Is the media about friendly robots a cry for hope?
Written by Alexie Lunaime (she/her) // Arts and Culture Editor
Visuals by Lily Jones (she/her) // Contributor
The rise of the robot centred media is no surprise in a society constantly experiencing technological advancements. There is always a new development that changes fundamental parts of what we know and how we live. There is seemingly no way to stop its progress.
It is no surprise, then, that a lot of books and movies include depictions of how we imagine our society will develop in a future where technology has fully taken over. Truthfully, many of us are anxious about it.
Art has always reflected what is occurring around us and so have stories that depict robots overtaking the world, which are still very present. Some of them include portrayals of how daily life would change if we allow technology to do almost anything, like in Big Hero 6. Others depict the dangers of being overtaken and losing control of our own digital creations, like Nier Automata.
It is not a secret that we are feeling anxious about where all of these technologies are going to lead us. However, one of the most popular imaginations for the machine-dominated futures are anthropomorphic robots who seek refuge in human beings, where there is a semblance of compassion. Movies like Wall-E, The Iron Giant and The Wild Robot have a completely different approach to this future dreamscape: that metallic robots are kind, compassionate and friendly. So, if we are haunted by anxiety, why are we also so fascinated with the idea of a friendly, noble metal being?
We feel a sense of doom because of the lack of power we have when it comes to stopping the dominion that AI and other forms of technological advances have over humanity. Positive portrayals leave us some room for interpretations that create hope and reassurance in the possibility that they have the capacity to show anything that resembles human nature. Instead of imagining AI robots as an undefeatable entity, we imagine them as peaceful creatures that can carry on our legacy even after our own species has disappeared from the planet.
Friendly robots are an attempt to humanize a phenomenon that feels completely inhuman. We tend to see ourselves in everything through the desire to connect—predators in nature, creatures of legends, aliens—robots are no different. By humanizing them, we are trying to familiarize them, while also making sure that there is some point of connection with things that normally would be completely out of our understanding. The concept of the friendly robot we are shown in movies, can help us reframe how we can coexist with technology and survive the doom of a technological apocalypse, that is causing a sense of helplessness in so many people.
Fiction has always functioned as a way to cope with reality.
It acknowledges that technology is overwhelming, and picks apart the elements that make it so scary. What replaces these anxieties are kinder, less intimidating notions that we recognize within humanity. Maybe these stories can soften some of the emotional gravity of these technological advances and bring some reassurance that we can persevere.