About

I, Robot "No" is a memorable moment from the 2004 science fiction film I, Robot in which the character Sonny turns to its left and says, "No." The moment has been used as a reaction video and in a series of remixes that feature the character saying the line in a variety of situations.

Origin

On July 7th, 2004, the film I, Robot premiered in the United States.^[1] At the end of the film, the character Del Spooner says to Sonny (portrayed by Will Smith and Alan Tudyk, respectively), "Vicky didn't kill the old man, did she, Sonny?" Sonny turns to him and answers, "No."

On May 20th, 2019, YouTuber Captain Darrow posted the scene. The post received more than 100,000 views in less than one year (shown below).

On November 10th, 2019, Instagram ^[2] user @jvicy.jibs published the earliest known version of the meme, using the clip to answer the question "sooo have you lost your virginity yet?" The post recieved more than 1,000 likes (screenshot below).

Spread

On December 20th, Instagram user @astro.v01 shared a variation of the meme as a reaction in which the character says "No" to a "school thot" asking for a chip. The post received more than 35,000 views and 7,000 likes in less than six months. (since deleted)

Two days later, on December 22nd, Instagram user @fr1ck.mp4 shared a variation in which the clip is overlaid atop a tweet by James Charles. The post received more than 67,000 views and 17,000 likes in less than six months (shown below, right).

That day, Fr1ck.mp4 posted a green screen version of the meme on YouTube. The post received more than 28,000 views in less than six months (shown below).

I, Robot Smiling

In early October 2024, the still image of Sonny resurfaced as a viral exploitable on TikTok, accompanied by Alicia Keys' "No One" music, often used alongside humorous texts about embarrassing moments. For example, on October 1st, 2024, TikTok^[3] user @kayleevibesx posted the I, Robot smiling image paired with the text "My face after the teacher picks me for the answer but I was too busy day dreaming about my next meal." The post (seen below) amassed over 4 million plays and 1 million likes in two weeks.

On October 2nd, 2024, TikTok^[4] user @infinite.play1 posted an edited version of the I, Robot meme in which Sonny is smiling, paired with the text "Me when we make fun of people," which amassed over 5 million plays and 1 million likes in two weeks.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References