automatons

His masterpiece 'Metropolis' (1927) features the iconic robot Maria, exploring themes of artificial life, labor, and humanity's relationship with machines.

Tarkovsky's philosophical approach to cinema frequently examines consciousness, artificiality, and the boundary between human and mechanical existence across films like 'Stalker' and 'Solaris'.

His cyberpunk masterpiece 'Ghost in the Shell' (1995) deeply interrogates what it means to be human when consciousness can be transferred to artificial bodies, questioning identity and autonomy.