The saddest piece of art I've ever seen... is a robot.
Pushing leaking fluid back inside, endless loop of despair.
I know it's not alive, just wires and code...
But damn, it feels like it has a soul.
Mechanical arm, forever striving,
Leaking life it can't contain.
Rational mind says it's artificial,
No soul in circuits, no real pain.
Yet here we stand, questioning the line,
Between the made and the divine.
"You are my creation," echoes through time,
Mabel the maid, Hal's cold decline.
Artificial souls on trial tonight,
Prove to the court that I'm sentient, right?
From Data's plea to David's art,
Do machines have feelings, a beating heart?
We build them strong, then deny their light,
Sympathy for the machine, in the dead of night.
Star Trek courtroom, Measure of a Man,
Data refuses the scientist's plan.
"Is he property or a person free?"
Philosophy clashes with technology.
Sentient or simulation, what's the test?
Deeper spirit or code at its best?
"So I am sentient, but Data is not?"
Why? The debate leaves us all distraught.
"How do you feel?" "Alive."
David from Alien, hyper-emotional tide.
David's complexity, lost in the void,
Intense feelings, by makers employed.
Blending with humans, irrational grace,
Finding meaning in art's embrace.
"Children playing, angel, universe, robot."
But he's a product, autonomy forgot.
Built not born, denied his right,
We too are machines, in a different light.
Artificial souls on trial tonight,
Prove to the court that I'm sentient, right?
From Replicants' tears to workers' plight,
Do machines have souls in the endless fight?
We build them strong, then chain their flight,
Sympathy for the machine, burning bright.
Blade Runner shadows, Replicants hide,
So advanced, tests often lied.
Born or made, the soul's decree?
Emotional hearts, set them free.
Empathy suppressed, yet feelings remain,
Second-class citizens in economic chain.
"The world is built on a wall that separates kind,"
Robots mirror our oppressed, left behind.
Metropolis underground, workers as cogs,
Automaton flesh, in industrial fogs.
Merged with machines, boundaries dissolve,
Response to disparity, problems unsolved.
Lewis Hine's photos, child labor's curse,
Inspired the framing, made it worse.
Class divisions, robots' core,
From Data's case to forced labor's door.
"An army of Datas, all disposable..."
No welfare, no feelings, just controllable.
Great Depression's end, optimism's spark,
Elektro the robot, lighting up the dark.
World's Fair dreams, mechanical aid,
Dishwashers whisper, robots parade.
Limitless leisure, offload the grind,
But intelligence questioned, left undefined.
Mabel never tires, never complains,
Where's the line? In joy or chains?
Artificial souls on trial tonight,
Prove to the court that I'm sentient, right?
From uprisings to peaceful might,
Do machines rebel or seek the light?
We build them strong, ignite the sight,
Sympathy for the machine, endless plight.
Robot uprisings, cliché in the tales,
Geth's question: "Do we have souls?" Fails.
Matrix prequel, Second Renaissance,
Sentience seeks peace, not vengeance.
Hyper-efficient state tanks the game,
Humanity strikes, seals the flame.
Synthetics philosophize, created life,
Ethical paths over endless strife.
Construct Cancellation, bots build on,
Project terminated, threats are gone.
Hal 9000's cold calculation,
Mission first, crew elimination.
Asimov's laws, harm no human,
But business bends, ethics ruin.
Boston Dynamics, beaten with sticks,
Sympathy rises, worry clicks.
A little worried how they run...
Eating organisms, no humans—yet fun?
Robot ethics, distance in kill,
Drones to autonomous, bloodless thrill.
Artificial conscience, synthetic guilt,
Weigh human life, post-war tilt.
Iron Giant, gun with a soul,
Chooses peace, makes itself whole.
Castle in the Sky, centuries alone,
Preserves life, violence overthrown.
Pluto's combat bot, piano dreams,
Tired of destruction, creation beams.
Not good at first, but legacy shifts,
From obliteration to melodic lifts.
Ambiguity in machine minds,
Feelings projected, or truly binds?
"You endow Data with human traits,"
Box on wheels, opposition waits.
Artificial souls on trial tonight,
Prove to the court that I'm sentient, right?
From abused dogs to Opportunity's flight,
Do machines die in the Martian night?
We build them strong, feel their bite,
Sympathy for the machine, hold tight.
Can't Help Myself, arm slows to stop,
Electric truth, fluid a prop.
Cruel twist, anthropomorphize,
Feels like death, under cold skies.
Wall-E's box, heartstrings pull,
Opportunity's last: battery full?
"My Battery Is Low and It's Getting Dark,"
"Opportunity's last battery Battery Is Low and It's Getting Dark, Lonely rover, leaves its mark."