History Main / JustAMachine

* Hazanko of ''Anime/OutlawStar'' thinks this of Melfina.

* ''Anime/{{Kikaider}}'' addresses this theme repeatedly. Jiro is an android built with a conscience to give him a moral compass like humans. The legitimacy of his existence is rejected at various points by the people around him, and leaves a deep impact on how he views himself.

--->'''Junkyard Worker:''' [[ArcWords 500 Zeus a body.]]

--->'''Fran''': I quite look forward to it.
--->'''[=McKay=]''': You do?
--->'''Fran''': One always wishes to fulfill one's purpose.
--->'''[=McKay=]''': Well, I just ... I just imagined you'd rather keep being than, uh ... uh, than not.
--->'''Fran''': Certainly you're not worried for me, are you, Doctor?
--->'''[=McKay=]''': No, no, that would be silly.
--->'''Fran''' (smiling at him): Yes, it would.
--->(Rodney turns away and walks over to Radek.)
--->'''[=McKay=]''': Should never have given it speech.

-->'''[[AIIsACrapshoot Brainiac]]:''' You can't kill me, Clark. You could never kill a man in cold blood!
-->'''Clark:''' [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman You're not a man]].

--> '''Arthur''': Your child is a dancing star...\\

--> '''IG-11:''' I need to remove your helmet if I am to save you.
--> '''The Mandalorian:''' Try it and I'll kill you. It is forbidden. No living thing has seen me without my helmet since I swore the Creed.
--> '''IG-11:''' I am not a living thing.

-->'''Ambassador Goyle:''' You can't be so naive to think that humanity is the only species investigating artificial intelligence!
-->'''Councilor Tevos:''' It is not naivete, but rather wisdom why we think this.
-->'''Councilor Valern:''' Your people were not here to see the fall of the quarians at the hands of the geth. The dangers of creating intelligent synthetic life, in any form, were never more clearly illustrated. Humanity simply doesn’t understand that the risks are just too great.

* In ''[[VideoGame/{{Crysis}} Crysis 3]]'', Claire holds this view towards Prophet, which is strange, considering she knows full well that he's most assuredly not.
-->'''Prophet''': My name is Prophet.
-->'''Claire''': You don't have a name. ''People'' have names. ''You'' have a callsign and a goddamn serial number.

-->'''[[http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff1600/fc01528.htm Mayor]]:''' See? It's made out of carbon and proteins, but it's just a machine. Now do you feel less guilty about giving it orders?
-->'''Mayor's aide:''' I guess. Still, it seems so lifelike.
** It is worth noting that this gave the Mayor a very nasty KickTheDog moment for some...in a ''humor'' comic, much to the surprise of the author.

-->'''AA:''' but this is hard f0r me
-->'''TA:''' how ii2 iit hard.
-->'''TA:''' you are a tiin can, robot2 don't have feeliing2.

-->'''GT:''' [[CallBack YOU ARE A TIN CAN. ROBOTS DONT HAVE FEELINGS.]]
-->'''TT:''' I think you knowingly confuse the field of robotics and artificial intelligence to engender some sort of cavalier attitude about technology that a rough-and-tumble guy who's all about brawling and fisticuffs would probably have, and if this is cultivated to a humorous effect then I commend you.
-->'''TT:''' But you're wrong.
-->'''TT:''' I do have feelings. And you're shitting on them.
-->'''TT:''' It sucks.

--> ‘’’Locus:’’’ It’s a machine. It never had any life to begin with.

-->'''Conan:''' Hey, I may have lost my freakishly long legs in the War of 2012, but I've got something you'll never have -- a ''soul''!\\

** ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'': The episode "[[Recap/StarTrekVoyagerS7E18AuthorAuthor Author, Author]]" questioned the rights of the ship's [[ProjectedMan holographic Doctor]]. His status was background theme that ran throughout the series. He was initially considered nothing more than a piece of technology that was turned off and on but he eventually came to be viewed as a full-fledged member of the crew and a person in his own right. When the question of whether the Doctor was legally considered a person in "Author, Author", the writers completely ignored the fact that Federation courts had already decided that issue back in the above-mentioned ''TNG'' episode "The Measure of a Man". A [[DistantFinale glimpse of the future]] in the SeriesFinale "Endgame" suggested holographic [=AIs=] would eventually get equal rights.

Authors and characters in SpeculativeFiction have oft pondered whether robots, AI's, clones, and other [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman human-like entities]] can become sapient, and if so, if they also carry a [[OurSoulsAreDifferent soul]]. DoAndroidsDream

*** The episode "Measure of a Man" put Data on trial to determine whether he was a sentient being with rights as a Federation citizen, or merely a machine and thus Federation property. The entire debate overlooks the fact that they had already granted him an officer's commission and rank (even as Picard tries to argue that medals and honors Data has received for courage would suggest he is a person), which would simply not apply to property. It's not as if the ship's computer has a rank or can issue orders to other personnel.
*** "The Quality of Life" featured Data trying to stand up for the rights of several auto-tool probes that seemed to be developing and demonstrating sentience (and even self-preservation instincts). At issue was where to draw the line between an intelligent tool and a sentient being, especially when considering sending the probes on suicidal assignments to save the lives of human beings. In the end, the solution they arrive at is to give the probes a ''choice'' about whether to accept the mission (they do, but come up with [[TakeAThirdOption a better plan]]).
*** In "Emergence", the ship itself does indeed become self aware and sentient, and immediately begins pursuing its own agenda. Captain Picard's response: immediately order the crew to do everything possible to communicate with and assist the ''Enterprise'' in its goal - which turns out to be to reproduce and spawn a progeny, before dying and returning to its original non-sentient state. By this point everyone on the ship is in agreement - if it's a machine that thinks, then it's as much a person as their admired and respected Lieutenant Commander (who later becomes captain of the ''Enterprise'' in the expanded universe). When Data asks Picard why he chose to risk the entire crew and even the Federation itself if the spawn turns out to be hostile, Picard points out that the sentient Enterprise's mindset was an amalgamation of all their dealings with the ship and its computer. "If our dealings with the ship have been honorable, then we can only trust that the result of those dealings will be honorable. In either case, whatever we encounter down the line - we will have earned."
** ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'': The episode "Author, Author" questioned the rights of the ship's [[ProjectedMan holographic Doctor]]. His status was background theme that ran throughout the series. He was initially considered nothing more than a piece of technology that was turned off and on but he eventually came to be viewed as a full fledged member of the crew and a person in his own right. When the question of whether the Doctor was legally considered a person in "Author, Author", the writers completely ignored the fact that Federation courts had already decided that issue back in the above-mentioned ''TNG'' episode "The Measure of a Man". A [[DistantFinale glimpse of the future]] in the SeriesFinale "Endgame" suggested holographic [=AIs=] would eventually get equal rights.

*** In "The End Is the Beginning", Rios treats his Emergency Medical Hologram as nothing more than a program.
---->'''Rios''': He's just an EMH.\\
'''Emil''': ''(annoyed)'' Just.

---->'''Narissa''': You are in love with her. With it. A program, a machine.

Compare NotEvenHuman. SubTrope of WhatMeasureIsANonHuman. Contrast ZombieAdvocate. See also ItIsDehumanizing.

* In ''LightNovel/{{Beatless}}'' even the hIEs themselves note that they are, in fact, just machines with personality-imitating programming, not sentient beings.

* In ''LightNovel/CrestOfTheStars'', the Abh, a genetically engineered race, regard themselves as still being humans, but according to enemy propoganda, 'Abh aren't people, they're organic machines', which is readily admitted as their true origin by an Abh not ten seconds after the propaganda is shown. They were specifically meant for long distance space exploration before faster than light technology had been fully developed.

* ''Anime/GhostInTheShell'': The [[GenkiGirl Tachikoma]] [[SpiderTank Tanks]]. In one scene Togusa invokes this trope by dismissing Batou's favouritism of one Tachikoma, saying that they are just machines and all have the same specifications. The Tachikoma take exception to this remark, demanding he take it back and accusing Togusa of being a bigot.

For whatever reason, the author decides that in her setting the A.I.s, clones, or whatnot may be [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sentience sentient]], but never [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sapience sapient]]. They can fall anywhere on the SlidingScaleOfRobotIntelligence -- they may [[OmnidisciplinaryScientist know a lot]] or have [[GoodWithNumbers incredible computing power]], but lack that final ''je ne sais quoi'' that separates the EmptyShell from a [[BecomeARealBoy real boy.]] Even the [[DeusEstMachina godlike machine intellect]] is somehow lacking a crucial human component that gives its existence purpose and meaning. Typically, these settings have the [[ComputerVoice placidly monotone]] ship's computer help the crew when asked, but never act on its own.

* Creator/IsaacAsimov's "Literature/TheBicentennialMan": The default of any human is to assume that Andrew is just a machine. As he develops a unique personality and experiences, he finds that [[GenerationalSaga each generation of humanity]] can only be pushed so far before being unwilling to see him [[PinocchioSyndrome become more human]]. He couldn't even contemplate wearing clothes while Sir was alive and only started wearing them on a regular basis after Little Miss died. Each step of legal freedom that he seeks is thwarted, [[NoAntagonist not by anyone specifically]], but by the general resentment of humanity against the idea that AndroidsArePeopleToo.

* The Counselor in Machinima/RedVsBlue refers to [[spoiler:Tex]] as a "byproduct" of the process of creating the other AI [[spoiler:Alpha]]. The Director has... ''issues'' with this.

Then there are the people who just don't ''think'' they can.

* The Doctor in ''Series/DoctorWho'' has at times shown disdain towards [=AIs=]. Often this seems to come out of his (usually justified) disapproval of people who rely on non-sentient computers and other machines without thinking for themselves, but it sometimes extends to outright denial of the idea that computers can genuinely qualify as "people" at all. In particular, the Third Doctor in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS10E5TheGreenDeath "The Green Death"]] refuses to recognise the BigBad BOSS as genuinely sentient in the face of clear evidence, in a way that comes across as bigoted even if BOSS isn't a very '''nice''' sentient person. And he writes off the entire [[Recap/DoctorWhoS17E1DestinyOfTheDaleks Movellan]] race as no better than the Daleks once he realizes they're androids (albeit, in their case, both imperialistic and coldly logical ones). The only person in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS12E1Robot ''Robot'']] who treats poor unstable K1 with any real kindness is Sarah. While the Doc has rarely had much compunction about destroying [[MonsterOfTheWeek Monsters Of The Week,]] robots tend to get the least consideration of any of them. Really, it often comes down to how ''nice'' the robot in question is. In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS14E5TheRobotsOfDeath "The Robots of Death,"]] he shows remarkably little consideration for poor D84, until he realizes that he has actually hurt D84's feelings (meaning [[DoAndroidsDream D84 has feelings to hurt),]] and from then on is much nicer to him. He acknowledges [[Recap/DoctorWhoS14E4TheFaceOfEvil Xoanon]] as a full-blown [[MechanicalLifeforms Mechanical Lifeform]] and holds himself morally culpable for having inadvertantly driven him mad. K-9 [[TheNthDoctor (all of them)]] is always treated as a [[RobotBuddy buddy,]] but then again, the Doc doesn't seem to see any existential problem in creating ReplacementGoldfish K-9's. He arguably ends up showing ''too much'' sympathy to poor [[Recap/DoctorWhoS20E6TheKingsDemons Kamelion]] (Five ''is'' usually considered the ''nicest'' Doctor), who started out working for the Master; then again, it certainly isn't Kamelion's fault that he ultimately [[Recap/DoctorWhoS21E6TheCavesOfAndrozani ends up being such a huge liability]] to the TARDIS crew. And Eleven [[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E3VictoryOfTheDaleks encourages Bracewell,]] revealed as a Dalek-created android but clearly a good person, to go ahead and lead a full and good life. And of course, the TARDIS herself is sentient, though the Doc seems to have been slow to fully realize and accept the fact.

* The Doctor in ''Series/DoctorWho'' has at times shown disdain towards [=AIs=]. Often this seems to come out of his (usually justified) disapproval of people who rely on non-sentient computers and other machines without thinking for themselves, but it sometimes extends to outright denial of the idea that computers can genuinely qualify as "people" at all. In particular, the Third Doctor in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS10E5TheGreenDeath "The Green Death"]] refuses to recognise the BigBad BOSS as genuinely sentient in the face of clear evidence, in a way that comes across as bigoted even if BOSS isn't a very '''nice''' sentient person. And he writes off the entire [[Recap/DoctorWhoS17E1DestinyOfTheDaleks Movellan]] race as no better than the Daleks once he realizes they're androids (albeit, in their case, both imperialistic and coldly logical ones). The only person in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS12E1Robot ''Robot'']] who treats poor unstable K1 with any real kindness is Sarah. While the Doc has rarely had much compunction about destroying [[MonsterOfTheWeek Monsters Of The Week,]] robots tend to get the least consideration of any of them. Really, it often comes down to how ''nice'' the robot in question is. In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS14E5TheRobotsOfDeath "The Robots of Death,"]] he shows remarkably little consideration for poor D84, until he realizes that he has actually hurt D84's feelings (meaning [[DoAndroidsDream D84 has feelings to hurt),]] and from then on is much nicer to him. He acknowledges [[Recap/DoctorWhoS14E4TheFaceOfEvil Xoanon]] as a full-blown [[MechanicalLifeforms Mechanical Lifeform]] and holds himself culpable for having inadvertantly driven him mad. K-9 [[TheNthDoctor (all of them)]] is always treated as a [[RobotBuddy buddy,]] but then again, the Doc doesn't seem to see any existential problem in creating ReplacementGoldfish K-9's. He arguably ends up showing ''too much'' sympathy to poor [[Recap/DoctorWhoS20E6TheKingsDemons Kamelion]] (Five ''is'' usually considered the ''nicest'' Doctor), who started out working for the Master; then again, it certainly isn't Kamelion's fault that he ultimately [[Recap/DoctorWhoS21E6TheCavesOfAndrozani ends up being such a huge liability]] to the TARDIS crew. And Eleven [[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E3VictoryOfTheDaleks encourages Bracewell,]] revealed as a Dalek-created android but clearly a good person, to go ahead and lead a full and good life. And of course, the TARDIS herself is sentient, though the Doc seems to have been slow to fully realize and accept the fact.

* The Doctor in ''Series/DoctorWho'' has at times shown disdain towards [=AIs=]. Often this seems to come out of his (usually justified) disapproval of people who rely on non-sentient computers and other machines without thinking for themselves, but it sometimes extends to outright denial of the idea that computers can genuinely qualify as "people" at all. In particular, the Third Doctor in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS10E5TheGreenDeath "The Green Death"]] refuses to recognise the BigBad BOSS as genuinely sentient in the face of clear evidence, in a way that comes across as bigoted even if BOSS isn't a very '''nice''' sentient person. And he writes off the entire [[Recap/DoctorWhoS17E1DestinyOfTheDaleks Movellan]] race as no better than the Daleks once he realizes they're androids (albeit, in their case, both imperialistic and coldly logical ones). The only person in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS12E1Robot ''Robot'']] who treats poor unstable K1 with any real kindness is Sarah. While the Doc has rarely had much compunction about destroying [[MonsterOfTheWeek Monsters Of The Week,]] robots tend to get the least consideration of any of them. Really, it often comes down to how ''nice'' the robot in question is. In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS14E5TheRobotsOfDeath "The Robots of Death,"]] he shows remarkably little consideration for poor D84, until he realizes that he has actually hurt D84's feelings (meaning [[DoAndroidsDream D84 has feelings to hurt),]] and from then on is much nicer to him. He acknowledges Xoannon as a full-blown [[MechanicalLifeforms Mechanical Lifeform]] and holds himself responsible for having inadvertantly driven him mad. K-9 [[TheNthDoctor (all of them)]] is always treated as a [[RobotBuddy buddy,]] but then again, the Doc doesn't seem to see any existential problem in creating ReplacementGoldfish K-9's. He arguably ends up showing ''too much'' sympathy to poor Kamelion (Five ''is'' usually considered the ''nicest'' Doctor), who started out working for the Master; then again, it certainly isn't Kamelion's fault that he ultimately ends up being such a huge liability to the TARDIS crew. And Eleven [[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E3VictoryOfTheDaleks encourages Bracewell,]] revealed as a Dalek-created android but clearly a good person, to go ahead and lead a full and good life. And of course, the TARDIS herself is sentient, though the Doc seems to have been slow to fully realize and accept the fact.

* The Doctor in ''Series/DoctorWho'' has at times shown disdain towards [=AIs=]. Often this seems to come out of his (usually justified) disapproval of people who rely on non-sentient computers and other machines without thinking for themselves, but it sometimes extends to outright denial of the idea that computers can genuinely qualify as "people" at all. In particular, the Third Doctor in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS10E5TheGreenDeath "The Green Death"]] refuses to recognise the BigBad BOSS as genuinely sentient in the face of clear evidence, in a way that comes across as bigoted even if BOSS isn't a very '''nice''' sentient person. And he writes off the entire [[Recap/DoctorWhoS17E1DestinyOfTheDaleks Movellan]] race as no better than the Daleks once he realizes they're androids (albeit, in their case, both imperialistic and coldly logical ones). The only person in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS12E1Robot ''Robot'']] who treats poor unstable K1 with any real kindness is Sarah. While the Doc has rarely had much compunction about destroying [[MonsterOfTheWeek Monsters Of The Week,]] robots tend to get the least consideration of any of them. Really, it often comes down to how ''nice'' the robot in question is. In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS14E5TheRobotsOfDeath "The Robots of Death,"]] he shows remarkably little consideration for poor D84, until he realizes that he has actually hurt D84's feelings (meaning [[DoAndroidsDream D84 has feelings to hurt),]] and from then on is much nicer to him. K-9 [[TheNthDoctor (all of them)]] is always treated as a [[RobotBuddy buddy,]] but then again, the Doc doesn't seem to see any existential problem in creating ReplacementGoldfish K-9's. He arguably ends up showing ''too much'' sympathy to poor Kamelion (Five ''is'' usually considered the ''nicest'' Doctor), who started out working for the Master; then again, it certainly isn't Kamelion's fault that he ultimately ends up being such a huge liability to the TARDIS crew. And Eleven [[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E3VictoryOfTheDaleks encourages Bracewell,]] revealed as a Dalek-created android but clearly a good person, to go ahead and lead a full and good life. And of course, the TARDIS herself is sentient, though the Doc seems to have been slow to fully realize and accept the fact.

* This question is debated by the characters in ''Film/TwoThousandTenTheYearWeMakeContact'' with respect to HAL, the MasterComputer of the USS ''Discovery'' who [[AIIsACrapshoot went berserk and killed his crew]] in ''Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey''. When the astronauts' lives are threatened, it becomes a [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman major source of conflict]] between those who want to lie to him and disconnect him if he fails to perform as demanded, or tell him the truth and allow him to make his own choice.

* This trope plays a bigger role in Bungee's earlier ''VideoGame/{{Marathon}}'' series, where rampancy in [=AIs=] (which is not a terminal condition here, but the potential beginning of highly productive intellectual and emotional development) seems to be most commonly induced by severely mistreating them or continually giving them tasks below their intelligence (though given how smart [=AIs=] in general seem to be, even highly placed ones seem to fall prone to this with enough time). Indeed, Durandal's descent into rampancy and his continuing psychotic break/growth into his own individual person is the main driver of the series's entire plot.

For whatever reason, the author decides that in her setting the A.I.s, clones, or whatnot may be [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sapience sapient]], but never [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sentience sentient]]. They can fall anywhere on the SlidingScaleOfRobotIntelligence -- they may [[OmnidisciplinaryScientist know a lot]] or have [[GoodWithNumbers incredible computing power]], but lack that final ''je ne sais quoi'' that separates the EmptyShell from a [[BecomeARealBoy real boy.]] Even the [[DeusEstMachina godlike machine intellect]] is somehow lacking a crucial human component that gives its existence purpose and meaning. Typically, these settings have the [[ComputerVoice placidly monotone]] ship's computer help the crew when asked, but never act on its own.

Then there're the people who just don't ''think'' they can.

* In ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'' chapter 75: ''The Logic of Illogic'', Hakase viewed Chachamaru as JustAMachine until she found Chachamaru's video folders, which were loaded with shots of [[RoboShip Negi]] (and [[KindHeartedCatLover cats]]).

** Kouji and his friends usually felt no remorse when they blew up giant robots. But when they destroyed a {{Robeast}} acted more like an human being than a machine, or when a [[RidiculouslyHumanRobots Ridiculously human Robot]] died, they often felt sad. When Kouji killed the Gamia sisters (three identical android assassins), they were so human-looking he felt sickened and disturbed. Dr. Hell and his CoDragons nearly always regarded his robotic soldiers like [[JustAMachine Just Machines]] and disposable, but there are exceptions: Baron Ashura called Gamia Q1, Q2 and Q3 his/her "daughters", and he actually grieved their deaths (the person who is capable of machine-gunning between laughs a group of survivors of a shipwreck).

* ''Comicbook/{{Superman}}'': When ComicBook/{{Brainiac}} receives his [[UsefulNotes/TheBronzeAgeOfComicBooks Bronze Age]] [[TookALevelInBadAss upgrade]] into his SkeleBot form, Superman discovers that Brainiac has laid waste to an entire planet's civilization, destruction far beyond anything he had ever done before. Superman seriously considers outright destroying him, despite his ThouShaltNotKill policy, justifying it because Brainiac is JustAMachine.

* Both the [[Series/TheOuterLimits1963 1963 original]] and [[Series/TheOuterLimits1995 1995 revival]] versions of ''The Outer Limits'' adapted "I Robot" (based on the "Literature/AdamLink" story by Eando Binder). Each episode has the robot put on trial. Part of the case was whether he was a sapient being deserving of rights under the US constitution or JustAMachine. [[spoiler:He wins the case, but dies in a HeroicSacrifice at [[CruelTwistEnding the end of the episode]].]] For bonus points, [[spoiler:in the remake he sacrificed himself saving the prosecuting attorney who had argued against his sapience. In the original, he's destroyed while saving a little girl he'd accidentally injured earlier in the episode.]]

* In ''Webcomic/{{Freefall}}'', Florence Ambrose (An anthropomorphic red wolf) is classified as an AI, and as such, is treated like [[JustAMachine Just A Robot]] by a few, especially the mayor!

[[folder:Film]]

* ''Anime/GhostInTheShell'', the film. It deals with an advanced AI program let loose on the internet, who claims to be a sentient entity. People disagree, saying that the idea that a program could be sentient is preposterous. [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome The Puppetmaster calls them off their high horses most awesomely.]]

* Inverted in ''Film/StarTrekTheMotionPicture'', where V'Ger dismisses organic life forms as "carbon units" and does not consider them truly alive, unlike machines. Played straight when Bones reminds Deckard that the Ilia clone is just a mechanism.
* The attitude taken towards David in ''{{Film/Prometheus}}''.

* In ''Anime/TheAnimatrix'' episode "The Second Renaissance", we find out that the Machine War that drove humans underground and left the machines in charge of Earth was the result of a species-wide feeling of this on the part of humanity. It started with a robot called B1-66ER who murdered his owner because, in his words, he didn't want to die. Robots, referred to up to this point as cheap, unfeeling labor, were then increasingly persecuted by humanity until finally they founded their own nation, 01, in the Fertile Crescent. Humanity bombed them because the robots' cheap, well-made goods were sending human economies into a tailspin, and everything went downhill from there. During scenes of protests for equal rights for machines we see a lot of scenes of robots being attacked and destroyed without provocation.

* Alex Murphy has to deal with this crap all the time in the ''Franchise/{{Robocop}}'' movies. This is despite the fact that the people who dehumanize him usually know full well that he's a cyborg with most of his brain still intact.
* In ''Film/ExMachina'', [[spoiler: this is Nathan's stance on his creations; whatever pride he may have in them, he clearly thinks nothing of repeatedly dismantling them and starting over]].
* PlayedForLaughs in ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'' by Tony and Steve, who want to justify why The Vision, an android, can lift Mjolnir and they can't. Thor isn't convinced.
--> '''Steve''': But if you put the hammer in an elevator-\\
'''Tony''': - It would still go up.\\

* Invoked in the ''Anime/TheAnimatrix'' segment ''The Second Renaissance''. Does a robot have rights or can it be scrapped whenever the owner wants to?

-->'''Conan''': Hey, I may have lost my freakishly long legs in the War of 2012, but I've got something you'll never have -- a ''soul''!\\
'''Bender''': ''[dismissively]'' Pfffh!\\
'''Conan''': And ''freckles!''\\
'''Bender''' ''[grievously sobs]''

* In ''Animation/HappyHeroes'', [[spoiler:the Mayor's daughter Buding]] thinks this of thesmelves once they learn they're actually a robot, and they immediately start lamenting about being "fake" before running out of the room crying.

'''Secretary:''' When they bring donuts, they have names.