I shall leave AI and Artificial Reality for separate sections on SciFan because I believe that actually these subjects pose different questions than robots. I used to think robots were a main feature of science fiction books until I started researching this essay. R.U.R. is a play. Metropolis is a film. And today when you ask someone about robots, they will name C3PO, R2D2, HAL, Data, Gort, Robby the Robot, or B2 from Lost in Space .
Robots really are cinematic icons.
I seldom read stories about robots anymore. Maybe SF writers feel they have mined the concept for all its worth, and the vein has worn thin. Movies don't go for philosophical revelation. Stories centered around Data asked the most detailed thought provoking questions, like what is humor or do robots want to reproduce. Blade Runner , in 1982 was the pinnacle of robot theology.