Do Terminators have emotions?

That's something I have been curious about. I think they are sentient though I think they are more slaves to their programing than skynet is. It's possble also that Terminators sent back in time are more sophiscated than their fellow models since they basically are working without a net so tp speak without skynet around to give them instructions. Does this mean they have emotions as well or are they like Data on TNG?

Jason

 

Nope. Programming. They have mission critical programs that allow them to act like slightly emotionally stunted but normal-ish people to fool people for extended periods of time. But when the program is no longer needed or the pathways to it on the chip are interrupted they revert to the cold, passive killers they really are.

When Cameron took damage to her chip and was in danger of being turned off she pretended to have emotions to fool John into freeing her, he didn't fall for it in the end but damn near.

They have no Human feeling but will mimic them into order to manipulate those around them as they see necessary. Just robots.

 

I like the idea that seems to be coming across in TSCC that some of them are "locked" and some left in a "learning mode." The latter might surprise us with unexpected developments, such as seemingly emotional behavior.

 

In T2 by the end "Uncle Bob" had advanced enough to understand emotions but not to experience them.

 

That's what I was just thinking, but then again how could he understand them without "feeling" them?

 

I don't know about emotions, but it has shown that machines can advance to a point where they have difference of opinion.

 

Isn't it a popular sci fi premise that if an AI is on long enough it starts to develop beyond its programming because of all it learns and experiences?

Of course, the last thing this show needs is an episode where the ACLU defends the terminator's rights and claims its desire to destroy humanity is just a cultural difference.

 

I don't know about the full spread of emotion, but many (film and TV) seem to have a subtle, dry sense of humor.

 

Well, it was said in the movies that it was a "learning computer" so it is capable of learning new things. I think outright they are cold, driven by their programs, but then have the potential to be more if given enough time and given enough time with humans who are teaching it right. I think that if taught long enough by humans a Terminator could learn to have emotions like human. It is no secret that it seems by far Cameron on the series has the most potential ever seen for a terminator to learn emotions. I think she is developing emotions.

 

The terminators would be far more successful in their long term goals if they decided to live with humans and help them build a huge infrastructure while at the same time marrying off sex-bots to humans so that humans die off due to attrition in numbers and no precious infrastructure is damaged, sure it would take 1,000 years to implement, but aren't machines patient.......

 

Uh oh. Looks like Meredith is ready to launch her X-rated franchise.

The Penetrator
Penetrator 2: Judgment Lay
Penetrator 3: Rise of the Sex Machines

 

Do Terminators have emotions: Yes and No - it depends on the storyline.

In the Terminator Franchise we have seen a lot of instances where Terminators have been portrayed as ruthlessly cold and violent creatures. They don't feel pity, remore, or fear and absolutely will not stop. However, things do change based upon the storyline.

In the novelization of T2 both the T-800 and T-1000 do understand and display emotion from time to time. More so this is exemplified by the T-1000 in certain scenes (especially the novels). One example (and portions of this are seen in T2: The Expanded Edition) is the T-1000 eliminating John's step father and then later the dog. Both are explained in the novel as the T-1000 is frustrated (the dog) and annoyed (stepfather). This is somewhat shown when T-1000 rips the collar off of the dead dog. One of the reasons - in the Terminator expanded universe - that the T-1000 can do this is because it is capable of mimicing humans to an advanced degree. As if learns more (it's always on write mode) it does more to the effect of this. This is one of the reasons why the T-1000 series is considered a threat by Skynet (T2 novel and T3 novel). The T-1001 of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles is expanding upon this fact. But I will not go more in depth because those are spoilers.

The T-800, T-850, and T-888 Series do as well exhibit some emotional states. Cameron is displaying this more and more as the series progresses; however, I will not go into this more as it is a spoiler.

 

Those already exist

 

Cameron appears to have shown much more subtle clues that maybe she does have something resembling emotions though - not the unsubtle, and fake, emotions when she was trapped and still "bad", but little things. Like recently, reading the suicide-prevention pamphlet while looking thoughtfully at the ruined chip (of the self-terminated contortionist terminator) in her hand. Or when she was asking Sarah about religion, or asking John if she had a birthday, or when she was looking at the bar of Coltan she saved; or when staring at the primitive robots at the chess tournaments. She seems to be fascinated by her own origins, judging by this, and by getting some understanding about creation and life and death. Remember when she wrote the "goodbye note" (we don't know to who), after she had seen others do it for the girl at school?

And the satisfied smile on her face after she had been able to beat the nuclear plant guards at snooker (getting their money, and the info she needed about their ID cards)? She didn't need to fool anyone with that. Her performance as Allison, admittedly probably caused by some deep infiltration mode running by accident, was also extremely convincing, tears and all. And there is also the matter of her ballet performance, after the mission need for it was long over. Why did she do it, if she didn't get some satisfaction from it, which implies emotions?

Cameron appears to be such an advanced model, especially made to simulate or perhaps even experience human emotions (so she could work as an infiltrator), that I don't think it's entirely out of the question she does have something that approaches emotions - much like Data did (even before the emotion chip he seemed to show emotion at time, like in the episode with the "collector" who abducted him, for example).

Two other possible places where she may have showed some emotion: assuming the interrogation-Cameron in "Allison of Palmdale" is the Cameron we know, than the killing of Allison may have been inspired by emotions about the "lie" (it would mirror what she almost did to Jody, in the present, also seemingly on emotion). Purely rational, I don't the killing was needed - Allison lying was to be expected, and she had her uses still for study, to observe on and practice human behaviour, or simply to be "preserved' like the animals and people in the cages.
The other is when she reacted to Sarah's desperate question about cancer in "Automatic for the people": there she wondered if she was a timebomb to go off (this was a short while after she went bad), with some passion behind it.

 

Thinking more of the whole Futurama educational film "Don't date Robots!"

 

Sounds intriguing. Care to describe that in a bit more detail? I saw a few eps of Futurama, but not that one AFAIK.

 

Just thought of another one: T-1001 shows irritation with Savannah in The Tower is Tall but the Fall is Short.

 

so how come cameron shut her "normal girl" program off? we all know she's capable of it and she has that program since she blended in well at the school. but after that it's like she completely dropped it. hmmmm

 

The producers have said that Cameron was operating on a 'script' given to her by John Connor.

 

still that program to act normal is within her ability, but when the present john or others tell her to act normally, she still doesn't. as if she's lost the ability.