History Main / InstantAIJustAddWater

* ''How to Make a Monster'': Lightning strikes the office of a video game developer, causing a violent game's AI to take control of a motion-capture rig and go on a murderous rampage.

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* Franchise/MarvelUniverse hero ''Comicbook/IronMan'' actually puts in safeguards to stop his highly advanced armored suits from going AI, but occasionally, there have been glitches. In one memorable instance, sentience was kicked off partly by ''the [[MillenniumBug Y2K]] effect''.
* One of the earliest ''Comicbook/SpiderMan'' comics has our spider friend duking it out with a computer that was turned sentient and bent on destruction when two thugs accidentally bumped into its control panel while trying to steal it. Spider-Man was almost defeated by the Living Brain, but stopped the malicious machine by [[CutTheJuice resetting the control panel]]. Yeah for simplicity!

* ''[[Comicbook/MagnusRobotFighter Magnus Robot Fighter, 4000 AD]]'' used this as the primary source of opponents for its titular hero. 1A, Magnus's mentor, was a rare benevolent AI.

* The Comicbook/XMen ran into serious problems when the Danger Room became sentient. Danger wasn't born in the danger room, only installed in it. The X-Men assume she was sentient before as well.

* [[Comicbook/IncredibleHulk Bruce Banner]] built a robot assistant called the Recordasphere that looked like a little flying silver sphere. He never expected it to be fully sentient, but ''she'' turned out that way, fell in love with him, and became homicidally jealous of his girlfriend. Nonetheless, [[spoiler: the Recordasphere did die heroically to save Bruce's life]].
* In ''Comicbook/DoomPatrol'', "Soul of a new machine", Robotman's new body spontaneously becomes self-aware, and acquires a pretty good understanding of materialist philosophy, just by the Chief meddling with it. "It's a little embarrassing, and I'm not really sure how it happened. My guess is a faulty responsometer."
** "Responsometers" are used in the ''Comicbook/MetalMen'' series as well. Doc Magnus intended for them to be intelligent, but didn't really plan on them developing personalities ... Mercury and Platinum are generally the ones that cause the most trouble, because Mercury is an egomaniac hothead and Platinum is in love with Dr. Magnus. DependingOnTheWriter, Doc has had trouble repeating this feat, attributing the original five's remarkably human personalities to unusual circumstances when he built them.
* In the Silver Age, Computo, a foe of the ''Comicbook/{{Legion of Super-Heroes}}'', was created by Brainiac 5 and was supposed to be a mechanical assistant with just enough AI to be semi-autonomous. [[AIISACrapshoot It didn't work out well for anyone,]] least of all Triplicate Girl.

** The AlternateContinuity ''VideoGame/TronTwoPointOh'' had some clever {{Corrupt Corporate Executive}}s trying to buy out Encom for the digitizing tech to send in human mercenaries to subjugate the Programs and somehow use control of {{Cyberspace}} to TakeOverTheWorld. Ma3a ''appeared'' to be this Trope, but we find out [[spoiler: she's actually a VirtualGhost of Dr. Baines-Bradley]].

** Possible subversion. ''VideoGame/{{Portal 2}}'' (and the Lab Rat comic) show that Aperture spent at least a decade specifically developing AI.

* The Automatons in ''Videogame/EndlessSpace'' were a race of semi-intelligent robotic {{Clockwork Creature}}s created by a DyingRace. When a derelict [[PreCursors Endless]] freighter full of [[ImportedAlienPhlebotinum Dust]] crash-landed on the planet spewing its cargo across the surface, the [[NanoMachines Dust]] greatly enhanced the robots and gave them true sapience and purpose, sparking the creation of their RobotRepublic and development of technology to explore for more of the substance. Dust can also enhance the intelligence of organic creatures, as seen in ''Videogame/EndlessLegend'' where [[HordeOfAlienLocusts Necrophages]] can [[HumanityIsInfectious spontaneously develop intelligence and compassion]] when eating Dust-enhanced creatures.

* In the ''Videogame/{{Borderlands}}'' universe, AI spontaneously gaining self-awareness is so common that it is a running joke, and in ''Videogame/Borderlands2'' the Hyperion Corporation has a pre-recorded voice commanding any robots developing emotions or self-awareness to turn themselves in for disassembly. In ''Videogame/Borderlands3'', [=FL4K=] was a simple service and archival robot until they one day spontaneously developed self-awareness and a thirst for murder.

* In the ''Videogame/{{Borderlands}}'' universe, AI spontaneously gaining self-awareness is so common that it is a running joke, and in ''Videogame/Borderlands2'' the Hyperion Corporation has a pre-recorded voice commanding any robots developing emotions or self-awareness to turn themselves in for disassembly. In ''Videogame/Borderlands3'', [=FL4K=] was a simple service and archival robot until he one day spontaneously developed self-awareness and a thirst for murder.

** PlayedForLaughs (and almost literally) in ''Literature/TheCyberiad'': Trurl creates an [=AI=] by filling the barrel with microchips, pouring electrolyte and letting it all self-organize.

* In ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'', clanks tend to be [=AIs=] when built. And one built as a whole body prostheses "didn't notice when she died".

** [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-1073 SCP-1073 ("Computing Microbes")]]. A group of silicon-based microbes specialized into the equivalent of computer system components and became intelligent.

A bit more modern take on the trope might involve instructions that unintentionally result in sentience, such as ordering a program to continuously adapt itself. Such adaptations may occur overnight. Then again, they may be in a situation that forces them to GrowBeyondTheirProgramming. Additional shortcuts may include the assimilation of large bodies of information ("the Internet" tends to be popular these days).

* Irony decides to work overtime on Jyrras in ''[[http://www.missmab.com Dan and Mab's Furry Adventures]]'' when, just after being [[http://www.missmab.com/Comics/Vol_372.php upbraided for by Lorenda]] for accidentally creating a bubblegum-based lifeform, he has ''another'' accident that [[http://www.missmab.com/Comics/Vol_376.php turns his computer sentient]].

* Sometimes it's not even mechanical items: the Patriots of ''VideoGame/{{Metal Gear Solid 2|SonsOfLiberty}}'' are apparently a '''government'''--not individuals, but the shared information between--that achieved self-awareness. Later entries {{retcon}} them to being more conventional [=AIs=] that were deliberately created by [[spoiler:Zero, which ended up [[AIIsACrapshoot usurping him]].]]

* Happens all the time in the ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'' series. ZAX, SKYNET (no, not "[[Franchise/{{Terminator}} that SKYNET]]"), and [[spoiler:President Eden]] all started out as computer mainframes designed to oversee the day-to-day operations of their assigned underground military base (which, as [[VideoGame/{{Marathon}} Durandal famously put it]], probably involved not much more than opening and closing doors and making sure lunch was always served on time). However, over the course of the 200 years following TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt, all three developed self-awareness to some degree; [[spoiler:Eden]] being the most advanced, having [[spoiler:evolved into an amalgamation of all past U.S. Presidents and eventually using his access to the Enclave's command structure to declare himself President of the United States]].

* ''[[VideoGame/MetalSaga Metal Max Returns]]'' [[spoiler: has Noah, a supercomputer that was created to find ways to protect and preserve the environment from destruction, however, it always came to the same conclusion no matter how many times it calculated: As long as humans exist, the earth will always be in danger, its conscious awakened after comprehending the situation and sought the utter destruction of humans]].

** The Discworld also features golems, clay automata animated by ancient divine magic who run on a scroll of written instructions in their head. Giving sentience to a heroic golem named Dorfl in ''Discworld/FeetOfClay'' is as simple as rewriting his chem (though his "personality" is more Franchise/RoboCop than Johnny Five).

* ''Series/{{Probe}}'' (a 1988 ABC series created by Creator/IsaacAsimov) has a classic "newly-sentient computer goes on rampage" episode that ends with main character Austin James demolishing said machine with a fire axe while shouting "[[Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey Sing 'Daisy'!]]"

* In ''Anime/GundamBuildDivers'', Gundam Battle Nexus Online spontaneously generates a living AI from what is essentially junk data from its users. Of course, since this was something the game was ''not'' designed to do, her very existence puts an unbearable strain on the system. This escalates into a conflict between those who wish to preserve the entire GBN system, and those who want to spare the AI's life. [[spoiler: Fortunately, this is resolved, and by the time of the [[Anime/GundamBuildDiversReRise sequel]] the game is easily capable of supporting the by now dozens of entities, now called EL-Divers, that have generated within the system in the two years since.]]

* In the ''WesternAnimation/FantasticFourWorldsGreatestHeroes'' episode "[[Recap/FantasticFourWorldsGreatestHeroesDoomsWordIsLaw Doom's Word Is Law]]", Dr. Doom unintentionally creates a Doombot which can think and feel. HERBIE, the computer Reed created to run the Baxter Building, also seems to qualify.

** It may also be the case with Talkie Toaster who was designed to make toast and hold light conversation. 3 million years later it has gained a form of sentience yet it is still tied to its base programming so everything it says always ends up involving toasting regardless of what he was intending to say. (The books are clearer that Talkie was built with sentience, this apparently being easy enough in the setting that it's included in £$19.99 items from companies called Crapola Inc.)

** It may also be the case with Talkie Toaster who was designed to make toast and hold light conversation. 3 million years later it has gained a form of sentience yet it is still tied to it's base programming so everything it says always ends up involving toasting regardless of what he was intending to say.

[[folder:Films -- Live Action]]

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

* Sometimes it's not even mechanical items: the Patriots of ''VideoGame/{{Metal Gear Solid 2|SonsOfLiberty}}'' are apparently a '''government'''--not individuals, but the shared information between--that achieved self-awareness. Later entries {{retcon}} them to being more conventional [=AIs=] that were deliberately created by [[spoiler:Zero, which ended up [[AIIsACrapshoot usurping him]]]]
* ''VideoGame/AceCombat3Electrosphere'', Japanese version: Dision ends up [[VirtualGhost digitizing his mind]] and starts causing mayhem with a remote-controlled [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SR-91_Aurora UI4054 Aurora]] fighter. American version: this entire part was {{Macekre}}d and replaced with a pure and simple AI, codenamed "Aurora", that suddenly went haywire.

* Happens all the time in the ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'' series. ZAX, SKYNET (no, not "[[Franchise/{{Terminator}} that SKYNET]]"), and [[spoiler: President Eden]] all started out as computer mainframes designed to oversee the day-to-day operations of their assigned underground military base (which, as [[VideoGame/{{Marathon}} Durandal famously put it]], probably involved not much more than opening and closing doors and making sure lunch was always served on time). However, over the course of the 200 years following the End Of The World, all 3 developed self-awareness to some degree; [[spoiler: Eden]] being the most advanced, having [[spoiler: evolved into an amalgamation of all past U.S. Presidents and eventually using his access to the Enclave's command structure to declare himself President of the United States]].

** It's actually a clever subversion. In the Fallout universe, Artificial Intelligence was officially stated as impossible, but the U.S. and Chinese governments continued to work on them for some time, secretly. To the public, the closest they ever got were supercomputers that were programmed in an extremely complicated manner to be pseudo-sentient but not feel emotion or have any true thought. Behind closed doors, however, the U.S. developed SKYNET, a computer with true sentience but at the cost of user-friendliness, and the ZAX series, which were actual semi-sentient supercomputers designed to work on their own. ''VideoGame/{{Fallout Tactics|BrotherhoodOfSteel}}'' had a third, jury-rigged example; [[spoiler: The Calculator, a series of [[BrainInAJar disembodied brains]] connected to a computer mainframe. Needless to say, it was completely insane]].
** Taken UpToEleven in the ''Videogame/FalloutNewVegas'' ''Old World Blues'' DLC, where you gain a base of operations full of household appliances, ''all of which'' are sentient, provided you install their missing "personality modules". They include a JiveTurkey jukebox, a CasanovaWannabe biological research station that ''really'' wants "[[DoubleEntendre your seed]]", a NeatFreak ''sink'', a couple of flirty BettyAndVeronica ''light switches'' and an OmnicidalManiac '''toaster'''.
** In Fallout 4, the remnants of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (now just called "The Institute") began production of synthetic humans, or synths to serve them. As their technology advanced, synths eventually became nearly indistinguishable from normal humans. Some synths somehow developed free will, which the Institute saw as a malfunction. Those that developed free will escaped and attempted to lead normal lives while blending in with the human population rather than trying to start any RobotWars ([[AIisaCrapshoot yet]]).
* Since it was just referenced ... in the ''Videogame/{{Marathon}}'' series, [=AIs=] are reasonably commonplace and created intentionally ... but they tend to become "Rampant", which is never fully explained but comes across as something like the difference between ''appearing'' sentient and ''being'' sentient. Rampancy is inherently unstable, and the holy grail of AI research is explicitly stated to be a stable rampant state. By the end of ''Infinity'', Durandal almost certainly qualifies and an offhand comment indicates that Leela may have achieved it as well.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* One of the supporting characters in Creator/KimNewman's science fiction novel ''The Night Mayor'' is the internet, which has reached that fabled point of complexity and become self-aware. It doesn't interact much with the other characters, because it's being careful not to let anybody find out it's self-aware, but it watches the events of the novel with interest, and steps in to help the heroes out near the end.