In the real world, advancements in technology have us wondering if it will help humanity or lead to its downfall, Terminator-style.
For several decades, TV storylines have examined both the fear and the excitement surrounding robots and A.I.It’s often seeing the world through the eyes of these humanoid robots that has us questioning our actions and our existence.
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At times, the robots on TV have more humanity than actual humans, as we’ve seen recently in Westworld and Humans, and perhaps most notably on Battlestar Galactica.
From the wilds of Westworld to the English countryside, the afterlife to outer space, here are some of television’s most human-like robots and artificial intelligence.
Maeve (Westworld)
One of the most powerful hosts in Westworld, Maeve is not only self-aware, she can control the other hosts in the park. When presented with the opportunity to leave the park, she instead heads out in search of the daughter she had in an earlier narrative.
Number Six (Battlestar Galactica)
Six is a humanoid Cylon and one of the “Significant Seven.” There are numerous copies, each with a different personality, and the consciousness downloads into a new body upon death. The most notable copy is Caprica Six who seduced Gaius Baltar to help the Cylons take down the colonies.
Mia/Anita (Humans)
Mia is one of David Elster’s original sentient synths. When purchased by the Hawkins family, she is named Anita. Despite the fact that she’d been restored to factory settings, Mia keeps coming to the surface due to her unique code.
Data (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
Data is the second officer and chief operations officer on the USS Enterprise. A self-aware android, he has an emotion chip that allows him to understand human behavior and increase his own humanity.
Dolores (Westworld)
Dolores was the first host created by Argos and the oldest in Westworld. When she becomes aware that her life is a carefully curated lie, she chooses to no longer be a damsel in distress and rewrite her own story.
Anders (Battlestar Galactica)
Samuel T. Anders was first introduced as a star Pyramid player and resistance fighter following the Cylon attack. Later on, it’s revealed that he’s actually one of the Final Five Cylons and has lived for more than 2000 years.
Janet (The Good Place)
Janet is not a robot, and she’ll be the first to remind you of that. She is artificial intelligence that serves as the operational mainframe for both the Good Place and Bad Place. She’s cheerful, powerful and even capable of falling in love.
Vicki (Small Wonder)
VICI — or Voice Input Child Identicant — is an android in the form of a 10-year-old girl built to assist differently abled kids. Her creator, engineer Ted Lawson, brings her home so she can adapt to being in a family, leading to the Lawsons trying to pass her off as their adopted daughter, Vicki.
Teddy (Westworld)
When we’re first introduced to Teddy he is a classic hero, saving Dolores from danger. His personality was changed by Dolores because she thought he was weak-minded, and it turned him into a ruthless soldier in her rebellion.
Sharon/Number 8 (Battlestar Galactica)
Number Eight, also known as Sharon Valerii, is another humanoid Cylon model and has two notable personalities: Boomer and Athena, both Galactica pilot call signs. Athena falls in love with fellow crew member Helo, and they have a child together, Hera, the first Cylon-Human hybrid.
Niska (Humans)
One of the original conscious synths, Niska was created as a sibling for Elster’s son. Following Elster’s death, Niska was kidnapped along with Mia and Fred. She was then sold to a brothel as a sex worker until her escape.
Rommie (Andromeda)
Rommie is the android avatar of the Andromeda Ascendant Artificial Intelligence. She has evolved differently from the ship’s core AI in that she has human emotions, leading to conflicts with the operating system.
Bernard (Westworld)
Bernard is a host and the head of Delos’ programming division. Created by Dr. Robert Ford and programmed to think he is human, Bernard is a replica of Ford’s late partner, Arnold Weber.
D’Anna/Number Three (Battlestar Galactica)
D’Anna Biers, a Fleet News reporter making a documentary about the military aboard Galactica, is actually Number Three, a humanoid Cylon who does not see eye to eye with some of the other models.
Cameron (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles)
Cameron is a reprogrammed Terminator sent from the year 2027 to protect John and Sarah Connor. She’s an advanced model programmed with complex social behaviors, and was based on a human resistance fighter who was close to John Connor.
Dorian (Almost Human)
Dorian is a DRN series android designed to partner with a human police detective. He was mothballed because of a flaw that gave him emotions, but is later reinstated and paired with John Kennex.
Akecheta (Westworld)
Akecheta is the leader of Ghost Nation and one of the earliest hosts in Westworld, even pre-dating the park. He is one of the first to achieve consciousness, becoming self-aware even before Maeve. He is motivated by trying to reunite with his love, Kohana, and protecting Maeve and her daughter.
Leoben/Number Two (Battlestar Galactica)
Although Leoben thinks he’s enlightened, this humanoid Cylon’s strengths are playing mind games and showing off his exceptional strength. He was Starbuck’s captor when she was captured by the Cylons, but is also responsible for telling her about her very special destiny.
Karen (Humans)
D.I. Karen Voss is a sentient synth pretending to be human. She was created by Elster to replace his late wife, Beatrice, much to the horror of the other conscious synths.
Buffybot (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
The Buffybot had a very problematic beginning, as she was created to be a sex toy for Spike. She was reprogrammed later on and used to help defeat Glory, and in between Buffy’s death and resurrection, she posed as Dawn’s guardian and was used for patrols to keep the news from the underworld.
Clementine (Westworld)
Clementine is a first generation host created by Weber and Ford for Argos. She has gone from being one of the girls at the Mariposa saloon to becoming part of Dolores’ uprising.
Cavil/Number One (Battlestar Galactica)
Number One, also known as John Cavil, is a sadistic, scheming, unscrupulous humanoid Cylon with contempt for his creators and fellow Cylons who work with humans. He is also the only Cylon model with full knowledge of their origins.
Aida (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.)
Artificial Intelligent Digital Assistant — or A.I.D.A. — was created as a Life-Model Decoy by Holden Radcliffe and modelled after his former lover, Agnes. A violation of the Sokovia Accords, Aida’s existence was kept a secret, but she later became a prized S.H.I.E.L.D. asset.
Hector (Westworld)
Hector is one of Westworld’s most-wanted bandits. Known for his predatory ways and dark sense of humor, this later model’s narrative is that he was driven mad by losing his lover, Isabella.
Leo (Humans)
Leo is the only child of David Elster and a human-synth hybrid who cares far more for synths. Mia was created to be his caregiver, and he views the other sentient synths — Fred, Niska and Max — as his siblings.
Cromartie/John Henry (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles)
Cromartie was a Series 888 Terminator sent to the year 1999 to kill John Connor, and was able to resume his mission in 2007 until he was destroyed. Later, his endoskeleton was used to give the John Henry AI a body and voice.
Angela (Westworld)
Angela is an early model host, and one of the few that is aware she is a host before the others awaken. She plays two roles: a greeter who welcomes guests to the park, and a tough townswoman who is part of Wyatt’s gang.
Ash (Black Mirror “Be Right Back”)
In the Season 2 episode, Ash and Martha Starmer are a young couple who have just moved to the countryside when Ash is killed in a car wreck. While dealing with her husband’s death, Martha learns she is pregnant and discovers an online service that allows her to communicate with a virtual version of Ash, which is later downloaded into a synthetic body.
Chip (Not Quite Human)
Dr. Jonas Carson creates an android that looks like a teenage boy and then adopts him as his son. Carson’s daughter Becky names her new brother Chip. The Carsons are being stalked by defense contractors who want to reprogram the android for military use. Chip appeared in three popular made for TV movies between 1987 and 1992.
