I saw another angle on anthropomorphizing things a couple of days ago on Facebook: Moira showed me some video of the latest development in "robo-dogs", which are for carrying equipment and other tasks in the military.
The latest has a very fluid and lifelike motion to it and in the clip a soldier demonstrates its tremendous resilience and stability by trying to kick it over. It staggers sideways before righting itself, and in doing so moves exactly the way a four-legged animal would.
After the clip appeared there followed an idiot crapstorm of protest at this vile human for kicking this "poor" thing. But of course he might as well have been kicking a lawnmower.
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