Editing Robot (section)

=== Problems depicted in popular culture ===
[[File:L'uomo meccanico 1.png|thumb|Italian movie ''[[The Mechanical Man]]'' (1921), the first film to have shown a battle between robots]]

Fears and concerns about robots have been repeatedly expressed in a wide range of books and films. A common theme is the development of a master race of conscious and highly intelligent robots, motivated to take over or destroy the human race. ''[[Frankenstein]]'' (1818), often called the first science fiction novel, has become synonymous with the theme of a robot or android advancing beyond its creator.

Other works with similar themes include ''[[The Mechanical Man]]'', ''[[The Terminator]]'', ''[[Runaway (1984 film)|Runaway]]'', ''[[RoboCop]]'', the [[Replicator (Stargate)|Replicators in ''Stargate'']], the [[Cylon (Battlestar Galactica)|Cylons]] in ''[[Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series)|Battlestar Galactica]]'', the [[Cybermen]] and [[Dalek]]s in ''[[Doctor Who]]'', ''[[The Matrix]]'', ''[[Enthiran]]'' and ''[[I, Robot (film)|I, Robot]]''. Some fictional robots are programmed to kill and destroy; others gain superhuman intelligence and abilities by upgrading their own software and hardware. Examples of popular media where the robot becomes evil are ''[[2001: A Space Odyssey]]'', ''[[Red Planet (film)|Red Planet]]'' and ''[[Enthiran]]''.

The 2017 game ''[[Horizon Zero Dawn]]'' explores themes of robotics in warfare, [[robot ethics]], and the [[AI control problem]], as well as the positive or negative impact such technologies could have on the environment.

Another common theme is the reaction, sometimes called the "[[uncanny valley]]", of unease and even revulsion at the sight of robots that mimic humans too closely.<ref name="uncanny">{{cite conference |url=http://www.macdorman.com/kfm/writings/pubs/Ho2007EmotionUncanny.pdf |first=C. C. |last=Ho |author2=MacDorman, K. F. |author3=Pramono, Z. A. D. |year=2008 |title=Human emotion and the uncanny valley: A GLM, MDS, and ISOMAP analysis of robot video ratings |access-date=24 September 2008 |conference= 2008 3rd ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080911135038/http://www.macdorman.com/kfm/writings/pubs/Ho2007EmotionUncanny.pdf |archive-date=11 September 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref>

More recently, fictional representations of artificially intelligent robots in films such as ''[[A.I. Artificial Intelligence]]'' and ''[[Ex Machina (film)|Ex Machina]]'' and the 2016 TV adaptation of ''[[Westworld (TV Series)|Westworld]]'' have engaged audience sympathy for the robots themselves.

[[File:Theatre Guild, R U R, Act 3.jpg|thumb|Final scene of [[R.U.R.]], Act&nbsp;II]]

Emancipation or revolution as a theme in relation to robots was already present in the term coining play of [[R.U.R.]].
The [[Star Wars]] universe for example has several instances of droid revolts.
The [[Dune series]] on the other hand has the premise of humans revolting against ''thinking machines'' and finding human-biological alternatives to them.