village, are riddled with neurofibromatosis after not being treated properly by the Oankali. “‘Why should you become more and more disabled?’ I asked. ‘Why should you die when you can live and be well? Let me help you.’” (Butler 111) The main conflict “Complete erasure is one way to “invisibilize” a group, yet inclusion that builds on stereotypical representation can also be harmful. It is not enough just to be seen if you and people like you are rendered in disempowering terms or through disempowering frames.” (Buolamwini 253) The Oankali’s efforts to reshape humanity and help them evolve reflects the biases of those who built these systems.“Time spent on the work I had been postponing in an effort to educate the public about algorithmic bias was now being delayed to educate the public about erasure.” (Buolamwini 251) In Butler’s world, the Oankali’s genetic trade enforces a new order that fundamentally rewrites what it means to be human. Yet, there is continuous resistance and reinvention from the likes of Lilith, Akin, and Jodahs, each resisting and negotiating power, identity, and legacy in their own way.
But we must also consider the futures that are possible because of Lilith, Akin, and Jodahs, who spent decades, centuries even, providing future generations of humans and human-Oankali constructs with an opportunity to choose a different fate than what they were dealt with before the war. “The ironic stigma of being a dropout hung in my mind, but more importantly, the legacies of so many people who made this choice possible permeated my thoughts. What did I owe the past? What did I owe the future? What did I owe myself?” (Buolamwini 245) Although each character resisted change in their own way, they used each resource they had as a platform for justice. In closing, Butler’s Xenogenesis trilogy and Buolanwini’s Unmasking AI confront the consequences of power that goes unchecked. The Oankali and AI systems are eerily similar as they present themselves as saviors of species and society. In doing so, they operate through domination, forced assimilation, and the erasure of previous cultures. Butler and Buolamwini force us to confront the decisions that are made for us, including why these decisions were made and how they directly impact us as a society that is slowly losing its own individuality. In Butler’s trilogy, figures like Lilith, Akin, and Jodahs show resistance by insisting that these decisions should not be made for them, but with them. Butler and Buolamwini urge readers to demand informed consent, accountability, care, and overall social change.