[bigbillheck]

I'd be ok calling my coffee maker a robot. It's got a cpu and sensors, and is capable of limited manipulation of its environment (via a heating element).

But to the main point, I read "robots" as a metaphor. Metaphors can be situational, jut because I might call a compiler a "robot" in one context doesn't mean I have to call them that every time.

And it's not as if there isn't long-standing precedent for using "robot" to refer to a piece of software. Have you ever heard of a "robots.txt" file? People complaining about "bots" on various social media sites?