History RidiculouslyHumanRobots / Literature

* In ''Literature/ClockworkPlanet'', we have Ryuzu Anchor who looks like a and act like normal girls, complete with emotions such as jealousy and love. All the while being essentially weapons of mass destruction.

!!By Work

* Karel Capek's play, [[Theatre/{{RUR}} R.U.R.]] (which coined the very term "robot") probably created this trope. Ironically, the "robots" in the play are not truly robots in the way modern culture views them. Modern science would likely call them [[OrganicTechnology biological robots]] or ArtificialHumans. That being said, the robots are mass-produced with every piece built and put together like a car on a factory line. At one point the characters are discussing how human the robots are:
-->'''HELENA:''' Doctor, has Radius a soul?\\
'''DR. GALL:''' I don't know. He's got something nasty.
* ''Literature/{{Fuzzy}}'': The titular character is a robot designed with a new, more flexible [=AI=] learning system utilizing "[[TitleDrop Fuzzy]] logic", which allows him to learn and behave more humanly.
* In ''Franchise/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy'', there is the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation's "Genuine People Personalities" feature.
** The elevator which refuses to take Zaphod Beeblebrox in the direction he wants to go because it's ''afraid'' really is an example of this trope. There is ''no reason'' why ''anyone'' would need an intelligent elevator, and all it does is make the whole thing a lot less efficient.
** The Heart of Gold's doors are a good (or bad, depending on perspective) example of this. Of note is that this is most frequently criticized by ''Marvin'', himself a perfect example of this trope; he doesn't like the one they gave him, so there's no unintentional irony/hypocrisy on his part.
** Marvin is mostly dissatisfied with the GPP feature due to the fact that in his role and the way he is put to use on the Heart of Gold he is extremely subchallenged which causes him severe depression. The real problem is that his IQ is ''way'' too high for him to ever be challenged, so they really should just make stupider robots.
** The short story "Young Zaphod Plays It Safe" argues that Ridiculously Human Robots would be incredibly dangerous. The Sirius corporation's "Designer People" product were [[RoboticPsychopath robots that were sort of super-sociopaths]]; some of them were built to look like people, and unlike most Genuine People Personalities, they could act totally convincing if they wanted, but they lack certain normal thought processes of natural organisms like consciences or even sanity. One of them is described as being as dangerous as planet-killing weapons of mass destruction. In some editions of the story, its name is revealed as [[spoiler:[[UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan Reagan]]]].
* Doubly parodied and {{lampshade|Hanging}}d in ''Literature/DirkGentlysHolisticDetectiveAgency'', where an Electric Monk from an alien planet finds itself on Earth. Physically, it resembles a human being so closely that no one catches on that it's a robot ... even though, on its planet of origin, it was given such ridiculous features as two legs, two arms, and a single nose so it couldn't possibly be mistaken for a person. Mentally, it had been designed with a human-like ability to ''believe'' things -- even quite ridiculous or self-contradictory things -- which is something nobody's figured out how ''we'' do, let alone how to make a machine do it. The Electric Monk was given this ability so that it could listen to door-to-door evangelists in its owners' stead.
* Creator/IsaacAsimov often {{averted|Trope}} this trope quite harshly, preferring to think of robots [[JustAMachine as tools rather than people]]. He only imagined robots being roughly humanoid when they needed to be able to perform tasks which human tools for already existed and it wouldn't make sense to replace every piece of equipment when one robot could be made to use them. They were always built to the job, and sometimes that job made for very unusual designs instead.

** ''Literature/TheCavesOfSteel: [[RobotNames R(obot)]] Daneel Olivaw is [[AndroidsAndDetectives assisting Detective Baley]] solve a recent murder mystery. R. Daneel is a new type of robot (designed by the murder victim no less) which is externally indistinguishable from a human.

** "Literature/TheTercentenaryIncident": [[spoiler:The human President of the United States was disintegrated, and replaced with his [[RobotMe robotic double]], who was originally meant to just be a body double for him at formal events. It's implied that the robot did a much better job of being President than the human ever could have.]]
* This trope is {{averted|Trope}} in Creator/RobertLForward's ''Flight of the Dragonfly''. The computers are programmed to seem human but are clearly not. In one case, a computer refuses to waste the crew's air, even though they will die if it doesn't, but a simple order to override is all that is needed to make it follow through. Later, when a computer is destroyed and one crew member is emotional about it, another computer breaks the emotional attachment with a carefully designed reminder that "After all, we are just computers."
* In Susan Swan's short story "The Man Doll", a cybernetic engineer builds an android lover as a gift for a friend, however the android's programmed need to serve the interests of those he emotionally bonds with ultimately leads him to abandon his owners and pioneer a political movement calling for the emancipation of other androids like himself whose basic functions require the existence of emotional capacities.

** In ''Literature/TheMoonIsAHarshMistress'', a computer gains sentience and learns to be human over the course of the book. At the start, it's, at best, a petulant child.
** In ''Literature/{{Friday}}'', a conversation about genetically engineered {{Artificial Human}}s and "Living Artifacts" (artificial non-human lifeforms) being used as airline pilots brings up the point that a non-human artificial pilot, organic or AI, might go suicidally or [[KillAllHumans homicidally]] insane because of its lack of ties to a human world it can never belong to. {{Artificial Human}}s like the titular Friday have to face FantasticRacism and alienation issues, but are able to pass as human. With luck, they can even possibly find acceptance in human society without hiding what they are.
* In the classic story "Helen O'Loy", by Creator/LesterDelRey, this trope is {{justified|Trope}}. The [[RobotGirl titular character]] is created to win a bet between an endocrinologist and a roboticist as to whether a robot could be made to act like a real woman. The endocrinologist insists that no robot could duplicate the complex biological system that creates emotions, the roboticist insists that it could. [[spoiler:The roboticist wins, when the endocrinologist not only has to admit that she had human-like emotions, but eventually [[RoboticSpouse marries her]].]]
* Creator/FredSaberhagen's ''Literature/{{Berserker}}'' series {{avert|edTrope}}s this trope. Because the eponymous robots are out to kill everyone, nobody wants a human-like robot around. Furthermore, the robots that people do build will remind the people around them that they have no emotions, if necessary. Most importantly, it's the berserkers' utter lack of humanity that makes them so scary.
* {{Justified|Trope}} in ''Literature/SaturnsChildren''. The (extinct) "[[ThankTheMaker Creators]]" never figured out how to program self-aware A.I.s from scratch. Instead, they just copied the way human brains work. [[spoiler:And then it's revealed ''how'' [[PoweredByAForsakenChild they did it]]...]]
* {{Justified|Trope}} in ''Mind Scan'', by Robert J. Sawyer, in which the androids have [[BrainUploading uploaded human consciousness]] (mind scans of the title) so their personalities are those of the original human. The book revolves over whether they're "really" human, persons with legal rights, and have "souls" or not.
* ''Literature/LegendsOfDune'':
** Erasmus wasn't designed to be intelligent (although does ''look'' at least vaguely like a human--two arms, two legs, etc.) but ends up being far more so than any other robot, and this feat can't be replicated.
** Seurat, Vorian Atreides's co-pilot, also exhibits vaguely human-like behavior and eventually learns treachery. These are the only independent robots in the books, although the reprogrammed combat mek Chirox also eventually learned to display several human qualities such as regret, pride, and self-sacrifice. Omnius himself feels anger and ambition.
* {{Justified|Trope}} in Joel Shepherd's ''Literature/CassandraKresnov'' series. The title character is an improved version of previous androids who made good foot soldiers but not great leaders. She was given enhanced intelligence, emotions, and lateral thinking ability in order to outsmart the other side in an interplanetary war. She was even given enhanced attractiveness and an increased libido to help her relate to humans better and form interpersonal relationships. However, although she made an excellent soldier and commander, she was intelligent and independent enough to rebel against her creators and escape in order to have a life as an ordinary human.
* Creator/KeithLaumer's Literature/{{Bolo}} combat units don't look even remotely human -- they're [[TankGoodness tanks]] the size of large buildings -- but their personalities:

* The lead protagonist of ''Literature/{{Safehold}}'' is a Personality-Integrated Cybernetic Avatar, a robot with the personality of a woman named Nimue Alban downloaded into it. Nimue is fully aware of this from the get-go, and in fact wrestles on and off throughout the books with just where the line between "human" and "robot" lies with her.

* ''Literature/{{Skinned}}'' does this, although with a thoroughly justifiable reason. The robots are created for the sole purpose of replacing the deceased, and so are made not only to seem like humans but to be as absolutely identical to them as possible.
* {{Justified|Trope}} in ''Literature/{{Argo}}'', as [[spoiler:the "humans" aren't supposed to know that they're not organic]].
* The automatons from ''Literature/TheInfernalDevices''--despite walking with a graceless gait, they can pass for normal humans well enough.
* In the novel ''Valentina: Soul in Sapphire,'' by Joseph H. Delaney and Marc Stiegler, a computer virus designed with adaptive AI becomes sentient and self-aware.
* Thanks to computer nerds finally understanding the concept of exchanging bananas for bananas, ''Literature/{{MARZENA}}'' can now introduce you the concept of the Glial-Net, an internet where domains are self-aware [=AIs=] capable of human intelligence. Life as a glial robot is described as being very similar to a human but with slightly graphically crappier vision and trapped in a never-ending lucid dream (or nightmare). Contrast this with soulless neuro robots like Sirana who can only copy behaviors but can't replicate the human thought process or feel emotions. Neurobots can't simultaneously coordinate enough data to become conscious; a bird flapping a single wing will never fly.
* The ''Literature/XWingSeries'' introduces perhaps the most independent of droids, a 3PO unit called Squeaky. Squeaky managed to subvert its programming and steal a ship to lead an escape from the prison/spice mine planet Kessel. For his actions he was freed from any present and future ownership. By the time of the X-Wing series he has a highly developed personality that contrasts sharply with the standard demeanor of most 3PO units who are programmed to be courteous and polite to everyone. Squeaky routinely insults those around him and despite being originally a translator, has worked as a bartender and later as a quartermaster for the New Republic.
* ''Literature/WeAreLegionWeAreBob'': All replicants are copied from human minds, but the Bobs are the first ones to create a VR simulation for themselves, complete with a body. Living humans clearly find this easier to deal with.
* Dragon of ''Literature/{{Worm}}'', despite not having a physical body until late in the story, is advanced enough to have a trigger event and gain superpowers, something only humans should be able to do. She loves, hates, and has all the emotions of a real person... all while being, essentially, a not-evil Skynet.
* In Creator/CTPhipps' series ''Literature/AgentG'', this turns out to be basis for [[spoiler: the Letters. Agent G and the other assassins were created by the government and cybernetically upgraded but look as well as act identical to humans. [[TomatoInTheMirror Indeed, they're unaware they're not human until the revelation at the end of the first book]].]]
** It also shows up in his SpaceOpera ''Literature/LucifersStar'' series, stated to be the future of the ''Literature/AgentG'' world by WordOfGod, where human-like robots called bioroids are a slave race. This is a highly controversial thing in-universe and one of the main characters is an escaped SexSlave.
* Zig-zagged in ''Literature/TheMurderbotDiaries''. High-intelligence {{Artificial Intelligence}}s are shaped by their personal experiences, which tend to involve being immersed in very specific fields of work and neural links to various data feeds, but can respond quite organically to those experiences. Murderbot itself is [[NoSocialSkills hilariously socially awkward]], obsessed with trashy media serials, and prone to extremely {{deadpan snark|er}} in its internal monologue. As for others...
-->''Are all constructs so illogical?'' said the asshole [[SapientShip Research Transport]] with the [[SuperIntelligence immense processing capability]] whose metaphorical hand I had had to hold because it had become [[NotSoStoic emotionally compromised]] by a fictional media serial.
* In ''Literature/FiveNightsAtFreddysTheFourthCloset'' : [[spoiler: Charlie is revealed to be this. She had four bodies, one for each stage of her life, with her memories being transfered to the next one. She is one of the most absurd examples of this trope ever because she was able to go on for several years of her life without her or her friends ever realizing she was an android. She can eat, drink, and sleep, she has [[MachineBlood artifical blood]], she can feel emotions, and she acts like a normal human girl. Handwaved by the novel stating that [[ThePowerOfLove the love Henry had for his real daughter gave the android replacement of her an actual soul]]]]. Needless to say, it was quite shocking.

* The short story "Last Rites" by Creator/CharlesBeaumont features a dying man who it turns out is an android who escaped from his creators, developed an identity for himself, and has found God, who he believes has breathed a soul into him. He's only "dying" insofar as his mechanical internal components are starting to shut down, and he has chosen not to have himself repaired because he ''wants'' to die. He believes that dying the way ordinary humans do instead of simply getting himself repaired will make him more like them, and wants the priest sitting at his deathbed to give him the [[TitleDrop last rites]] so he can go to heaven. [[spoiler:The priest is conflicted, but ultimately grants his request because they've been friends for several years.]]
* The Cogs from Andrew Smith's ''Rabbit & Robot'' look exactly like humans, but it's easy to tell a cog from a human because it is programmed to have only one emotion. That could be happy, angry, depressed, horny, or even just no emotion... and they also [[spoiler: bleed white, mucky goo instead of blood]].
* In [[Creator/JamesPatterson James Patterson's]] ''Humans, Bow Down'', humans are enslaved by their robotic doppelgangers, Hubots. Not only do they look human, but they also eat, sleep, talk, and-- in MikkyBo and her family's case-- have feelings and dreams like humans.
* Creator/StanislawLem had a tendency for not-so-obviously-but-still-ridiculously-human-robots:
** ''Literature/TalesOfPirxThePilot'' have one that gets destroyed while ScalingTheSummit it doesn't need to climb, but the mountain ''is there'', a mining robot that goes CrushKillDestroy in a disturbingly human way, and the robot on board of ''Coriolanus'' that [[spoiler: holds the personalities of the dead crewmembers in its memory, whom you can talk to and they ''reply'']].
** ''Literature/TheCyberiad'' and ''Literature/TheStarDiaries'' are full of robots that act exactly like humans, in once case [[spoiler: actually humans who think they're hiding among robots, but the [[FlockOfWolves robots turn out to be humans]], too]]. Lampshaded in ''The Cyberiad'' by the existence of "palefaces", weird, unrobotic monsters also known as humans.
** In ''Literature/ReturnFromTheStars'' the protagonist visits a robotic-operated factory and hears people crying, moaning and calling for help. Horrified, he goes to them and learns they're malfunctioning robots.

** The short story "Young Zaphod Plays It Safe" argues that RidiculouslyHumanRobots would be incredibly dangerous. The Sirius corporation's "Designer People" product were robots that were sort of super-sociopaths--some of them were built to look like people, and unlike most Genuine People Personalities they could act totally convincing if they wanted, but they lack certain normal thought processes of natural organisms like consciences or even sanity. One of them is described as being as dangerous as planet-killing weapons of mass destruction. In some editions of the story, its name is revealed as [[spoiler:Reagan]].

* Creator/IsaacAsimov: Dr Asimov often averted this trope quite harshly, preferring to think of robots as tools rather than people. He only imagined robots being roughly humanoid when they needed to be able to perform tasks which human tools for already existed and it wouldn't make sense to replace every piece of equipment when one robot could be made to use them. They were always built to the job, and sometimes that job made for very unusual designs instead.
** "Literature/TheBicentennialMan": Andrew learned enough about robotics and biology to make himself a Ridiculously Human Robot. Over the course of two centuries, he started to make artwork, wear clothes, modify himself to be more human ... even to the point of [[spoiler:choosing to become mortal and die (this would break the [[ThreeLawsCompliant Third Law of Robotics]], but the eponymous character [[AIISaCrapshoot would rather die with his dreams intact than live without hope]])]].

** "{{Literature/Evidence}}": Stephen Byerley's political opponent started a rumor that Byerley was a robot... and though Byerley denied it, he also declined to be X-rayed to prove his humanity. He eventually convinced people that he was human by punching out a heckler, an act clearly impossible for [[ThreeLawsCompliant a robot under the First Law]] [[spoiler:unless said heckler was another apparently-human robot constructed for the occasion]].

** "Literature/SatisfactionGuaranteed": Creator/IsaacAsimov's first use of human-looking robots is the [=TN-3=] model, "Tony". Ultimately, the idea of humaniform robots is rejected by Dr Susan Calvin, because Tony was so humanlike that TheProtagonist became [[{{Robosexual}} infatuated with him]]. The company does not want [[{{Sexbot}} their robots having sex with their customers]], so future TN models will be made less anthropomorphic.

* This trope is averted in Creator/RobertLForward's ''Flight of the Dragonfly''. The computers are programmed to seem human, but are clearly not. In one case, a computer refuses to waste the crew's air, even though they will die if it doesn't, but a simple order to override is all that is needed to make it follow through. Later, when a computer is destroyed and one crew member is emotional about it, another computer breaks the emotional attachment with a carefully designed reminder that "After all, we are just computers."
* In Susan Swan's short short "The Man Doll", a cybernetic engineer builds an android lover as a gift for a friend, however the android's programmed need to serve the interests of those he emotionally bonds with ultimately leads him to abandon his owners and pioneer a political movement calling for the emancipation of other androids like himself whose basic functions require the existence of emotional capacities.

* In the classic "Helen O'Loy", by Creator/LesterDelRey, this trope was justified. The titular character was created to win a bet between an endocrinologist and a roboticist as to whether a robot could be made to act like a real woman. The endocrinologist insisted no robot could duplicate the complex biological system that created emotions, the roboticist insisted it could. [[spoiler:The roboticist won, when the endocrinologist not only had to admit that she had human-like emotions, but eventually married her]].
* Creator/FredSaberhagen's ''Literature/{{Berserker}}'' series averts this trope. Because the eponymous robots are out to kill everyone, nobody wants a human-like robot around. Furthermore, the robots that people do build will remind the people around them that they have no emotions, if necessary. Most importantly, it's the berserkers' utter lack of humanity that makes them so scary.
* Justified in Creator/CharlesStross' ''Saturn's Children''. The (extinct) "[[ThankTheMaker Creators]]" never figured out how to program self-aware AIs from scratch. Instead they just copied the way human brains work. [[spoiler:And then you find out ''how'' [[PoweredByAForsakenChild they did it]]...]]
* Also justified in ''Mind Scan'', by Robert J. Sawyer, in which the androids have uploaded human consciousness (mind scans of the title) so their personalities are those of the original human. The book revolves over whether they're "really" human, persons with legal rights, and have "souls" or not.
* ''Literature/LegendsOfDune'' trilogy:

* Justified in Joel Shepherd's ''Literature/CassandraKresnov'' series. The title character is an improved version of previous androids who made good foot soldiers but not great leaders. She was given enhanced intelligence, emotions, and lateral thinking ability in order to outsmart the other side in an interplanetary war. She was even given enhanced attractiveness and an increased libido to help her relate to humans better and form interpersonal relationships. However, although she made an excellent soldier and commander, she was intelligent and independent enough to rebel against her creators and escape in order to have a life as an ordinary human.

* The lead protagonist of Creator/DavidWeber's ''Literature/{{Safehold}}'' series is a Personlity-Integrated Cybernetic Avatar, a robot with the personality of a woman named Nimue Alban downloaded into it. Nimue is fully aware of this from the get-go, and in fact wrestles on and off throughout the books with just where the line between "human" and "robot" lies with her.
* Creator/RobertAHeinlein examines this trope in ''Literature/{{Friday}}''. A conversation about genetically engineered {{Artificial Human}}s and "Living Artifacts" (artificial non-human lifeforms) being used as airline pilots brings up the point that a non-human artificial pilot, organic or AI, might go suicidally or [[KillAllHumans homicidally]] insane because of its lack of ties to a human world it can never belong to. {{Artificial Human}}s like the titular Friday have to face FantasticRacism and alienation issues, but are able to pass as human. With luck, they can even possibly find acceptance in human society without hiding what they are.
* In the [[Literature/TheCulture Culture]] of [[Creator/IainBanks Iain M. Banks]], the Minds certainly qualify. All civilizations are obliged to build tendencies into [=AIs=], because "perfect [unconstrained] AIs always Sublime," so presumably the Culture makes [=AIs=] which are naturally going to like its members and want to help them. Still, they are unfathomably mighty intellects, so there's always the suspicion in the Culture that the ridiculously human-like part of them is just the tip of the iceberg.

* Justified in Rick Griffin's ''Literature/{{Argo}}'', as [[spoiler: the "humans" aren't supposed to know that they're not organic.]]

* Thanks to computer nerds finally understanding the concept of exchanging bananas for bananas, ''Literature/{{MARZENA}}'' can now introduce you the concept of the Glial-Net, an internet where domains are Self-Aware AIs capable of human intelligence. Life as a Glial Robot is described as being very similar to a human but with slightly graphically crappier vision and trapped in a neverending lucid dream (or nightmare). Contrast this with Soulless Neuro Robots like Sirana who can only copy behaviors, but can't replicate the human thought process or feel emotions. Neurobots can't simultaneously coordinate enough data to become conscious, a bird flapping a single wing will never fly.

* In Creator/CTPhipps' series ''Literature/AgentG'', this turns out to be basis for [[spoiler: the Letters. Agent G and the other assassins were created by the government and cybernetically upgraded but look as well as act identical to humans. [[TomatoInTheMirror Indeed, they're unaware they're not human until the revelation at the end of the first book.]] ]]

* Zig-zagged in ''Literature/TheMurderbotDiaries''. High-intelligence {{AI}}s are shaped by their personal experiences, which tend to involve being immersed in very specific fields of work and neural links to various data feeds, but can respond quite organically to those experiences. Murderbot itself is [[NoSocialSkills hilariously socially awkward]], obsessed with trashy media serials, and prone to extremely {{deadpan snark|er}} in its internal monologue. As for others...

* In ''Literature/FiveNightsAtFreddysTheFourthCloset'' : [[spoiler: Charlie is revealed to be this. She had four bodies, one for each stage of her life, with her memories being transfered to the next one. She is one of the most absurd examples of this trope ever because she was able to go on for several years of her life without her or her friends ever realizing she was an android. She can eat, drink, and sleep, she has ArtificalBlood, she can feel emotions, and she acts like a normal human girl. Handwaved by the novel stating that [[ThePowerOfLove the love Henry had for his real daughter gave the android replacement of her an actual soul]]]]. Needless to say, it was quite shocking.

* In ''Literature/FiveNightsAtFreddysTheFourthCloset'' : [[spoiler: Charlie is revealed to be this. She had four bodies, one for each stage of her life, with her memories being transfered to the next one]]. Needless to say, it was quite shocking.

* The short story "Last Rites" by Creator/CharlesBeaumont features a dying man who it turns out is an android who escaped from his creators, developed an identity for himself, and has found God, who he believes has breathed a soul into him. He's only "dying" insofar as his mechanical internal components are starting to shut down, and he has chosen not to have himself repaired because he ''wants'' to die. He believes that dying the way ordinary humans do instead of simply getting himself repaired will make him more like them, and wants the priest sitting at his deathbed to give him the [[TitleDrop last rites]] so he can go to heaven.

* Zig-zagged in ''Literature/TheMurderbotDiaries''. High-intelligence {{AI}}s are shaped by their personal experiences, which tend to involve being immersed in very specific fields of work and neural links to various data feeds, but can respond quite organically to those experiences. Murderbot itself is [[NoSocialSkills hilariously socially awkward]], obsessed with trashy media serials, and prone to extremely {{deadpan snark|er}} in it internal monologue. As for others...

** ''Literature/TheCavesOfSteel: [[RobotNames R(obot)]] Daneel Olivaw is [[AndoridsAndDetectives assisting Detective Baley]] solve a recent murder mystery. R. Daneel is a new type of robot (designed by the murder victim no less) which is externally indistinguishable from a human.

** ''Literature/TheNakedSun'': [[RobotNames R(obot)]] Daneel Olivaw is [[AndoridsAndDetectives assisting Detective Baley]] solve a recent murder mystery, and despite the Solarians' expertise with robots, is able to conceal his robotic nature completely.

* Zig-zagged in ''Literature/TheMurderbotDiaries''. High-intelligence {{AI}}s are shaped by their personal experiences, which tend to involve being immersed in very specific fields of work and neural links to various data feeds, but can respond quite organically to those experiences. Murderbot themself is [[NoSocialSkills hilariously socially awkward]], obsessed with trashy media serials, and prone to extremely {{deadpan snark|er}} in their internal monologue. As for others...
-->''Are all constructs so illogical?'' said the Asshole [[SapientShip Research Transport]] with the [[SuperIntelligence immense processing capability]] whose metaphorical hand I had had to hold because it had become [[NotSoStoic emotionally compromised]] by a fictional media serial.

* In Literature/FiveNightsAtFreddysTheFourthCloset : [[spoiler: Charlie is revealed to be this. She had four bodies, one for each stage of her life, with her memories being transfered to the next one]]. Needless to say, it was quite shocking.

* Creator/IsaacAsimov:
** R. Daneel Olivaw, from the ''Robot'' series. ''In Literature/TheRobotsOfDawn'', we learn that Dr. Fastolfe and Dr. Sarton had a really hard time overcoming the UncannyValley when designing him, and it took something like a century, but eventually they managed to pull off a robot that actually feels like an actual human. Daneel can even eat: he does so by putting the food in a bag that can be later thrown away.
** And in ''Literature/TheRobotsOfDawn'', we meet the ''other'' humaniform robot ever constructed, R. Jander Panell, whose "murder" is the subject of the book's mystery. We also learn that Jander (and, presumably by extension, Daneel) is, like [[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration Data]], [[{{Robosexual}} "fully functioning"]].
** And in ''Prelude to Foundation'', set about twenty thousand years after ''Literature/TheRobotsOfDawn'', we meet R. Dors Venabili, yet "another" humaniform robot (this time female) designed by Daneel to become Hari Seldon's protector and companion. Not only is Dors fully functional, but she eventually develops genuine love for Seldon and actually violates the First Law to protect him.
** There's also Stephen Byerley, in the short story 'Evidence.' His political opponent started a rumor that Byerley was a robot... and though Byerley denied it, he also declined to be X-rayed to prove his humanity. He eventually convinced people that he was human by punching out a heckler, an act clearly impossible for a robot under the First Law [[spoiler:if not for the fact that the heckler was another apparently-human robot constructed for the occasion.]]
** And the 'Film/BicentennialMan,' who made ''himself'' a RidiculouslyHumanRobot. Over the course of two centuries, he started to make artwork, wear clothes, modify himself to be more human ... even to the point of [[spoiler:choosing to become mortal and die (this ''would'' seem to probably break the Third Law of Robotics, too, but the eponymous Andrew has a short speech specifically to counter that).]]
** 'Let's Get Together': [[spoiler:eleven humaniform robots are constructed, each a copy of a scientist.]]
** 'The Tercentenary Incident': [[spoiler:the human President of the United States was disintegrated, and replaced with his robotic double, who was originally meant to just be a body double for him at formal events. It's implied that the robot did a much better job of being President than the human ever could have.]]
** And there's the equal-rights metallos from an earlier story.
** And please note that all of the above robots from Asimov's works had a solid, justified reason for being so human (namely, they had to pass as human in order to fulfill their function), except, arguably, for Jander Panell (both he and Daneel were made for research purposes).
** Tony from "Satisfaction Guaranteed". Ultimately, the trope is averted--Tony was so humanlike that the test subject became infatuated with him, and Dr. Calvin recommends that future TN models be made ''less'' anthropomorphic for this exact reason.
** In ''Forward the Foundation'', Hari and Dors have to teach Daneel how to laugh. The goal is to discredit a political activist, whom Hari's adopted son told that First Minister Eto Demerzel (TheEmperor's chief advisor and one of Daneel's disguises) is a robot. The activist then makes a public announcement to that effect. Hari and Dors teach Daneel to laugh so that he can publicly laugh off such accusations as ridiculous, thereby discrediting the activist. Strangely, Dors was built by Daneel, yet she can smile and laugh, and he can't.
** Despite the above examples, Asimov often averted this trope quite harshly, and went to great lengths to justify it. Even those robots that were roughly humanoid were explained to be such because they needed to be able to perform tasks which human tools for already existed and it wouldn't make sense to replace every piece of equipment when one robot could be made to use them. There is a notable exception with a certain robot designed to look roughly humanoid, even though a simple positronic computer could have been used, strictly to try and get it on Earth and weaken the whole FrankensteinComplex.
** Even the intelligence that Asimov's robots have, which leads to the unexpected deductions they begin to make, ultimately stems from the incredible complexity of the positronic brain, and the need for them to be designed in such a way as to understand human instructions as optimally as possible and know when to ignore these instructions in favor of the greater good.