“Man is a robot with defects” (Emile Cioran, The Difficulty of Being Born). Humans aren't perfect, but we seem to strive for perfection, so who's to say that in the future, robots won't outnumber the human race on Earth? In Star Trek: The Next Generation, the character Data is really a robot and not a human, made of inorganic materials but designed with a human appearance (an android), but does that just make him a robot? In the show, it is proposed that to be a sentient being and a person, one must possess three qualities: intelligence, self-awareness, and conscience. In accordance with these three conditions, it is evident that the character Data is in fact a sentient being possessing the qualities of a person. To begin with, to be classified as a sentient being, one must demonstrate intelligence. To begin, it is important to recognize what the definition of intelligence is; Intelligence is the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills. Data is entirely composed of inorganic parts such as circuit boards, cables, metal, sensors, etc. It's easier to say that data is a walking, talking computer. When it comes to intelligence, it's easier to refer to data as a computer to determine whether it's intelligent or not. The debate over whether or not computers are intelligent is well supported on both sides of the argument. The position that computers are intelligent is supported by three points: refusing to say that computers are intelligent is a prejudice against computers; being intelligent does not mean that one must be competent in everything; being intelligent in only one area also proves to be intelligent, and there is no single qualification for intelligence; intelligence is a measure... middle of paper ... so data has consciousness. In a nutshell, the character Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation is actually a sentient being with the status of a person. He met all the requirements for being a sensitive person. Data is an intelligent being with the ability to learn and apply knowledge, he has self-awareness being aware of his desires, and finally Data is a conscious being capable of recognizing his existence and his own thoughts. Although Data is only a fictional android and the problem of determining the personhood of a non-human has little or no application today, in the not-so-distant future it may become a debate very serious with very real consequences.