@thetominatortwo‘s post about Sam the Robot and Sam’s endearing infatuation with a toaster reminds of a darker robot trope: the manner in which mechanical beings are referred to as toasters as a way to dehumanize them, that is, to exclude them from moral consideration. In Battlestar Galactica, “toaster” is the favored derogatory moniker for the Cylons. And in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “The Measure of a Man,” Data is referred to as a toaster during a trial to determine whether Data is the property of Starfleet or if he has the right to determine his own fate.
Referring to robots and mechanical beings as toasters -- mere appliances -- reduces them to functions, to property, to labor. And as this conversation between Picard and Guinan reminds us, the etymological root of “robot” -- rabu -- is slave.