As the topic of artificial intelligence propagates throughout the US, it is important we stop and think about the growing impact robots have on our lives. With movies like Blade Runner 2049, Her, and Ex Machina, we wonder if the question “Will machines and humans reach singularity?” become a matter of when, not will.

Machines can never fully replace human beings. There are many distinct aspects of humans from their psychological behaviors to their physical bodies that machinery cannot replicate. Humans are unpredictable and think for themselves. Whereas machines are hardwired to perform a certain task. Humans possess a range of emotions from jealousy and desire to obsession and depression.

Machines, however, arguably cannot express the same level of emotional intensity that humans exhibit. People never see machines cry or fall in love with human users. Granted, machines like robots can be programmed to expel tears or say “I love you” to users, but those fraudulent feelings are not conceived on their own.

Humans reproduce through conception and pregnancy, while machines can be assembled with circuits and discs. It requires far more affection to raise a child than it takes to manufacture a computer. Machines have a reset button in which their memories can be deleted or restored with a few lines of code. On the other hand, humans are more complex. Human thoughts cannot be transplanted into another human being in the way machines can swap computer chips. Each machine can be duplicated with access to its hardware and software. But every human is unique, each retaining their individual beliefs, emotions, and actions.

TV shows like Black Mirror help generate discussions about the dangers and possibilities of technology overload. There is still that looming fear of a machine takeover as seen through The Terminator and Transformers series. Ultimately, we must be cautious about the ways in which we use technology so that we do not completely depend on machines to survive. We must guarantee that machines work for us and not the other way around.