Since before the times when artificial intelligence took over our online experiences and philosophical discussions, writers have been using the concept of A.I. to craft characters that speak to who we are as humans, and to explore how we interact with beings that are not quite like us.

Today, we are going to talk about some of our favourite A.I. characters: from robots to intelligences imbued into swords. Who are they, how do they interact with their world, and what draws us to them?

These characters come to us from comic books, a video game, tv shows, a movie, and a novel – and no, absolutely none of these are from live-action movies, dystopian worlds, or more cynical what-if fare. These are from fun, positive, hero-filled fantasies and soft sci-fi tales that treat their A.I. characters less like real-life A.I. and more like an opportunity to explore aspects of human nature and even animal nature.

So, without further ado: nine A.I. characters whom we enjoy!

(1:49) Becoming Embodied: Nicole from the Sonic comics Archie run

(5:46) Children of a Difficult Dad: Belle, Sage, and Metal Sonic from the IDW Sonic comics

(12:21) The Spirit Inside a Sword: Fi from the video game Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

(20:56) The A.I. Who Hated Feeling Emotions: Aya from Green Lanterns: The Animated Series

(24:47) The Robot Who Studied Nature: Roz, from The Wild Robot novel by Peter Brown, and the Dreamworks movie adaptation

(29:10) She’s Combat-Ready: Penny from RWBY

(32:07) The Robot with Cat-Ititude: Chopper from the animated show Star Wars Rebels

(33:00) A.I. as characterization shortcut

Thank you for listening to us talk about some of our favourite A.I. characters. Who are some of your favourite A.I. characters? Comment on our website at book-bat.com or email us at connect@book-bat.com to let us know!