4.

Lieutenant Commander Data from StarTrek: The Next Generation is the prototypical android. All this, much to credit of actor Brent Spinner, who convinces us, despite his otherwise human form, that Data is different. Endowed with a positronic brian by his creator, Doctor Noonien Soong, Data is intelligent, articulate, and compassionate, but not socially aware -- and that's what makes him fun to watch. Data's always trying step into the minds of fellow crew members, but without being able to experience emotions he's never able to fit in. Is this a telling prediction of the problems our robotic companions will struggle with in the decades to come?