By Joshua Taylor | updated
What will the future look like when we hand over control to artificial intelligence? This is the central question of our time, and science fiction has answered it.
Artificial intelligence is a factor in many movies, such as “Howl” 2001and even R2D2 saved the day Star Wars. But some filmmakers are taking it to the next level, turning their entire films into examinations of what happens when artificial intelligence gets out of hand, or not.
These are the best of these films, ranked not by how good they are as movies, but by how well they explore the possible future of artificial intelligence. If you’re worried about the future of artificial intelligence, these nine movies are must-sees.
9. War games
war games Released in 1983, when computers were still clunky beasts and the Cold War had everyone sweating over the nuclear threat. Avant-garde and just right, war games It’s become a bit dated since then. However, its ideas remain relevant and relevant.
Matthew Broderick stars as David Lightman, a teenage hacking genius who thinks he’s just playing a game when he breaks into NORAD’s supercomputer WOPR. It turns out that he is launching a fake simulation of global thermonuclear war that the AI sees as real, pushing the world to the brink of collapse. It’s a tense thriller that blends teenage rebellion with apocalyptic fear.
8. Short circuit
A lot of these movies are going to be very dark and serious, so before we get lost in dystopia, let’s have some fun with artificial intelligence. short circuit Released in 1986, when technology was still clunky and artificial intelligence was pure fantasy. Number 5 is a military robot who is struck by lightning, gains sentience, and then escapes to seek refuge with animal-loving Stephanie, played by Elle Sheedy.
Steve Guttenberg plays the robot’s creator, Newton Crosby, a man of contradictions who is torn between science and ethics as he tracks down his creation. Today, in a world where robots like this are deployed on the ground to fight in actual wars, this examination of military hardware with a mind of its own feels remarkably prescient.
7. Terminator
The “Terminator” movies are primarily time travel movies, but time travel takes place at the service of an artificial intelligence superintelligence called “Skynet.”
In the 1984 original, a robotic assassin (Arnold Schwarzenegger) hunts Sarah Connor to stop her unborn son from leading a rebellion against Skynet, a rogue artificial intelligence capable of causing a nuclear apocalypse. Skynet’s cold, carefully orchestrated plan to rule humanity by sending the Terminator back in time is chilling. Human soldier Kyle Reese fights to save her. It’s a brutal action film about an artificial intelligence that outsmarts its creators.
Over the course of the series, Skynet became a more fleshed-out concept, gradually turning into something not too far removed from the artificial intelligence experiments we’re doing now.
6. Westworld
Back in 1973, Westworld threw science fiction fans a serious curve ball. It takes place in a high-tech amusement park where you can live out your Wild West fantasies with creepy, realistic robots. Sounds like fun, until the artificial intelligence running the show, a la Yul Brynner’s ruthless gunslinger, decides it’s got enough of it. A robot goes haywire, turning an expensive vacation into a kill-or-be-killed nightmare.
Before we had pocket calculators, this Michael Crichton gem was warning us about artificial intelligence. Now, as tech giants push for sentient systems, the lesson of Westworld is this: Give machines too much brainpower and they will rewrite your story. permanently.
5. Blade Runner
Released in 1982, Blade Runner is a neon-lit fever dream that depicts the dystopian chaos of a future Los Angeles. Harrison Ford plays Deckard, a burned-out cop who is on the hunt for “replicants” – bioengineered artificially intelligent humanoids so real that they question their own existence. These machines built for dirty work begin to chase freedom and meaning, blurring the line between creator and creation.
The film is a philosophical masterpiece that asks the question: What makes us human? Blade Runner asks what it means when we race AIs that think and feel, and wonders what happens when our AIs claim rights.
4. The Matrix
The Matrix It’s now iconic, but it first shocked people in 1999, starring Keanu Reeves as Neo, a hacker who discovers that reality is a lie. Machines have enslaved humans in an analog world, harvesting energy from our bodies while our minds live in digital prisons. Neo joins the rebellion to crush the artificial intelligence overlord who controls it all. It’s a fluid cyberpunk brawl, full of philosophy and bullet time.
This movie sees our future: artificial intelligence weaving a web from which we cannot escape. As algorithms shape our lives today, The Matrix SCREAM We’re halfway into their game. Wake up or be trapped.
3.she
she “Dare to Dream” hit theaters in 2013. Joaquin Phoenix plays Theodore, a heartbroken writer who forms a bond with Samantha, an artificial intelligence voiced by Scarlett Johansson. She is not a cold machine. She learns, loves, grows, and becomes his companion in his lonely world. Their combination demonstrates the potential of artificial intelligence to heal and inspire humanity to its limits.
As we build more innovative technologies today, she Portray artificial intelligence as a force for good. Understand our peers, perhaps better than we understand ourselves. It’s a hopeful glimpse into a world where artificial intelligence attempts to improve us and then go on to live its own life.
2. Ex Machina
Ex Machina It didn’t initially make a splash when it was released in 2015, but this disturbing dive into the dark side of artificial intelligence has had a lasting impact and is now everyone’s first thought when the topic of artificial intelligence comes up. It should be so.
Young programmer Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson) is invited to the tech mogul’s lair to test Ava, an artificial intelligence with a face like Alicia Vikander. She’s talented, charming, and very good at playing human characters.
Through tense conversations, Caleb tests Ava’s sentience, but her uncanny ability to understand and influence him blurs the lines between machine and human. Nathan’s God complex and Ava’s carefully planned responses create a brain game about trust and autonomy.
The film’s minimalist setting amplifies its unease, forcing you to pay attention to the power dynamics. Is Ava a tool, or is she smarter than her creator? Ex Machina It doesn’t scream doom, but it does soberly demonstrate the potential for artificial intelligence to advance beyond our grasp.
Ex Machina answers a question everyone has: What happens when our creations start thinking for themselves? In the eyes of this movie, nothing good is going to happen.
1. Colossus: Forbin Project
1970, Colossus: Project Forbin slipping into the cinema like a silent warning that went unheeded. The film flopped at the box office, grossing only $308,828, in part due to the poor economic conditions in Hollywood. Despite this, critics praised its chilling artificial intelligence premise, and it received a Hugo Award nomination and a Saturn Award. This is a cult gem that remains overlooked by criminals.
In it, Dr. Charles Forbin built Colossus, a supercomputer designed to control the United States’ nuclear arsenal and ensure absolute security. Big mistake. Colossus began to make demands and used its control of American weapons to force America to comply.
The AI linked up with its Soviet counterpart, decided that humanity was too chaotic, and seized global control, threatening annihilation if not obeyed.
It’s a grim, cerebral thriller that doesn’t hold back. It predicts a future where humans no longer have control, but that might not be a bad thing.
