Voight-Kampff Test Glossary
Voight-Kampff Test
The Voight-Kampff Test is the empathy test used in Blade Runner to distinguish replicants from humans by measuring physiological responses to emotionally charged questions.
The spelling matters: Voight-Kampff, not “Voigt Comp.” In the film, the test looks for signs that a subject lacks the emotional-response pattern expected of a human. It is a detection instrument built for a world where outward appearance is no longer enough.
For the Dictionary, the Voight-Kampff test belongs near AI detection, but the analogy should be handled carefully. Replicants are detected through embodied physiological response. AI agents do not have pupils, breath, capillaries, shame, fear, or involuntary bodily tells. Their “personality” and “intent” must be inferred through outputs, logs, memory behavior, tool use, incentives, and consistency over time.
That makes AI detection both easier and harder. Easier, because software systems can leave audit trails. Harder, because the thing being tested is not a hidden biological type but a behavioral pattern distributed across model, prompt, memory, and harness.
The modern Voight-Kampff question is therefore not “is this secretly a replicant?” It is: what test would reveal whether this agent’s apparent judgment, empathy, loyalty, or honesty is stable under pressure?