Was Data Lying? (Theory)

[Beard_vs_Geek]

Hi Everyone,
While wondering around the Star Trek internet I found an interesting theory about Data. It stated that he was lying and hiding his true intelligence about humanity and even his emotions for nefarious reasons. Well I did some digging and I would love your guy's opinion about this theory and my personal take on it. Have fun and please set your phasers to stun when you try and shoot me.

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[Mojochi]

Nah... I don't buy it, dude. It's not that Data doesn't "Show" less emotions than Lore. It's that he has been limited or blocked from how much of them he possesses. The FAR more likely explanation of Data's behavior, isn't that he's lying, it's that he's been lied to, & told that he has no emotions, when in fact he does (at exceedingly minimized levels) but he just doesn't realize he has them, & that his creator has created blocks & limitations in his programming that would curtail the levels of emotional behavior he exhibits, which would make a lot of sense, given how badly things turned out in the original model that didn't have such limitations.

Data behaves the way he does, because Soong thought it would be a better outcome if he had to discover his own humanity, hence why dream programs & such are unlocked as he goes along. This could also explain why Data believes he can't use contractions, even though we see him do it all the time, without noticing it himself. Data has likely been intentionally blinded to his own abilities, so that he can have a humbling journey of discovery that Lore the egomaniac never got

 

[Beard_vs_Geek]

Nah... I don't buy it, dude....

So not so much that he his lying but rather he has an emotional governor in his head... I rather like that Idea.

 

[Mojochi]

So not so much that he his lying but rather he has an emotional governor in his head... I rather like that Idea.

It explains all the inconsistencies about Data. Data is somewhat in the dark about who he is or at least about his true nature & what his capabilities are, & Soong probably made it that way deliberately, because of how badly things went with Lore, who had no checks & balances like that.

I love the little programmed Easter Eggs Data finds from Soong over the years, the one from when he unlocked his dream program, the one when he discovered that Julianna was an android. They really show you some of the developmental process that the inventor went through, & the thoughtfulness of what he'd learned through error. Data isn't just discovering what it means to be human. He's also discovering what it means to be Data. He's on a journey to find his true self.

I actually felt like the emotion chip was a bit of a cheat to that overall arc, at least when it came to the TNG movies, but the show had ended & they had to just toss it all out there I guess. My favorite things about the finale, All Good Things... is that Data is an emotional guy in it, but there's no mention of the emotion chip. It just seems to be a natural thing. I mean maybe he's got it in, or maybe not. It doesn't matter. All that matters is that he's found himself

If you like my idea about making sense of Data, You'll love my idea about making sense out of Riker. lol

 

[JirinPanthosa]

I don't think Data was lying, but maybe Soong was. Data feels the world the same way Lore does, just Soong gave him more android mannerisms to freak people out less.

Based on Data's choices and behaviors, he was clearly designed to make choices based on ethics driven by empathy. In Most Toys we see that these empathy based calculations can override his other behavioral imperatives.

There's no evidence he personally experiences those emotions, though. His actions reflect that he does because concern for others is the most basic driver of his behavior, but he doesn't feel them the way a biological organism does.