define automata
(plural automatons or automata) A machine or robot designed to follow a precise sequence of instructions. A person who acts like a machine or robot, often defined as having a monotonous lifestyle and lacking in emotion. Due to her strict adherence to her daily schedule, Jessica was becoming more and more convinced that she was an automaton. A departure from principle in one instance becomes a precedent for a second, that second for a third, and so on 'til the bulk of the society is reduced to be mere automatons of misery, to have no sensibilities left but for sinning and suffering.