How do robots in stories teach us so much about self-sacrifice and friendship? The answer, interestingly enough, lies in their borrowed humanity. It’s because these fictional robots point us to what’s best in humans that we resonate with them so powerfully.
A few years ago, I did a read-aloud with my children of The Wild Robot by Peter Brown. I sat on the couch with my kids snuggled around me and fought my way through the last few paragraphs of the book. The tale of a robot named Roz, who shipwrecks on an island, adopts an orphaned goose, and learns to be a mother, didn’t just tug on my heartstrings—it tried to rip them out. Since then, the book has been adapted into an animated film, which does an admirable job of pulling on those same heartstrings.
Roz is not alone. There are numerous robot characters in books, movies, and TV shows who sacrifice themselves for the good of others. Consider WALL-E, who saves Earth’s last plant at the expense of his own well-being. Iko in The Lunar Chronicles series goes through at least three bodies as she gives herself for her friends. Baymax in Big Hero 6. K-2SO in Rogue One. Robot in Lost in Space. Artoo with sparks flying around him in Star Wars. And then there’s The Iron Giant. Who can forget the moment he soars into the sky, closes his eyes, and whispers, “Superman”?
Pointing to Humanity
As an audience, we like the idea that our compassion, love, and community—the best parts of us—could overcome even the absence of emotion and soul. A being that should be devoid of things like friendship and love, who becomes caring and generous enough to sacrifice itself, gives us hope. It makes us optimistic for our own race that we too can overcome all our disconnects and failed circuits and be selfless and sacrificial.
In WALL-E, the roles of robots and humans have been reversed. The humans aboard the ship do nothing, experience nothing, and contribute nothing, while the robots are the ones fighting for the life of one little green plant. It’s only when the humans wake up and start taking risks that the robots get some help in saving the world. It’s when they’re inspired by the glitchy robots running around that they grow close to one another, get vulnerable, and begin making some small sacrifices of their own.
The borrowed humanity of WALL-E and EVE makes the audience love them. But the real power of the story is the way it sparked a rebirth in the human population aboard the ship.
Loyalty in His Wiring
If there were a hall of fame for loveable robots, R2-D2 would be the first inductee. His loyalty to his friends makes him not just a character we can admire, but an indispensable part of every plot he’s in. (Or at least all the ones I’ve seen; the Star Wars canon is vast and I don’t claim to be an expert.)
The little droid saves every main character at least once and displays loyalty repeatedly. It’s interesting that a character who never has a single word of dialogue manages to prove his friendship over and over. His lack of dialogue forces the character to prove his fidelity in action, and action demonstrates the truth of who he is.
In our culture, where talk is abundant and easy—and not always authentic—R2-D2 resonates with us because he is characterized by the deeds he does, which are almost exclusively for the good of others.
The Blank(ish) Slate
When The Iron Giant whispers “Superman,” he’s not merely equating himself with a heroic character he encountered in a few comics. He’s making a decision about who he is, whether he will be a machine bent on destruction or a robot determined to help others. The Iron Giant, a huge metal robot from outer space, befriends a boy named Hogarth, and it’s Hogarth who gives the film its deepest theme: “You are who you choose to be.” The Iron Giant chooses to be a sacrificial hero rather than a weapon.
The Iron Giant also has amnesia; he doesn’t know where he came from or what his purpose is. This blank slate allows the characters he encounters to shape him. From Hogarth, he learns love and compassion. From more unsavory characters, he learns anger and retaliation.
While humans are not blank slates (Scripture is clear on that—see Gen. 8:21 and Col. 1:21), we have the power to choose who we are. The famous challenge from Joshua underscores this: “Choose you this day whom you will serve.” I doubt the filmmakers of The Iron Giant had that verse in mind, but the film provides an echo of that. We can choose who we serve, who we worship, and who we become.
Humans are much like the Iron Giant—a deadly machine who found redemption in the love of a kid. And we are dead sinners who found redemption in the love of Jesus.
The Problem with Real Robots
I’m not sure we can have this conversation without talking about AI and the robots in our real world. When you leave fiction and enter fact, we aren’t so great at making robots. When our family’s robot vacuum encounters a wrinkle in the rug, it doesn’t get creative or find a way to be loyal to its family. It just sits there beeping helplessly or announces, “Going home,” and plugs itself back in with the job unfinished.
I won’t get into the deep waters of AI and ethics because I can only speak from an outsider’s perspective. I use AI as little as possible and haven’t researched it beyond a surface level. But I can state confidently that in our real world, robots move us further from our humanity, not closer. We do less of the hard human work of learning, making mistakes, using our minds and hands, creating art of endless varieties, and struggling with the act of making until we’ve come up with something unique and beautiful.
Holding up a Mirror
In fiction, robots often display a cloak of humanity, sometimes transferred by a glitch, learned through observation, or absorbed through close proximity to humans. That borrowed humanity stands as a reflection for us, the audience. It’s as if the robot holds up a mirror to say: “If I can find my humanity even though I’m not human, what’s your excuse?” The stories these robots inhabit, so imaginative and otherworldly and exciting, slip past our defenses to remind us of who we should be—flawed, vulnerable, honest, courageous, and human.
Discussion Questions
Which fictional robot embodies humanity best? Why?
What do you suppose draws writers to use robots as characters?
Creative Challenge
Write a short story or flash fiction about a robot who makes some sort of sacrifice. What does he do? Who does he help? What are the ramifications of his actions for the humans?
About the Author
While there are no robots in her upcoming book, Ms. Howard has plenty of quirky humans and fantastical creatures for readers in Emmett and the Epic Word Searches, a middle grade portal fantasy releasing this July!
