From articles that can write themselves (we used AI to suggest the very title of this article) to deepfakes and more it’s certainly a scary time for the future of AI if you’ve seen one too many movies. When AI turns dangerous it can threaten humanity as we know it and these movies certainly paint a bleak picture of our future.
Recent films such as The Creator which explores AI and without giving away too many spoilers cause friction between nations that puts people in unfathomable situations that could lead countries into war.
Many more movies have dived into the notion of artificial intelligence turning against humanity as technology advances much faster than we as humans can keep track of. Several films have demonstrated some far-fetched outlooks on the future of AI in the worst-case scenarios but some don’t feel too far away from home at all.
Let’s dive in then shall we?
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Stanley Kubrick’s seminal film, based on Arthur C. Clarke’s novel, features HAL 9000, a sophisticated AI controlling a spacecraft.
What starts as a revolutionary tech assistant quickly becomes a homicidal threat that exposes the room for error and sentient learning.
Should an AI system become so advanced that it’s aware of its existence, purposes and human conflict then the future becomes very dangerous for whatever that AI is controlling.
2001: A Spacey Odyssey presents HAL with a calm, monotone voice from start to finish which makes it all the more menacing when certain actions are undertaken.
I’m very quickly going over to my ALEXA now sitting in the corner of the room for a swift unplug!
The Terminator Series (1984 – present)
AI-gone-rogue is the topic of the day throughout The Terminator franchise as James Cameron loves a good self-aware AI network that triggers a nuclear apocalypse and sends cyborg assassins to eliminate threats to its existence.
The Terminator makes a strong case for machine learning as the AI knows that it has weaknesses and can be defeated so sends out protection to save its skin.
Thankfully The Terminator is one film that explores AI interference but the rest is so far-fetched that it could never happen in real life. Right?
Wrong!
Whilst time-travelling killers don’t seem to be on the agenda anytime soon there are robotic creations out there that are utilising AI to form a personality. Give them some twisted coding or an AI that learns the wrong thing and we could have a situation on our hands!
I, Robot (2004)
What starts out as an in-house robot that is designed to help out humans with everyday tasks quickly turns sour as the AI system goes rogue and turns all of the robots into soldiers wanting to enslave humanity.
These safeguards against an AI rebellion must be explored and addressed now because this future isn’t too far away whatsoever.
You only have to look at the brand new Tesla Optimus Gen 2 robot (check out the video below) to know that as a society this future is not too far away and all it takes is one error in a line of coding and we could be in some very dangerous territory indeed!
The robot stands at 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighs 121 lbs. The good thing about this robot currently is that it can only run at 5mph meaning if something did go horribly wrong there’s a very large chance you could outrun this hunk of metal.
Watching the video above is genuinely terrifying and the fact that I Robot predicted the very future we are stepping into, well, let’s hope Tesla has seen the film a few times and knows how to overcome such obstacles when the shit hits the fan!
Merely an accident of course but a robot attacked a Tesla worker only recently, merely accidental and human error by the sounds of it but I can picture many more of these articles in the not-so-distant future.
The Matrix” Series (1999 – 2003)
A world where AI (in the form of machines) force humanity inside a simulated reality in a film franchise that still to this day I don’t fully understand.
Existence, consciousness and humans Vs AI are all topics that are explored within the franchise albeit a little confusing for many steps of the way.
The Matrix is thankfully a scenario we’re not likely to see in our lifetimes so as far as this particular farfetched idea goes I’ll be long gone by then and that’s just fine with me!
Ex Machina (2014)
A young programmer creates an AI robot named Ava as Ex Machina starts innocent enough before quickly turning sour.
Much like a recent movie we reviewed on the site named T.I.M the thought of AI becoming self-aware, manipulative and even expressing human emotions is a scary thought as the lines become blurred.
Knowing the society that we live in today which is a little soft, to say the least at times I wouldn’t be surprised if robots were able to have human rights one day the second that a machine adopts emotions and ‘feelings’.
Blade Runner (1982) and Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
A film where AI (known as replicants) come to grips with their own identities and seek answers about their existence.
Very similar to other films mentioned in this particular article which explore the theory of a sentient artificial intelligence questioning its existence these films dive into humanity, empathy and what it means to be human.
AI: Artificial Intelligence (2001)
Directed by Steven Spielberg and based on a Stanley Kubrick concept AI: Artificial Intelligence revolves around a humanoid robot called David who is programmed to feel emotions.
Profound questions are raised about the AI’s ability for emotional understanding and like many of the films above they all offer unique perspectives on not only the perils of AI turning hostile but the societal implications of how AI will be considered the second they’re programmed to express human emotion.
All of the films above serve as a cautionary tale for a scary future we are racing into as science and technology continue to push the boundaries on what is possible.
I’d start swatting up on these movies as much as you can, consider it a preparation guide for the ‘what if’ scenario that seems to be getting a more realistic situation by the year.
When AI turns dangerous one day (and it will) don’t say I didn’t warn you!
