Sentience The word " sentience " has changed in meaning back and forth across the centuries . In the 21st century , for example , it meant the ability to feel or perceive , which may or may not have included being intelligent or self - aware . A separate concept in use at the time was the term " sapient " , which meant the ability to act with intelligence . So , for example , a plant could be " sentient " , and a computer " sapient " with neither having to have the attributes of the other . Intelligent life was therefore called " sapient " . That changed sometime prior to the 22nd century . At that point intelligent life was referred to as " sentient " . The concepts of perception and intelligence had been combined such that the word now meant an intelligent , self - aware , conscious entity deserving of rights , respect , and freedom . ( ; ) In the 23rd century the word " sentient " again meant what it had in centuries past : the ability to feel or perceive . Intelligent life was therefore generally called " sapient " rather than sentient . ( ) The tide turned again in the 24th century and intelligent life was referred to as it was in the 22nd : as " sentient " . There was , however , no commonly understood definition of the term . Despite centuries of consideration and linguistic changes , how one determined whether a lifeform or machine was sentient , and the legal and moral implications of being sentient , were neither fully understood nor agreed upon . ( ; ) Cyberneticist Bruce Maddox gave three soft requirements during a 2365 hearing : He was unable to truly argue , however , using these , that Data was not sentient while Jean - Luc Picard was . ( ) Biological lifeforms . In the 24th century , an important component of sentience in biological lifeforms was considered to be intelligence . For instance , a large brain implied sentience . ( ) Another indication of sentience was a lifeform capable of sophisticated communication . ( ; ) Hard and fast definitions of sentience across biological lifeforms were not yet developed , though . For example , scientist Bruce Maddox could not explain " why " a Human was sentient ; he just knew that he was . ( ) Despite this , some lines of demarcation were acknowledged . A house cat , for example , was not considered to be sentient . ( ) Artificial lifeforms . In 2365 , Phillipa Louvois of the Judge Advocate General ' s office held a hearing in which she decided that Data was not the property of Starfleet . During the hearing the question of an android ' s sentience came up , but there was no formal , legal resolution on the matter . ( ) Despite a lack of official acknowledgment , Data thought himself to be sentient , and many others agreed . ( , et al . ) So much so that as of 2371 , Data was considered the only sentient artificial lifeform in Federation society . ( ) From time to time other non - android lifeforms or artificial intelligence s have been considered sentient as well . In 2375 the crew determined that a weapon was so sophisticated that it was actually sentient . ( ) An Automated Personnel Unit designated 3947 was also considered to be sentient when reactivated by B ' Elanna Torres in 2372 . ( ) Hologram s have also been referred to as both artificial lifeforms and " sentient " . One such sentient hologram was created on the in 2365 , when Lieutenant commander Geordi La Forge requested that the holodeck create an opponent worthy of Data in a Sherlock Holmes - style mystery . The ship ' s computer produced a sentient version of James Moriarty , Holmes ' nemesis . ( ) The Federation later encountered a group of Yaderan refugees in 2370 only to discover the entire colony but one man was made up of sentient holograms . ( ) An early legal case in the arena of holograms and sentience came about in 2378 . The Doctor attempted to publish a holonovel entitled " Photons Be Free " , but it was appropriated and released without his permission by Broht & Forrester . The legal issue revolved around whether The Doctor was an " artist " within the meaning of the laws that granted rights to control the dissemination of intellectual property . The ruling was narrow in that the definition of artist in that single law was extended to a hologram , but it was an important step on the path toward granting full legal status to a hologram as a sentient entity . ( ) Societies other than the Federation have also wrestled with these concepts . In 3074 , for example , the Kyrian fully recognized artificial lifeforms – including holograms – as sentient . ( ) Background information . The English word " sapient " means " having intelligence " . In that respect TOS was much more correct in its use of language than any subsequent series . The words sentient and sapient are commonly misunderstood and misused by people , though , and the ( incorrect ) meaning of sentient as used in TNG and beyond has been firmly cemented in " Trek " to mean a combination of sentience and sapience .