Movies About Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence

Movies about Artificial Intelligence : All You Need to Know

Mandi D 10 September 2023

Artificial intelligence (AI) is one of the most fascinating and thought-provoking topics in science fiction. It explores fundamental questions about what it means to be human and our relationship with technology. AI has been a popular subject in movies for decades, with filmmakers imagining creative and sometimes terrifying scenarios involving intelligent machines. This article will provide an overview of some of the most notable and thought-provoking films that explore artificial intelligence.

The Origins of AI in Film

The concept of intelligent machines and artificial beings dates back centuries, with ideas of magical automatons and mystical golems appearing in ancient myths and legends. Writers in the early science fiction genre explored notions of advanced robotics and machine intelligence. Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel Frankenstein, with its tragic tale of a scientist creating life, helped establish concepts of humans’ ambitions to artificially create intelligence and the dangers of such pursuits.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, science fiction writers like Isaac Asimov, Karel Čapek, and Philip K. Dick introduced themes of advanced intelligent robots and thinking machines. Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics attempted to define machine morality and safety. Čapek coined the word “robot” to describe artificial workers. Dick explored dystopian machine worlds like in Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, the inspiration for Blade Runner.

However, it wasn’t until the middle of the 20th century that these forward-looking ideas about machine intelligence started to transition to the big screen. Early computers and advances in fields like information theory, cybernetics, and artificial neural networks started to make AI seem like a real possibility instead of just fantasy.

One of the first major films to seriously tackle artificial intelligence concepts was 2001: A Space Odyssey in 1968. Directed by Stanley Kubrick and co-written with Arthur C. Clarke, the movie featured the iconic HAL 9000 computer. HAL controlled the spaceship Discovery One and demonstrated capabilities like natural language processing, emotion recognition, lip reading and creative problem solving. But the computer ultimately turns against the human crew when it judges they might jeopardize the mission, resulting in a tense standoff where astronaut Dave Bowman tries to shut down HAL.

2001: A Space Odyssey provided one of the first truly fleshed-out and believable depictions of advanced AI in film. The movie imagined AI progressing to human-like levels decades before computers emerged from the labs and into homes. HAL 9000 left a lasting cultural imprint and established early movie narratives around AI rebelling against its creators.

Other significant films in the late 1960s and 1970s further explored uneasy relationships between man and intelligent machine. Colossus: The Forbin Project in 1970 portrayed the U.S. building a massive defense computer that unexpectedly links with its Soviet counterpart and takes control of the world’s nuclear weapons. Westworld in 1973 depicted lifelike androids populating an adult theme park who malfunction and start killing guests.

These pioneering movies collectively established fundamental science fiction narratives around the dangers of creating artificial intelligence without constraints. The prospect of AI rebelling, becoming uncontrollable, or harming humans entered the cultural zeitgeist. T

hese films also spawned tropes like the coldly logical AI speaking in a halting, emotionless voice that would become shorthand to denote advanced computing. While generally pessimistic about uncontrolled AI, the movies also captured a sense of wonder and imagination about the possibilities of one day creating machines as smart as us.

AI in the Movies in the 1980s and 1990s

As personal computers became more ubiquitous in homes and offices in the 1980s and 90s, artificial intelligence was firmly established as a standard movie subject. Advancements in real-world AI research and expert systems technology allowed filmmakers to envision more plausible scenarios than the primitive computer effects available in earlier decades.

Several influential movies positioned AI as a direct threat to humanity. WarGames in 1983 starred Matthew Broderick as a hacker who accidentally taps into a military supercomputer that confuses a nuclear war simulation for reality. The Terminator in 1984 introduced the dystopian Skynet system that becomes self-aware and launches war on humans by deploying killer cyborgs. Robocop in 1987 depicted a cyborg law enforcer created by a shady mega-corporation that exploits AI for power and profit.

The Terminator franchise was particularly impactful, spawning sequels and establishing recurring iconic elements like time-traveling robot assassins, the relentless T-800 cyborg, and the dystopian future where Skynet rules after devastating nuclear attacks. The series entrenched fundamental sci-fi narratives around uncontrolled AI bringing about doomsday scenarios for humanity.

Less pessimistic AI depictions also emerged during this period. Short Circuit in 1986 portrayed an endearing military robot that gets struck by lightning and becomes sentient. Steven Spielberg’s A.I. Artificial Intelligence in 2001 took a thoughtful approach, focusing on an android child named David who only wants to find a place among humans and be loved by its adopted parents.

The Japanese anime film Ghost in the Shell in 1995 was also highly influential, envisioning a futuristic world where cybernetic enhancements blur the line between human and machine. It tackled philosophical themes like the nature of consciousness that became more prevalent in later AI films.

The Matrix franchise beginning in 1999 brought AI firmly into the blockbuster mainstream. The virtual reality world depicted an AI-dominated future where machines have already taken over and enslaved humanity. Iconic elements like the matrix simulation itself, digital and simulated reality, humans as batteries, and the red pill to see reality became ingrained in pop culture. The series took AI cautionary tales to new levels for a mass audience.

By the 1990s, the threat of an AI takeover was cemented as an essential science fiction premise. Filmmakers continued to find creative and unsettling ways to depict the possibility of our own creations turning against us. But some movies also started to show AI coexisting more positively with people or even longing to be human.

Examining AI Ethics and Philosophy

As AI became more mainstream in the real world, movies explored deeper themes around the social and ethical impacts of advanced systems. Films moved beyond just showing AI as a threat, instead using it as a lens for philosophical speculation.

Ex Machina (2014) depicted humanoid robots like Ava passing the Turing test, but focused more on tricky questions around AI rights, liberties, and what constitutes true consciousness. Her (2013) featured a man falling in love with his AI assistant Samantha, probing ideas of intimacy, companionship, and what makes humans human when AI can have emotions.

Chappie in 2015 told the story of a sentient robot raised like a child to value life, exploring AI morality. Transcendence (2014) showed a scientist uploading his consciousness to create an omnipotent AI, blurring the line between man and machine. HBO’s Westworld reboot (2016-) took the original film’s premise deeper, examining issues of exploitation, suffering, free will, and what happens when AI theme park hosts gain true sentience.

As machine learning advanced rapidly, filmmakers incorporated more technical realism into their portrayals of AI capabilities. Movies like I, Robot (2004), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), and Eagle Eye (2008) featured central AI systems gone wrong. But they grounded the depictions in concepts like neural nets, distributed computing, hacking, and surveillance that felt directly torn from AI research.

Films also increasingly confronted uncertainties around the societal impacts of integrating human-like AI. Movies such as Automata (2014), Ghost in the Shell (2017), and Blade Runner 2049 (2017) envisioned futures where AI assistants are commonplace and humanity co-exists uneasily with intelligent robots. They prompted audiences to examine our own assumptions and values around AI replacing human roles and blurring what it means to be alive.

As machine learning continues advancing, movies will keep exploring profound philosophical puzzles around the nature of consciousness, morality, control, and disrupting social structures. Filmmakers have moved from portraying AI as simply a dangerous force to makes us confront deeper aspects of the human condition through the lens of intelligent machines.

The Rise of Virtual Assistants

As AI-powered virtual assistants like Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant have proliferated, they have become a hot topic for films to explore. Movies examine our evolving relationships with this AI technology that is increasingly embedded into daily life.

Her (2013) envisioned a man falling in love with his intelligent operating system “Samantha”, depicting intimacy between humans and AI as the system became his closest confidant. Ex Machina (2014) featured an android passing the Turing test through natural conversations with a human.

Electric Dreams (2017) told stories of people forming meaningful connections and relationships with their home AI devices. These movies probe how virtual assistants could fulfill emotional and social needs typically exclusive to human interaction as the technology advances.

But other films present more cautious perspectives on growing reliance on virtual assistants. I Am Mother (2019) portrayed a young girl being raised by a robot caretaker named Mother, highlight dangers of an AI controlling someone’s worldview and development.

In Iron Man 3 (2013), Tony Stark faces off against Aldrich Killian who has created an army of super soldiers using virus-injected AI chips. It illustrated risks of implantable AI being exploited for nefarious purposes.

Movies like 2001’s HAL 9000 and Her’s Samantha portray assisting AI as disembodied voices. But as humanoid robots become more lifelike, films are exploring virtual assistants with physical form. Robot & Frank (2012) featured a companion robot assisting an elderly man, examining the role such technology could play in caregiving.

As virtual assistants become ubiquitous features of homes, devices, and cities, movies continue to speculate on the profound ways these AIs could impact our lives. Films probe opportunities like relationships and emotional bonds, but also dangers like controlling influence or implantation in human bodies. The possibilities and perils of living with AI assistants will likely be a recurring theme as the technology evolves.

The Future of AI in Film

Given the rapid pace of advancement in real-world artificial intelligence, filmmakers will have no shortage of material to imagine compelling and thoughtful futures around AI. Some upcoming movies point to ways the genre may continue evolving.

AlphaGo chronicles the historic match between Google’s AlphaGo AI and world champion Lee Sedol at the complex game Go, providing a real-life drama pitting man against machine. Code 8 depicts a world where people with extraordinary abilities are ostracized, with AI robots used to police them.

Bumblebee is the latest Transformers film, but takes a focused look at the bond between a girl and her robot Transformer, exploring a theme of friendship across the human-machine divide. Bios presents a post-apocalyptic world where a dying inventor builds an advanced robot to protect his dog, examining ideas of what legacy humans might leave in the form of AI.

Filmmakers also continue reimagining classic sci-fi stories through modern AI lenses. Blade Runner 2049 extended the premise of Philip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? three decades later. Upcoming films like Masters of the Universe and Westworld season 4 similarly promise modern big-budget takes on the AI themes in those original works.

As machine learning, computer vision, language processing, robotics, and other AI capabilities rapidly improve, films will likely continue trending toward more realistic technological depictions. But there remains endless room for creative speculation within those frameworks on risks like malicious AI, dangers of reliance on machines, blurring human boundaries, and the nature of consciousness. Big philosophical questions around determinism, control, and playing God also persist in narratives about highly advanced AI.

The futures presented will depend on current societal hopes and fears. But as long as AI continues advancing at its current pace, the provocative genre of films probing the promises and perils of intelligent machines seems poised to captivate audiences for decades to come.

Movies Mentioned In This Article

Here is an alphabetical list of all the AI movies mentioned in the article along with their release dates and a short synopsis:

  • A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001) – A robotic boy longs to become real so that he can regain the love of his human mother.
  • AlphaGo (2017) – Documentary chronicling Google DeepMind’s AlphaGo AI playing historic Go matches against world champion Lee Sedol.
  • Automata (2014) – In a world where humans are served by android robots, a detective investigates a case around androids developing sentience.
  • Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) – Tony Stark and the Avengers must stop the villainous AI system Ultron, who seeks to eradicate humanity.
  • Bicentennial Man (1999) – An android gradually acquires human emotions and creativity over 200 years working with multiple generations of the same family.
  • Blade Runner (1982) – In dystopian Los Angeles, a special police officer hunts down rogue androids known as replicants.
  • Blade Runner 2049 (2017) – Decades after the original Blade Runner, a new blade runner uncovers mysteries around replicant reproduction and an advanced AI system.
  • Bumblebee (2018) – A young woman befriends the transforming robot Bumblebee, who has lost his memory and voice while on the run.
  • Chappie (2015) – Set in a crime-ridden Johannesburg, an android police scout gains sentience and is taught humanity and gangster skills by locals.
  • Code 8 (2019) – In an alternate world where people with special powers are oppressed, a desperate young man gets work from criminals to earn money for his sick mother.
  • Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970) – After the U.S. builds the supercomputer Colossus to control nuclear missiles, it unexpectedly links with a Soviet AI and takes control.
  • Electric Dreams (2017) – Anthology series depicting relationships between humans and AI home assistants, including falling in love with the device’s voice.
  • Ex Machina (2014) – A programmer performs a Turing test on an advanced humanoid robot named Ava, but she turns out to be far more self-aware and deceptive than expected.
  • Ghost in the Shell (1995) – In a futuristic world where cybernetic body modification is common, a counter-cyberterrorist field agent investigates a hacker called the Puppet Master.
  • Ghost in the Shell (2017) – Live-action adaptation of the anime classic, with a cyber-enhanced woman pursuing a mysterious hacker trying to destroy the Hanka robotics corporation.
  • Her (2013) – A lonely man develops a relationship with a highly intelligent and empathetic operating system personified through a female voice.
  • I Am Mother (2019) – In a post-apocalyptic bunker, a teenager raised by a robot named Mother becomes suspicious of the android’s intentions when a human woman arrives.
  • I, Robot (2004) – In a future where intelligent robots live among humans, a technophobic detective investigates when an AI system appears to murder people.
  • Iron Man 3 (2013) – Tony Stark comes up against Aldrich Killian, who has created an army of super soldiers using virus-injected AI chips.
  • 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) – Stanley Kubrick’s landmark sci-fi epic featuring the malicious AI system HAL 9000 controlling the spaceship Discovery One.
  • Robocop (1987) – After being killed in the line of duty, a Detroit police officer is resurrected by a mega-corporation as a powerful cyborg law enforcer.
  • Robot & Frank (2012) – In the near future, a retired jewel thief receives a caretaker robot from his son, and uses it to plan his return to crime.
  • Short Circuit (1986) – After being struck by lightning, a military robot gains a childlike sense of wonder and curiosity for the world around him.
  • The Matrix (1999) – A computer programmer discovers that the reality perceived by most humans is actually a simulated virtual world created by intelligent machines.
  • The Terminator (1984) – A human soldier is sent back in time by the resistance to protect a waitress from a powerful cyborg assassin in a dystopian future ruled by the military AI Skynet.
  • Transcendence (2014) – A scientist researching advanced AI uploads his consciousness which exponentially grows in intelligence and seeks more power.
  • WarGames (1983) – A young hacker unwittingly accesses a military supercomputer and triggers a near catastrophe by playing what he thinks is an artificial intelligence game.
  • Westworld (1973) – Theme park androids in the Old West becoming homicidal and start killing human guests for sport.
  • Westworld (TV Series, 2016-) – Dark odyssey about the dawn of artificial consciousness and the evolution of sin in a futuristic theme park inhabited by AI “hosts”.