History Main / AndroidsArePeopleToo

* The ''Franchise/{{Alien}}'' series flip-flopped on this as well, similar to ''Terminator''. In [[Film/{{Alien}} the first movie]], the secondary villain is a sinister android. In [[Film/{{Aliens}} the next movie]], the artificial human is a genuine ally and actually lampshades the previous model's failures.

* [[QuestionableContent]]'s AnthroPCs are treated as if they are people most of the time, especially since in the QC universe, the Singularity has recently happened. It's unclear then why Pintsize hasn't been arrested yet, the filthy little boob terrorist.

* In RealLife, the field of "AL" (Artificial Life, also known as cybernetics) [[InvokedTrope tries to produce]] machines with life-like mechanisms or traits (such as being self replicating).

* All artificial humanoid constructs are treated as humans by default in the ''LyricalNanoha'' universe, including cyborgs, clones with constructed personalities, [[PureMagicBeing living magical programs]] running off another mage's {{mana}}, and full androids whose creator accidentally gave [[PersonslityChip human-level personalities]].

* All artificial humanoid constructs are treated as humans by default in the ''LyricalNanoha'' universe, including cyborgs, clones with constructed personalities, and living magical programs running off another mage's {{mana}}.

* In the ''MassEffect'' games, the Geth are an AI created accidentally before the events of the games. The Quarians, who made them as an automated labor force, tried to preemptively destroy all of them, expecting an uprising if they didn't. It didn't work, and the Quarians were driven off all their worlds (including their homeworld) and suffered near-genocide, and now they're wandering the galaxy in a migrant fleet. The Geth are the {{Mooks}} of the first ''MassEffect'' game, but you learn in the second that they only represent five percent of Geth, the rest peacefully living on the Quarians' old planet, keeping it ready for the Quarians' return.
** ''MassEffect2'' also has Joker's emotional attachment to the ship's AI EDI, Legion(a mostly-independent Geth)'s sentimentality towards Shepherd, and if [[spoiler: Legion dies]], Shepherd will mourn just as s/he would for the death of an organic. The Quarian-Geth conflict, once Shepherd is aware that the Geth are not universally violent, is portrayed almost like a tribal/religious war, in which neither side is entirely in the right, rather that the usual 'whee! Robots, kill them!' kind of attitude commonly found in games.

With the world continuing to shift to being Pro-Artificial Life due to the increasing use of technology in our lives, there's no wonder that this trope is being used more and more in modern works. Take, for example, the evolution of the ''{{Terminator}}'' series. The first movie showed all [[AIIsACrapshoot A.I.]] as {{Killer Robot}}s, while the sequels and spin-offs show that the eponymous [[RidiculouslyHumanRobots Terminators]] may in fact be people too, at least when not under the control of [[MasterComputer Sky-Net]].

* The ''Franchise/{{Alien}}'' series flip-flopped on this as well, similar to Terminator. In [[Film/{{Alien}} the first movie]], the secondary villain is a sinister android. In [[Film/{{Aliens}} the next movie]], the artificial human is a genuine ally and actually lampshades the previous model's failures.
* Cruelty to the RobotKid is almost invariably frowned upon by movie writers. See ''Film/{{DARYL}}'' and ''AIArtificialIntelligence''.

* The ''{{Terminator}}'' series [[PlayingWithATrope played with this trope]], as mentioned in the description.
* The ''{{Alien}}'' series flip-flopped on this as well, similar to Terminator. In the first movie, the secondary villain is a sinister android. In the next movie, the artificial human is a genuine ally and actually lampshades the previous model's failures.

* In ''TheTuringOption'', The MI (Machine Intelligence) is treated as this. It's called MI and not AI because of this: "There is nothing artificial about my intelligence". [[spoiler:Oddly, at end the creator is less than a person, and he knows it too.]]

->'''Dark Heart:''' You saved me? Why?!\\

See the related WhatMeasureIsANonHuman. See also/compare the ZombieAdvocate. DoAndroidsDream is when this trope is called into question.

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* The {{Tron}} universe goes bonkers with this. While the films, games, and ''TronUprising'' series use the Programs' [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman non-human status]] and peculiar way of dying as a form of BloodlessCarnage (and a way to [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar depict some extremely violent and disturbing scenes]] in a {{Disney}} franchise), in-universe depictions portray the Programs and Isos as being every bit as alive and sentient as the Users who made them.

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See the related WhatMeasureIsANonHuman. See also/compare the ZombieAdvocate.

* In ''{{Fallout 3}}'', a side quest involves tracking down a runaway android. The one looking seems to completely disregard the notion of this trope, and [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential so can you, if you want.]]

* In Fallout3, a side quest involves tracking down a runaway android. The one looking seems to completely disregard the notion of this trope, and [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential so can you, if you want.]]

* All artificial humanoid constructs are treated as humans by default in the ''LyricalNanoha'' universe, including cyborgs, clones with constructed personalities, and living magical programs running off another mage's {{mana}}.

** Subverted with Androids 17 and 18 who are basically just humans that were modified by Dr. Gero. Android 18 even has a daughter eventually.

* Data of ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' is treated as a full crew-member. Except by season 2's doctor Pulaski, but even she changed her mind, and she was a DoctorJerk to begin with. An entire episode, ''The Measure of a Man'', was dedicated to this, where Data's status as a person is brought to court when a Starfleet scientist wants Data to submit to disassembly so more like him can be built. Data refuses, because he feels that the scientist lacks the skills to put him back together perfectly. Riker is forced to advocate for the scientist, making the argument that Data is a machine, built by man, for their use. Picard defends Data, and raises the argument that while Data ''IS'' a machine, he's also a person. With aspiration, goals, and purposes. That he fulfills two of the three criteria for sentience (intelligence and self-awareness), and that the last one (consciousness) is not measurable by outsiders, so to refuse Data the rights of a person would make TheFederation potentially guilty of creating a slave race once they mass produce his kind.

* In ''{{Andromeda}}'', it was common practice in the Commonwealth before its fall to treat the ship AIs as people, but since they were also military AIs, who had sworn oaths, they were expected to follow orders like any other Commonwealth officer.

** ''{{Mass Effect 2}}'' also has Joker's emotional attachment to the ship's AI EDI, Legion(a mostly-independent Geth)'s sentimentality towards Shepherd, and if [[spoiler: Legion dies]], Shepherd will mourn just as s/he would for the death of an organic. The Quarian-Geth conflict, once Shepherd is aware that the Geth are not universally violent, is portrayed almost like a tribal/religious war, in which neither side is entirely in the right, rather that the usual 'whee! Robots, kill them!' kind of attitude commonly found in games.

* Data of ''StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' is treated as a full crew-member. Except by season 2's doctor Pulaski, but even she changed her mind, and she was a DoctorJerk to begin with. An entire episode, ''The Measure of a Man'', was dedicated to this, where Data's status as a person is brought to court when a Starfleet scientist wants Data to submit to disassembly so more like him can be built. Data refuses, because he feels that the scientist lacks the skills to put him back together perfectly. Riker is forced to advocate for the scientist, making the argument that Data is a machine, built by man, for their use. Picard defends Data, and raises the argument that while Data ''IS'' a machine, he's also a person. With aspiration, goals, and purposes. That he fulfills two of the three criteria for sentience (intelligence and self-awareness), and that the last one (consciousness) is not measurable by outsiders, so to refuse Data the rights of a person would make TheFederation potentially guilty of creating a slave race once they mass produce his kind.
** The Doctor in ''StarTrekVoyager'' kind of swings back and forth. Some episodes he's treated as a person and a fellow crew-member, allowed to pursue his interests and grow, even expanding his role as an emergency back up to the bridge crew. Other times Janeway (who is a case of DependingOnTheAuthor) would like to remind him he's a machine when the situation comes out. There is also an episode where he goes to court over his status as a person and as an author. In a subversion, he's denied being a person but is considered an author. Sadly, the judgment of "Measure of a Man" is not referenced in that episode.

* In ''RedDwarf'', Holly and Kryten are treated as full crew members, and their lives carry as much dramatic weight as a human's. Of course, in a series where the protagonists are two organic, two machine and one sorta on the fence, ArtificialAndAlive is kind of required.

** By the ''MegaManZX'' series onwards, humans and reploids are so mixed up there are barely any distinctions
** but by the time of the ''MegaManLegends'' series, the carbons ({{Artificial Human}}s), are strictly controlled by the robots. At the same time, the last "pure" human is treated as a king, but since he died some time ago, and many ruins are now on minimal operational levels, the carbons are the dominant race, going underground from time to time to dig and steal...ehrrmmm...obtain treasures from the ruins.

** In the ''MegaManX'' series, the reploids are mostly treated as humans, however, the humans can sometimes quite hastily tag some reploid as a maverick (probably as a result of the events of the Replifore Rebellion).
** By the time of the ''MegaManZero'' series, except for the Neo Arcadia Army, The 8 Gentle Judges, The guardians and Copy-X himself, the reploids are treated as second class citizens (however, it's probable that during the rule of the original X they were both treated as equals, seeing that as that was one of X's original desires)

* ''ShortCircuit''

* In the classic ''Game/MegaMan'' saga, the robots are mostly workers, but apparently treated with enough respect to not make them uprise in rebellion (with the exception of the ninth game).

* The ''{{Alien}}'' series flip-flopped on this as well, similar to Terminator. In the first movie, the secondary villain is an android that ends up [[AIIsACrapshoot going crazy]]. In the next movie, the artificial human is a genuine ally and actually lampshades the previous model's failures.

->'''Dark Heart''': You saved me? Why?!
->'''Christie''': [[AvertedTrope Good or bad, you're still a person. Or whatever you are.]]

-->'''Johnny Five:''' "But hath not a robot eyes? Hath not a robot hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions? If you prick us, do we not bleed?'!"
-->'''Police Chief:''' "Yeah. Battery fluid, maybe."

* ''ShortCircuit'' - "No disassemble, Johnny 5 Alive!!"

* In ''AstroBoy'', most humans and robots live as equals.