Comment by vinceguidry

I enjoyed the Culture / WH40K fanfic, unfinished as it is. Their take on the Culture / Necron negotiations was hilarious, essentially the Necrons are machine intelligences that have degraded introspective ability, thus are unable to effectively negotiate. Every negotiation breaks down into demands / threats which they clearly can't deliver on. The Culture eventually works around this limitation through hints and intimations and effects a technology trade.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/649448/chapters/1329953

Feelings, or some other way of understanding the self and what it wants, are apparently required to operate effectively as an agent.