Book-Bat

‍ Since before the times when artificial intelligence took over our online experiences and philosophical discussions, writers have been using the concept of A.I. to craft characters that speak to who we are as humans, and to explore how we interact with beings that are not quite like us. Today, we are going to talk about some of our favourite A.I. characters: from robots to intelligences imbued into swords. Who are they, how do they interact with their world, and what draws us to them?These characters come to us from comic books, a video game, tv shows, a movie, and a novel – and no, absolutely none of these are from live-action movies, dystopian worlds, or more cynical what-if fare. These are from fun, positive, hero-filled fantasies and soft sci-fi tales that treat their A.I. characters less like real-life A.I. and more like an opportunity to explore aspects of human nature and even animal nature.So, without further ado: nine A.I. characters whom we enjoy!(1:49) Becoming Embodied: Nicole from the Sonic comics Archie run(5:46) Children of a Difficult Dad: Belle, Sage, and Metal Sonic from the IDW Sonic comics(12:21) The Spirit Inside a Sword: Fi from the video game Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword(20:56) The A.I. Who Hated Feeling Emotions: Aya from Green Lanterns: The Animated Series(24:47) The Robot Who Studied Nature: Roz, from The Wild Robot novel by Peter Brown, and the Dreamworks movie adaptation(29:10) She’s Combat-Ready: Penny from RWBY(32:07) The Robot with Cat-Ititude: Chopper from the animated show Star Wars Rebels(33:00) A.I. as characterization shortcutThank you for listening to us talk about some of our favourite A.I. characters. Who are some of your favourite A.I. characters? Comment on our website at book-bat.com or email us at connect@book-bat.com to let us know!

With the release of Disney’s live-action remake on the horizon, Jason and Karlissa discuss what made 2002’s Lilo & Stitch among Disney’s best animated movies, diving into fun trivia about the art, voice acting, and storytelling.This episode contains SPOILERS for the 2002 Lilo & Stitch!Join the conversation! Are you more optimistic about the upcoming live-action Lilo & Stitch? Will you be watching it in theatres? Let us know in the comments!

“Gotta go fast!” Why does Jason like Sonic so much? And where might one find some fun Sonic the Hedgehog stories? Jason and Karlissa look at Sonic’s history, his current comic book run, and more! Also, check out this month’s blog post for a ranking of Sonic’s animated shows: http://www.book-bat.com/blog/2025/3/8/sonic-the-hedgehog-on-the-small-screen-ranked

Announcements for the new year, how we and our fans rank Karlissa J’s seven books, and behind-the-scenes insight into Karlissa’s creative writing process! Be sure to sign up for the monthly Book-Bat newsletter for exclusive updates, as well as links to our latest podcast episode and blog posts.

Is C.S. Lewis’ final novel deserving of more attention, or too difficult to understand and get into? Karlissa and Jason both came out of reading it with differing opinions, and now, they want to discuss why Till We Have Faces has been largely forgotten.

Are the characters in Redwall Abbey religious? Karlissa explores spiritual themes in Brian Jacques’ Redwall series, and Jason brings his love of and familiarity with Jacques’ books to the conversation!

Time for more sci-fi! Jason contemplates themes in the Star Wars animated shows. Then, Jason and Karlissa discuss their favourite scenes from The Bad Batch.Books Mentioned: George MacDonald, “Lilith”; H.M. Richardson, “The Prisoner and the Traitor” and “The Winged Warrior”