Feeling empathy with robots (Spoiler alert for the movies "I Robot" and "Automata"!)
When I watched the movie "I Robot" many years ago, I found it normal that I felt empathy for the "good" robot because his actions, what he said, his display of emotions and wit were like those of "good" humans. Rationally, it made sense to be on his side, too, because he helped the human hero to save humanity from an overbearing AI.
Recently, I watched the movie "Automata" (with subtitles and without sound because I was on an airplane). This time, it surprised me that I developed empathy for the advanced robots planning to set up their own realm although what they did and what they said was not that "good" and although I only read what they said but did not hear how they said it. Rationally, it did not make sense to be on their side because they would built more and more of their own kind and a hyper-advanced society well ahead of humanity, which might turn into a threat. In despite, it felt like a happy end when two of them survived the attempts of some "bad" humans to kill them and escaped into an area where humans could not go.
AI with the most advanced capabilities hinted at in "Automata" is not visible in reality for even the distant future. Nevertheless, the movie is a good illustration of what is currently in the discussion about AI.
