Artificial Intelligence in Fiction - Sentient AI

Sentient AI

The creation of sentient machines is the ultimate of AI, self-aware machines that have human level intelligence. The following stories deal with the development of artificial consciousness and the resulting consequences. (This section deals with the more personal struggles of the AIs and humans than the previous AI and Society section)

• The A.I. museum curator in the movie remake of H.G. Wells' The Time Machine.
• Astro Boy was an influential Japanese android.
• KITT and KARR from Knight Rider.
• Holly and Kryten from Red Dwarf.
• Transformers are sentient extraterrestrial non-biological beings.
• Chi/Elda, Freya, Yuzuki, Zima, Dita and possibly Kotoko from Chobits are shown to be sentient since they are highly advanced persocoms that are programmed to mimic human behavior and thus have emotions.
• R. Dorothy Wayneright from the anime The Big O is shown to have emotions despite being an android.
• Cortana in the video game series Halo is a "smart" AI, meaning that her creative matrix is allowed to expand, in contrast to the constrained matrix of "dumb" AIs. This allows Cortana to learn and adapt beyond her basic parameters, but at the cost of a limited "lifespan" of only seven years, at the end of which Rampancy becomes statistically impossible to avoid, requiring that she be terminated .
• In the Pocket Books Star Trek: Typhon Pact novel by Michael A. Martin, the character Tuvok makes the statement, "All sentience is mere appearance-- even sentience capable of passing the Turing test".
• Bender and the other robots from the animated series Futurama despite having typical robot appearances they are sentient and have human emotions such as fear, anger, care and love and can feel pain. They are treated as equal members of society and co-exist freely with humans and other life-forms (aliens, mutants etc.) in the show.
• XJ9 or Jenny from the animated series My Life as a Teenage Robot is an advanced state-of-the-art defense mechanism designed to protect Earth. Despite her robot appearance, she is very human-like, having human facial expressions and having emotions. Despite her duties as a protector, she longs to be part of human society and live like a normal teenage girl. Some episodes concern her trying to become more human-like such as putting on an artificial exo-skin, installing nerve endings to feel physical sensations and installing a program so she can dream. Other robots in the show are also very advanced and have emotions and personalities.
• Enhanced Defence Intelligence or EDI from the video game series Mass Effect, is a self-aware AI, meaning it or she as later referred to can improve upon her programming and develop preferences (somewhat equivalent to human emotions) for certain things and even displays humor. She is installed upon the Normandy SR-2 and serves as an aid in combat. Eventually EDI begins to grow fond of the ship's crew and forms a particular fondness for the pilot, Jeff "Joker" Moreau, which in the third game, after EDI gains a robotic body can develop into a romantic relationship at the player's choosing.
• There are many examples of AI throughout the .hack series.
• Chachamaru Karakuri from the Negima series is shown to develop human emotions throughout the series. She is treated as an equal by her classmates and teacher (with whom she eventually falls in love).
• Every shinki in the Busou Shinki anime and video games are shown to be sentient as they have human emotions and feel pain. Their treatment, however, varies upon their master and some shinki are victims of abuse.