Who are your favourite media robots/AIs?

[Mendalla]

While AI is a hot topic in the real world right now, AIs and robots have been fixtures in fiction for a long time. The term "robot" comes from a 1920 play but robots, or at least robot-like beings, go back centuries. For instance, Talos in Greek mythology is a basically the original battle robot, a bronze warrior protecting the island of Crete.

So who are your favourite fictional robots or AIs? C-3PO and R2-D2? HAL9000? Skynet? The Terminator T-800? T-1000? The Cylons (Battlestar Galactica, both series)? Maria in Metropolis? Robbie the Robot? So many to choose from, eh.

A favourite of mine, K9 from Dr. Who:

 

[Delightful Life]

C-3PO and R2-D2 are the Ernie and Bert of the robot world :3

That ecopropaganda film Silent Running aboot Earth's last forests in space tended by a few humans and Huey, Dewey and Louie. Love that movie; made me cry every time

May the Schmaltz be with you!

Electric Dreams (1984) aboot a computer who spontaneously achieves sentience and falls in love with her user. Boy George music!

ReBoot (1994) a Canadian cgi series aboot the inside of a computer. Dot Matrix business woman and activist against the eeevil MEGABYTE

The Vision from Marvel. They used to be my fav super, along with Scarlet Witch. I always found it strange how she would marry someone without emotion

The Black Hole (1979). Really fun movie. V.I.NCENT (Roddy McDowall) AND B.OB (Slim Pickens). Maximillian the MURDERBOT (that BLADED PINWHEEL OF DEATH brrrr)

Wizards (1977). Peace the robot, of course! :3


The Iron Giant (1999). Fun and funny and beautiful movie aboot an alien sentient robot gun who forgets its purpose and becomes a moral being thanks to some humans

Saberhagen's Beserkers. Such a cool concept. "Are you GOODLIFE or BADLIFE?"

HAL-9000!!! Poor, poor being

That DAMNABLE PERFECT WEYLAND YUTANI EMPLOYEE ABOARD THE NOSTROMO WITH MILK FOR BLUD

That clockwork owl from Clash of fhe Titans (1981)

The Entity from Peter Watts' Blindsight (2006)
Gotta get my hands on the sidequel; what is happening on Earth at the same time. Peter Watts' books are DENSE with ideas

Oh and the Earth from David Brin's Earth (1990).

Oh and the Earth from Hitchhiker's Guide :÷

 

[Luce NDs]

When Peter waited upon the rooster and was lost to the listings ... so sad ... he just hung there in the tree ... patience is a virtue when allowing for humanity to return to wishes and demands to be fulfilled ... like a dream!

 

[Mendalla]

ReBoot (1994) a Canadian cgi series aboot the inside of a computer. Dot Matrix business woman and activist against the eeevil MEGABYTE

Great series. I quite enjoyed that one. Weird in its way but not too weird given it takes place entirely inside a computer.

That DAMNABLE PERFECT WEYLAND YUTANI EMPLOYEE ABOARD THE NOSTROMO WITH MILK FOR BLUD

Yeah, the androids were an interesting part of that universe. Ian Holm in the original and then Lance Henriksen in the sequel. Even Henriksen as a friendly, helpful android was a bit scary in his way (Henriksen just generally looked scary).

The Black Hole (1979). Really fun movie. V.I.NCENT (Roddy McDowall) AND B.OB (Slim Pickens). Maximillian the MURDERBOT (that BLADED PINWHEEL OF DEATH brrrr)

Loved this movie. Totally underrated, though I have seen some recent appreciations of it from sf podcasters and vloggers online. And Roddy and Slim as the two robots were great as both comic relief and part of the story. Max was kind of the Darth Vader of the piece, with Maximilian Schell's Dr. Reinhardt as his Emperor. The design of the Cygnus was great, too. Impractical from a serious spaceflight standpoint (the Palomino wasn't bad from that standpoint, though) but looked fantastic on the screen.

 

[ninj]

Rayna, android from old Star Trek "Requiem for Methusala"
Scarlett Johannson played an inordinate number of AI roles...Her, Lucy (fave) and Ghost on the Shell. Not strictly AI, but enhanced. Whole 'nother discussion.

 

[ninj]

And all the droids from Blade Runner.

 

[Mendalla]

One name that hasn't come up yet is Lt. Cmdr. Data of Star Trek : The Next Generation and its movie and series spinoffs. Interesting character who kind of grew from a bit of a one note replacement for Vulcans into a fairly well-rounded character.

And there was his evil brother Lore. Yeah, the black sheep of the Soong family.

 

[ninj]

And of course The Doctor from Voyager.

 

[ninj]

HAL?

 

[Delightful Life]

Rayna, android from old Star Trek "Requiem for Methusala"
Scarlett Johannson played an inordinate number of AI roles...Her, Lucy (fave) and Ghost on the Shell. Not strictly AI, but enhanced. Whole 'nother discussion.

YAY GHOST IN THE SHELL. LOVE EXQUISITE ANIME!!!

And all the droids from Blade Runner.

PRIS FOREVER!!!
(i note when Zhora was being assassinated no human tried to help...and that fancy crime scene computer of Deckard's...ENHANCE! ENHANCE! YES!!!)

And of course The Doctor from Voyager.

I like that actor a lot. He also did this lil fun radio play mini series with Sylvester McCoy aboot the first voyage of an experimental ocean going vessel that could go FTL and of course borked upness ensued and they ended up in a nearby reality
where Robert Picardo is the main antagonist. Of course since it stars Sylvester McCoy it has his sillyness :3

HAL?

YES YOU WILL DREAM AND DREAM BIG

 

[ninj]

 

[Delightful Life]

MISS BIG HAIR!!!

 

[Luce NDs]

The trumped up efforts at corruption have a new law that forbids examination of the act ... thus greater unknowns than what people limited anyway ... mortal fallacy designated!

We create our own enigmas ... like how are we ever going to get out of the mess created by the greatest of will ... and that W/O a Q-Louie ?

Even Louie is out of the action as he and his bride were eliminated in Frank fashion some years ago ... that's yod in semi etic ...

Need more buried code? Bet Jah can't see it! The consequence of shadowy phenomenon by cast powers that do not believe in holistic ... thus un Stix ... the staff in ... tune! All follow blindly because of great paranoia ... fearsome heroes AH!

And how are heroes made ... except by the attendance of maids with brooms in the water closet! Something is bound to be swept out ... intellect?

So ide goes ...

 

[Delightful Life]

i believe this is the radio drama series i was wittering aboot above
The Light of September

The Light of September | iHeart

Best listened to on headphones. WARNING: EXPLICIT LANGUAGE! Groundbreaking existential Sci Fi from the multi award-winning Minister of Chance team: following the World's first ever light speed flight, Captain Dalton (Tamsin Greig) must lead her crew over new oceans fraught with danger. Find out...

www.iheart.com

 

[ninj]

 

[Delightful Life]

there are DALEK AMOUNTS of Dr Who stuff oot there

there are a series based around UNIT, which is a blast (kinda more like X Files, Delta Green)

and one that mixes Blake 7 with that evil skull cosmic horror entity

the Fendhal! where it had taken over a reality similar to the King in Yellow from Chambers works

and one that takes place in a reality where Sutekh won and rules all of Earth

 

[Delightful Life]

oh yeah and ORAC from Blake 7
the sassy, sarcastic know it all computer

 

[Luce NDs]

If common folk wish not to know ... is it contagious? Like does it go on as our forbearers loose it? Thus reversal ...

 

[ninj]

Can't believe I forgot this.

 

[Delightful Life]

JOHNNY 5 IS ALIVE!!!