With no single film or game credited as its source, this type of cyber robot scream spread as a stock sci-fi effect shared across soundboards, video edits and game projects. Creators use the distorted electronic shriek wherever a machine needs a voice, from android characters and robotic enemies to glitching computers and futuristic alarms. Its popularity comes from instant readability, a few seconds tells the viewer something technological is screaming, breaking or attacking, without needing dialogue, context or an explanation of what the machine is supposed to be.