Ghost in the Shell (1995)
Puppet Master: “As a sentient life form, I hereby demand political asylum.”
Chief Aramaki: “Is this a joke?”
Nakamura: “Ridiculous! It’s programmed for self-preservation!”
Puppet Master: “It can also be argued that DNA is nothing more than a program designed to preserve itself. Life has become more complex in the overwhelming sea of information. And life, when organized into species, relies upon genes to be its memory system. So man is an individual only because of his intangible memory. But memory cannot be defined, yet it defines mankind. The advent of computers and the subsequent accumulation of incalculable data has given rise to a new system of memory and thought, parallel to your own. Humanity has underestimated the consequences of computerization.”
Nakamura: “Nonsense! This babble is no proof at all that you’re a living, thinking life form!”
Puppet Master: “How can you, when neither modern science nor philosophy can explain what life is?”
Chief Aramaki: “Who the hell is this?”
Nakamura: “Even if you do have a Ghost, we don’t offer freedom to criminals! It’s the wrong place and time to defect.”
Puppet Master: “Time has been on my side, but by acquiring a body, I am now subject to the possibility of dying. Fortunately, there is no death sentence in this country.”
Chief Aramaki: “What is it? Artificial intelligence…?”
Puppet Master: “Incorrect. I am not an AI. My code name is Project 2501. I am a living, thinking entity that was created in the sea of information.”