William Orville Douglas once wrote, “Man is about to be an automaton; he is identifiable only in the computer. As a person of worth and creativity, as a being with an infinite potential, he retreats and battles the forces that make him inhuman.”
I think this is an interesting statement which may soon need revision to include the possibility that a self-operating artificial intelligence, an automaton if you will, shall rival the worth, creativity and potential of a man. Man may retreat from his own humanity in the modern world at times, but there is unyielding desire to reassert our humanity in the technological world through our creations. An artist struggles similarly with his art all the time.
This is a character design whose name is Automaton. I tried to give him a playful and child-like personality which I reinforced with wide eyes, lots of energy and movement, a general brightness, and with a sense of curiosity. I hope I have given you an opportunity to pause and contemplate the man in the machine.