Logic and Emotion are two contrasting traits that challenge what separates humanity from robotics. These two traits are best represented by two characters: Dr. Calvin and Spooner. Dr. Calvin embodies logic and rationality while Spooner can be seen as the emotional and the irrational type.
There is a reversal of gender stereotypes regarding these two characters. Being a woman, Dr. Calvin is expected to have been the emotional type, although this is instead reflected in Spooner’s attitude. Spooner’s aloof and spontaneous manner of speech contrasts with Dr. Calvin’s which is of a more professional note. Considering that both of them are professionals, Spooner’s attitude and emotional outbursts only adds to his description of being irrational. This is in contrast with the more popular image of detectives as being cool-headed, rational and logical at all times.
Spooner’s irrationality shows through in a variety of ways, most notably in his rejection of robotics and other technology that is supposed to help make his life easier. He is openly hostile to robots and prefers to use outdated gadgets and devices inside his home. His actions are often ridiculed by people around him, from his vintage 2004 Converse shoes to his driving manually in a speed that is not meant for manual driving. This makes him isolated in a society wherein the norm is that everything is rational and logical and people believe nothing can go wrong by relying on a system that works.
Dr. Calvin’s attitude on the other hand is on the other end of the spectrum. She is rational and logical, even to a fault at some times. Despite seeing one of the NS-5’s open hostility toward them, she refuses to believe that the same robot could have been the one who committed the murder of Dr. Lanning. In her eyes, nothing can go wrong with the system especially since it has been deemed perfect. This idea is deeply-rooted in the society that only Spooner believes otherwise.
Their conflicting attitudes and viewpoint regarding robotics oftentimes causes problems in their communication. Dr. Calvin refuses to believe Spooner’s mishaps with robotics and oftentimes dismisses this as something caused by his recklessness rather than trying to question their technology. She only believed that there really is something wrong with their system when the robots started their revolution.
Despite their intentions of trying to find the root of the problem, there is a big difference in their motivations. Spooner’s was being fueled by vengeance and of a personal vendetta that robots are not safe and should not be trusted no matter what. Dr. Calvin’s motivation on the other hand is fueled by curiosity. She is curious about the differences in Sonny’s structure and she questions as to why one as unique as Sonny was created in the first place. Although she decided not to terminate Sonny even though she initially accepted the order, her motivation is again motivated by curiosity. She states that she could not do it since Sonny was simply too unique. She does not terminate Sonny because she felt he resembled a human, but rather that it would be a waste to destroy one subject as unique as him.
There is irony in both of their attitudes in that Dr. Calvin is in charge of making the robots seem more human, but failing to input and integrate what separates humans from robots: emotions. Spooner’s hostility toward robotics on the other hand is conflicting of his replaced left arm. Even though both of their attitudes have changed toward the end of the movie to accommodate and show the opposite of their initial attitudes, logic and emotion still remains as two conflicting attitudes that separate humanity from robotics.
References
Proyas, A. (Director). (2004). I, robot [Motion picture]. United States: Twentienth Century Fox.
