ABSTRACT
According to the philosopher Harry Frankfurt, being a person consists in being the sort of creature who can take control of its own will. At root, this capability consists in being able to take pro and contra attitudes with respect to at least some of one’s own volitional states. Strong agents are planful with respect to the future and, in part, recognise themselves through their plans. Strong agents are also self-regulative. In other words, it is their ability to form long-term intentions (policies) and then use these to shape their proclivities, habits, and abilities over time that makes them self-determining. In Blade Runner 2049, we gradually see a more coherent and stable Joi, a holographic virtual girlfriend, emerge. In fact, she succeeds in “breaking the code”—violating a set of constraints that define the limits of her autonomy. The movie teaches us that what is important in becoming a person is the realisation of agency and becoming a project for oneself.
