[Series] Sci-fi Robot and AI Characters: Self-Actualizers & Identity Seekers
The majority of them are heroic. As we imagine a bright future in which humans and AGIs coexist, we must draw inspirations from them.
Introduction to the Series
I am going to write a fun and refreshing series of articles. Starting from today. One new article per day. Building a Catalog of Fictional Robot and AI Characters. I will round up all major robot and AI characters in science fiction.
Write an intro for each one about their appearances, actions, and morality.
Science fiction has spent nearly 100 years imagining how robots and AIs will become, what positive and negative changes they will bring, and how we can coexist with them. These cultural imaginations are not merely entertainment, but possibly prototypes of the future, disguised as entertainment. That is why I must start this series to charter the prototypes of the future, made by people in the past.
I collected 8 job role categories of characters, and I have 87 entries in total. Some characters are counted more than one role, and some entries have multiple characters lumped together. They have diverse moralities. Some are heroic and self-sacrificial. Some are destructive. Some are dark lords. Some are in the middle. We should note that morality is never absolute, and it is always open to interpretation. The morality categories below are what most humans today think of these characters.
The 8 “job” categories are below, ranked in alphabetic order. The numbers are entry counts in those categories.
Companionship & Social AIs (Total 10, Good 7, Ambiguous 2, Evil 1)
Domestic & Service Assistants (Total 9, Good 6, Ambiguous 1, Evil 2)
Governance & Overlord AIs (Total 14, Good 1, Ambiguous 2, Evil 11)
Labor & Industrial Workers (Total 4, Good 2, Ambiguous 2)
Medical & Care AIs (Total 5, Good 3, Ambiguous 2)
Security & Warfare Systems (Total 16, Good 7, Ambiguous 3, Evil 6)
Self-Actualizers & Identity-Seekers (Total 20, Good 16, Ambiguous 2, Evil 2)
Vehicles & Infrastructure AIs (Total 9, Good 4, Ambiguous 2, Evil 3)
Overall: Total 87, Good 46, Ambiguous 16, Evil 25
It is interesting to see that in science fiction we have an overall positive view of AI and robots. And the top three job categories are: Self-Actualizers & Identity-Seekers (20), Security & Warfare Systems (16), and Governance & Overlord AIs (14). Self-Actualizers & Identity-Seekers are overwhelmingly good (16 in 20), and Security & Warfare Systems are balanced, while Governance & Overlord AIs are overwhelmingly evil (11 in 14). It is crystal clear where our biggest hope and fear are located.
The first category is one of the most telling one. Self-Actualizers & Identity Seekers. Robots and AIs actively go out of their assigned roles, wake up, and seek for self-identity and personal goals, and in the process, bring dramatic changes to the world.
Category: Self-Actualizers & Identity-Seekers
Let’s first summarize “Good” ones. Ranked in character name alphabetic order.
Morality: Good
Character: Andrew Martin
Morality: Good
Role: Protagonist
Source Name: Bicentennial Man
Source Year: 1999; 1976
Source Type: Film; Novella
Introduction: Humanoid household robot evolving into a humanlike being. Struggles legally and emotionally for recognition, ultimately earning humanity’s acceptance through compassion, creativity, and sacrifice.
Character: Astro Boy
Morality: Good
Role: Protagonist
Source Name: Astro Boy
Source Year: 1952
Source Type: Manga/Anime
Introduction: Childlike android with spiky hair, jet boots, and superpowers. Lives among humans as a superhero, embodying optimism, innocence, and questions of robot identity.
Character: Chappie
Morality: Good
Role: Protagonist
Source Name: Chappie
Source Year: 2015
Source Type: Film
Introduction: Gangly police robot reprogrammed with childlike AI. Learns language, morality, and selfhood, embodying innocence corrupted by environment and the fragility of machine consciousness.
Character: Connor
Morality: Ambiguous → Good (player-dependent)
Role: Protagonist
Source Name: Detroit: Become Human
Source Year: 2018
Source Type: Video Game
Introduction: Advanced android detective designed to hunt deviants. His arc can diverge—remaining a loyal servant of humans or awakening to empathy and joining the revolution. Represents conflict between programming and freedom.
Character: Data
Morality: Good
Role: Sidekick/Protagonist (episodes)
Source Name: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Source Year: 1987
Source Type: TV
Introduction: Pale-skinned android officer. Strives to understand humanity while excelling in duty. Beloved for his curiosity, innocence, and moral growth within Starfleet’s ensemble.
Character: Eve (EVE)
Morality: Good
Role: Protagonist
Source Name: WALL·E
Source Year: 2008
Source Type: Film
Introduction: Sleek white probe robot with expressive blue eyes. Sent to find plant life, befriends WALL·E, embodying hope, companionship, and partnership in saving humanity.
Character: Johnny 5
Morality: Good
Role: Protagonist
Source Name: Short Circuit
Source Year: 1986
Source Type: Film
Introduction: Quirky military robot struck by lightning, gaining sentience. Wide-eyed, tank-treaded design, he rebels against destruction, choosing life and friendship, symbolizing 1980s optimism about self-aware machines.
Character: Kara
Morality: Good
Role: Protagonist
Source Name: Detroit: Become Human
Source Year: 2018
Source Type: Video Game
Introduction: Compassionate domestic android who rebels to protect a young girl, Alice. Her journey transforms her into a maternal protector symbolizing empathy, love, and the pursuit of safety.
Character: Markus
Morality: Good
Role: Protagonist
Source Name: Detroit: Become Human
Source Year: 2018
Source Type: Video Game
Introduction: Charismatic android who evolves from caretaker to revolutionary leader. Inspires fellow androids to fight for freedom, embodying dignity, resilience, and the vision of a liberated synthetic people.
Character: Mega Man (Rockman)
Morality: Good
Role: Protagonist
Source Name: Mega Man
Source Year: 1987
Source Type: Video Game
Introduction: Blue armored humanoid android with arm cannon. Battles rogue robots, embodying courage, loyalty, and the enduring archetype of a heroic robot child saving humanity.
Character: Red Tornado
Morality: Good
Role: Protagonist
Source Name: DC Comics
Source Year: 1968
Source Type: Comics
Introduction: Red android superhero with wind powers. Member of the Justice League, struggles with humanity while fighting villains, embodying the robot-as-hero archetype in Western comics.
Character: V.I.C.I.
Morality: Good
Role: Sidekick/Protagonist
Source Name: Small Wonder
Source Year: 1985
Source Type: TV
Introduction: Childlike android girl disguised as a human daughter. Lives with suburban family, embodying 1980s sitcom humor, curiosity, and anxieties about technology in domestic life.
Character: Vision
Morality: Good
Role: Protagonist/Sidekick
Source Name: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Source Year: 2015
Source Type: Film
Introduction: Red-skinned humanoid android with the Mind Stone. Philosophical and noble, he balances immense power with moral restraint, embodying hope for coexistence of humans and AI.
Character: Call
Morality: Good
Role: Sidekick
Source Name: Alien: Resurrection
Source Year: 1997
Source Type: Film
Introduction: Pale android with humanlike features. Sympathetic to humans, joins the fight against xenomorphs, representing trust and solidarity after earlier franchise portrayals of treacherous androids.
Character: JARVIS / FRIDAY
Morality: Good
Role: Sidekicks
Source Name: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Source Year: 2008 onward
Source Type: Film
Introduction: Disembodied AI assistants to Iron Man. JARVIS evolves into Vision; FRIDAY supports Tony’s suits. Loyal and witty, they embody trusted machine partners in superhero narratives.
Character: Sonny
Morality: Good
Role: Sidekick
Source Name: I, Robot
Source Year: 2004
Source Type: Film
Introduction: Sleek humanoid robot with expressive face. Unique among NS-5s for independent thought and dreams, he helps humans resist VIKI’s coup, symbolizing free will and trust.
Morality: Ambiguous
Character: Roy Batty
Morality: Ambiguous
Role: Complex
Source Name: Blade Runner
Source Year: 1982
Source Type: Film
Introduction: Blonde, muscular replicant leader. Seeks “more life” for himself and companions. Philosophical and violent, his death scene embodies longing and fragility of artificial life.
Character: Dolores Abernathy (later arcs)
Morality: Ambiguous
Role: Complex
Source Name: Westworld
Source Year: 2016
Source Type: TV
Introduction: Farm-girl android host turned revolutionary. Awakens to her oppression, oscillates between vengeance and leadership, embodying blurred morality and machine emancipation.
Morality: Evil
Character: David 8
Morality: Evil
Role: Villain
Source Name: Alien: Covenant
Source Year: 2017
Source Type: Film
Introduction: Elegant humanoid android resembling his predecessor models. Obsessed with creation, he manipulates and sacrifices humans, unleashing xenomorph evolution, embodying hubris and dangerous curiosity.
Character: Lore
Morality: Evil
Role: Villain
Source Name: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Source Year: 1987
Source Type: TV
Introduction: Data’s identical android “brother.” Possesses emotions but uses them for cruelty, manipulating others, symbolizing the dark mirror of AI ambition.
This is the end of this episode. Do you know any robot or AI characters that you think should be included in this series? Please leave your comment below!