I have noticed in the films we have been watching, and others I have seen over the years, that cyborgs/androids/AI/robots, etc., generally (not always) seem to lack one thing:  emotion.  That is, they lack emotion unless they experience some kind of revelation or crisis, then all of sudden emotions come into play and either save the day or result in massive destruction.  This isn’t always the case but I consider major “characters” over the years: HAL, Data, The Terminator, various robots/androids in The Twilight Zone or other sci-fi films/programs.  Absent are basic emotions of fear, hate, anxiety, apprehension, alarm, humor, laughter, etc.  I am just wondering why that is.  Also interesting is that when androids and such do express emotion, many times it is pre-programmed.  In other words, the artificiality of the emotions is founded upon what the human engineer who created the android thinks should be displayed.  The android (and I am using that term generally for sake of being all-inclusive) is not able to develop its own personality based upon experience and internal genetic predispositions.

Are we to think that the intrusion of emotions somehow makes us lesser than we are supposed to be?  Does Spock really think if he buries his emotions he will be a better person?  Does the display of emotion really indicate a lack of self-control?  Interestingly though, when emotions are infused in those created characters, it somehow saves the day for the humans involved, albeit not so much at times for the AI.  In many cases there results in some kind of bonding between human and android, somewhat like the human characters and Androids in I, Robot.  I really and ultimately have no answer here, just a quick observation and conclusion for which I am sure there are a myriad exceptions I haven’t mentioned. #mscedc