Is Airiam supposed to be a robot or android?

Question

In various episodes of Star Trek: Discovery, we can see a character on the bridge of the eponymous USS Discovery named Airiam:

Is she supposed to be a robot or an android of some kind? Her facial features look like they are of synthetic origin, her overall appearance is decisively mechanical, and we already know about the seemingly advanced cybernetic and robotic technology of ST:DIS.

Despite what seems to be the obvious answers, it does not seem like there is a consensus about her true nature: various sources indicate her as a synthetic-human hybrid, as an alien, and as an augmented alien.

Do we have more information (maybe from interviews, production materials or other background sources) about the nature and origins of this character?

imo, we dont know yet. afaik in the show, possibly future works — Himarm, Oct 19 '17 at 21:29
No, the woman with the helmet was named Lieutenant Jira Narwani — ench, Oct 19 '17 at 22:30

Patrick Wynne · Answer 1 · 2017-10-21T19:48:58.143

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Per After Trek ep3, Airiam is an "augmented alien". [src]

edited Oct 21 '17 at 19:48

answered Oct 19 '17 at 21:46

Patrick Wynne

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This answer would be enhanced by a quote. – ench Oct 19 '17 at 22:29
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According to Memory Alpha, there are meanwhile quite some conflicting statements about what Airiam is. – O. R. Mapper Jan 31 '18 at 12:40

score 5 · Answer 2 · edited Mar 18 '19 at 15:41

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Airiam is an "Augmented Human". A recent episode, S02E09, shows that she is definitely not an alien. She was shown to have memories of her with her husband before she encountered an accident.

According to this interview, she is 67% human.

edited Mar 18 '19 at 15:41

TheLethalCarrot

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answered Mar 17 '19 at 11:23

user931

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"shows that she is definitely not an alien" - well, from visuals alone, she could be one of the countless alien species that look just like humans and that seem to be common in the Star Trek universe. – O. R. Mapper Mar 19 '19 at 15:51
@O.R.Mapper She is 67% human, according to the interview I linked. She is definitely not Spock type half-breed. And, I don't think they would calculate from ancestral data. The remaining 37% is simply machine. – user931 Mar 19 '19 at 19:59
According to Memory Alpha she is "Human (cyborg)". The previous statements about her being an alien were apparently in error. – StarHawk Mar 19 '19 at 20:09
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I think it's great that the actors are now making up their own backstories. So much more exciting than having professional writers coordinate this with the studio to ensure that they actually make sense. – Valorum Mar 19 '19 at 20:37

score 3 · Answer 3 · edited Mar 19 '19 at 17:30

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Airiam is a human cyborg. The season 2 episode "Project Daedelus" confirms she was entirely human and nearly killed in a shuttle crash that did kill her husband. To save her life required extensive cybernetics.

Clarification: Or possibly she is an alien but one of the ones (like Betazoids) who are entirely human in appearance. It's not made entirely clear, and doesn't matter anyway.

edited Mar 19 '19 at 17:30

TheLethalCarrot

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answered Mar 18 '19 at 15:52

Keith Morrison

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Betazoids have black irises. – ThePopMachine Mar 15 '22 at 19:04

Is Airiam supposed to be a robot or android?

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