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The new Bruce Willis film Surrogates features robots who live out people’s wildest dreams—until their circuitry goes haywire.

Movie robots sure have a hard time staying operational, but then again we wouldn’t have so many science fiction films if ‘bots worked as expected.

To Hollywood, technology run amok is the story starter that never stops. Consider the rebellious HAL from 2001: A Space Odyssey, Blade Runner and the popular Terminator franchise in which robots seek to wipe out humanity.

This past summer’s biggest hit, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, featured space robots bent on destroying those unnecessary humanoids.

The new Willis feature is simply the latest example of film’s unease with technology, a sense explored via wild action sequences and state of the art special effects.

Phillip Danielson, a professor of molecular biology at the University of Denver, says filmmakers are tapping a common emotion many have regarding the march of technology.

“One of the reasons people fear technology so much is that people don’t understand technology. We fear what we don’t understand, and Hollywood takes advantage of that,” Danielson says. “People love their iPods and big screen TV’s, but the average American has very little understanding how the technology works.“

The public’s unease can be traced all the way back to the 1927 film classic Metropolis, he says.

“Workers turn knobs and dials and try to keep the machine running. They’ve become slaves to the machine,” he says.

And while few people would plunk down money to see an iPod running wild, out of control robots make for compelling theater.

Greg Laden, a science blogger, teacher and biological anthropologist, says people exhibit a duality toward modern technology.

Internet cookies, which store passwords and other helpful information on one’s home computers, are a prime example of that duality. People love the convenience of cookies, Laden says, but if you tell someone about cookies and privacy, they turn on the technology.

The same may hold true for robots, which our society relies on in various ways today via automation.

“But when we hear about the nefarious side we become concerned,” he says. “Whether or not people love or fear robots is the same as anything else: It's not about the robots. It's about the people's sense of fear or adventure or, in some cases, laziness.”

When films showcase robots, as they do in the Will Smith hit I, Robot, the “good” robots are the ones which simulate good human behavior. Good film robots also display a sense of empathy toward those around them.

“Robots, like humans, are complicated and often misunderstood,” Laden adds.

Danielson isn’t sure Hollywood’s futuristic visions are cathartic. More likely, these films represent manifestations of our latent fears. And while these films allow us to express these fears, they also could be reinforcing our trepidation toward the future.

“Technology is like fire .. it’s great until it’s out of control,” Danielson says.