Yes
But that's the key difference between The Matrix and Saints Row IV. In The Matrix, most of the people
ARE living and feeling real people, so you can have some empathy for them even though they are trapped in The Matrix. In Saints Row IV, the street people are clearly unfeeling bots. Nothing more. I think the goal of a truly immersive video game should be to make the characters as relatable as possible. That gives the player a stronger emotional attachment to the game and story, even if those characters are just part of the "supporting cast". I feel absolutely no emotional attachment or empathy for the street people bots in Saints Row IV. I'd like to be able to at least
try to imagine that the pedestrians are real, and I shouldn't run over them. If we are told that they are nothing more than bots in a simulation, we already know they are not real so there's really no reason at all not to run over them.
In defense of the whole Saints Row series in general, I think Volition has done a really excellent job of creating a whole ensemble of very relatable and likable core characters, and that's something that really keeps me coming back to the series. Even "evil" characters like Dane Vogel have some endearing traits that make them hard not to like. I just want to see a real public (in game) that can also appreciate all these great core characters.
EDIT: sorry -- I edited this a bunch of times. I think I'm done now.