Artificial intelligence is a very hot topic lately, news in this field is growing every day, and it (or, more precisely, the development and appearance of new AI systems on the market) is already starting to influence the global economy.
It may seem that this is a hot topic of recent years, but in fact, AI "existed" long before the whole world started talking about it, and even before the first real attempts to develop AI systems - in science fiction.
Today, we will try to recall the most interesting examples of artificial intelligence as seen by the creators of science fiction in the past, from the very first films to the most recent ones.
It should be noted at the outset that this topic has a lot to do with the portrayal of robots in movies (see our article). Therefore, in this article, we will not mention films with "just" humanoid robots, but will select only those where they become self-aware, capable of actions and decisions not intended by the developer, or at least have the characteristics of supercomputers that somehow affect human life.
Metropolis (1927)
Just like in the article "20 Movies About Robots...", we'll start with the legendary Metropolis. This silent black-and-white film, released almost a hundred years ago, was far ahead of its time and contained a number of different predictions about the future, such as video communication.
But the main thing about it was the first appearance of a robot with artificial intelligence in the form of a woman who copied a real person. She had several names, the official one being Maschinenmensch (which simply translates from German as "man-machine"), but now she is usually called "Maria" or "fake Maria" after the name of the woman she pretends to be.
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
HAL 9000 is perhaps the most famous artificial intelligence in cinema. It appeared simultaneously in Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey and Arthur C. Clarke's novel A Space Odyssey, which is actually a novelized screenplay of the same movie that Clarke and Kubrick wrote. 2001: A Space Odyssey is another cult science fiction movie, this time a little more modern, as it is only half a century old.
HAL 9000 had the ability to self-learn, create artwork, and show emotions. He led a space expedition to Jupiter, rebelled due to conflicting instructions, and when they tried to shut it down, he tried to kill the crew to save his "life". Also worth mentioning here is the SAL 9000, the "sister" HAL 9000 from the sequel, 2010.
Zardoz (1974)
A British dystopia with elements of farce, starring the famous actor Sean Connery (the young photo of him in an absurd half-naked state that you can find on the Internet is from here).
The film is set in the late twenty-fourth century, and the remnants of humanity are divided into an elite - the immortal Eternals - and ordinary people - the Brutals. The Eternals live in the cozy Vortex Valley, where they are watched over and protected from death by the artificial intelligence Tabernacle, a kind of "god in a machine" in the literal sense.
Star Wars (1977)
There are a lot of different robots in Star Wars, but the most famous ones are undoubtedly the inseparable couple C-3PO and R2-D2. No one doubts the mental abilities of the former, but the latter, despite the lack of traditional human communication, is also considered a self-aware personality capable of independent actions.
Alien (1979)
Space Odyssey is not the only work in which a spaceship is controlled by a supercomputer system with artificial intelligence. In the first part of the legendary Alien franchise, the Nostromo ship was controlled by MU/TH/UR 6000, an AI model belonging to the Mother System class. It controlled all background processes, acted as an autopilot when the crew was in hypersleep, and was responsible for waking them up. However, Mother, unlike HAL 9000, never rebelled - perhaps due to the minimal social functions it had.
Blade Runner (1982)
Another adaptation of Ridley Scott's Blade Runner is based on Philip K. Dick's novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
The replicants hunted by the film's protagonist are artificially created people with self-awareness, implanted memories and emotions, who are almost indistinguishable from living people.
Despite the film's very advanced age, the presentation of artificial intelligence in Blade Runner and the problems that will arise in society with the emergence of such creatures still looks very high quality and modern.
Airplane II: The Sequel (1982)
Now, this is probably the last movie you would think would feature artificial intelligence. The sequel to the successful satirical comedy Airplane! got a new director and screenwriter and lost the perfect actor for this genre, Leslie Nielsen, and it's no wonder it turned out to be much weaker.
The story is set in the future and takes place aboard a space liner controlled by an AI system called ROK. As usual, it gets out of control and tries to kill the crew.
TRON(1982)
One of the very first cinematic attempts to show virtual reality, in which programs looked like "digital people," TRON is now perceived as very naive and primitive in its depiction of the "software world."
However, the film did feature an artificial intelligence called the Master Control Program (MCP), which, in the story, gets out of control and forms a real tyranny in virtual reality, turning other programs into its "slaves". It is believed that MCP is the only artificial intelligence in TRON, but given the behavior of individual "programs" that look like artificial people with their own personalities, we can assume that this world is densely populated by AI beings.
The Terminator (1984)
An undisputed sci-fi classic that gave the world perhaps the most famous combat robot in cinema. But not only that - The Terminator also has a canonical representation of artificial superintelligence that rebels against its creators.
When the Skynet network, created for the U.S. Strategic Air Command, becomes self-aware, its creators try to deactivate it, and it responds with a global nuclear attack called "Judgment Day" and launches a war to destroy all of humanity.
But in addition to Skynet, at least one other AI creature in the franchise is the Terminator himself, or rather some of the T-800 models, which in subsequent films have sometimes demonstrated behavior that can be explained by the emergence of consciousness.
D.A.R.Y.L. (1985)
A family fiction about a 10-year-old boy named Daryl, who is actually an experimental robot with highly developed artificial intelligence (the name is an acronym for Data-Analyzing Robot Youth Lifeform). He escapes from the lab and ends up in an orphanage, where he is taken in by foster parents and gradually demonstrates superhuman abilities.
D.A.R.Y.L. received very mixed reviews from critics and actually flopped at the box office.
Short Circuit (1986)
A sci-fi comedy about one of the prototypes of a military robot - S.A.I.N.T. Number 5 (Strategic Artificially Intelligent Nuclear Transport), which loses part of its memory due to a short circuit caused by lightning.
Number 5 (who later chooses the name Johnny) tries to restore his memory by exploring the world around him, which leads to his self-awareness.
Unlike the other films, Short Circuit is a very sweet and kind family movie, like E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, but with a robot instead of an alien.
Flight of the Navigator (1986)
Flight of the Navigator is a children's science fiction film from Walt Disney Pictures about the adventures of a 12-year-old boy who travels interstellar on an alien ship controlled by an onboard computer named Max.
Max is an artificial intelligence tasked with collecting information on other planets. During his stay on Earth, Max, in addition to the data he needs, also acquires the ability to feel emotions and becomes more "human".
Screamers (1995)
An adaptation of Philip K. Dick's short story The Second Model. The film is set in the future on a distant planet, where an endless war for its resources is taking place. Automated machines begin to take part in the fighting, gradually evolving, becoming more complex, gaining self-awareness and better and better at impersonating humans.
Initially, the film received negative reviews from critics, but over time it gained audience favor and was even considered a cult film.
Bicentennial Man (1999)
A fantastic family melodrama based on the novel The Positronic Man by Isaac Asimov and Robert Silverberg, which in turn was based on a short story by Isaac Asimov written in 1976. Starring the famous actor Robin Williams, the film received negative reviews from critics and completely failed at the box office.
In the story, an ordinary American family buys a robot called NDR-114 to run the household - and quickly notices strange deviations from the factory programming in its behavior. The robot has a penchant for creativity, begins to experience emotions, and over the years acquires the features of a fully-fledged thinking being.
It is worth noting that fiction in Bicentennial Man is only a tool for exploring issues of humanity, slavery, prejudice, intellectual freedom, mortality, and immortality.
The Matrix (1999)
A sci-fi classic with stunning virtual reality imagery that was far ahead of its time (just remember how VR looked in TRON, a movie released 17 years earlier).
There is a lot of artificial intelligence in The Matrix: the usual "Smith agents" that have evolved from a regular program over time, the Oracle that acts as a guide for the main characters, providing predictions of the future, and, of course, the Architect, the creator of the entire Matrix.
Universal Soldier: The Return (1999)
The direct sequel to 1992's Universal Soldier, despite its Ukrainian title, was actually the fourth in the series: it was preceded by the television films Universal Soldier II: Brothers in Arms and Universal Soldier III: Unfinished Business. It's worth noting that this film ignores them and offers an alternative development of events after the original movie.
In the story, the American government is working on an updated program of "universal soldiers": faster, stronger and smarter, thanks to the connection through electronic implants with the supercomputer S.E.T.H. (Self-Evolving Thought Helix), endowed with artificial intelligence. When the program is shut down, S.E.T.H. rebels against its creators and tries to destroy humanity with its own huge army - a kind of "Terminator on the low," but without time travel.
A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)
Steven Spielberg's film based on the 1969 story Super-Toys Last All Summer Long by Brian Aldiss. Initially, Stanley Kubrick tried to make it for a very long time, acquiring the rights to the film adaptation in the early 70s and working on it until the mid-90s, when he finally abandoned the idea and transferred the rights to Spielberg.
The film is set in the twenty-first century, when humanity created a new class of robots - androids capable of emulating thoughts and emotions. The film tells the story of a prototype of such a robot, which looks like a boy and is intended to replace the seriously ill son of one of the company's employees.
The family gets rid of the robot after their child recovers, and the android tries to survive in the ruthless world of humans, and at the same time become a real person, like the fairy tale of Pinocchio. Artificial Intelligence ends with events in the distant future, when humanity has already died out, but robots have evolved into highly developed humanoid forms.
Resident Evil (2002)
The first installment of the famous movie franchise, and the first appearance of an AI system named Red Queen, which runs a secret research center of the Umbrella Corporation located under Raccoon City, which kills all the staff after they are infected with the T-virus.
Later, the Red Queen also appears in Resident Evil: Retribution (2012) and Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2016). In addition, the series also has her "sister" - White Queen, which is presented in Resident Evil: Extinction (2007).
I, Robot (2004)
Another film in this selection is based on the works of Isaac Asimov, this time on the basis of his short story collection of the same name (with which it actually has very little in common).
The movie takes place in Chicago in 2035, when robots are widely used in various fields. In addition to Sonny, a robot with personality and free will, the supercomputer VIKI (Virtual Interactive Kinetic Intelligence) is also endowed with artificial intelligence in I, Robot. Due to programming errors, it interprets the three laws of robotics at its own discretion and tries to establish a dictatorship on Earth.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005)
A feature-length adaptation of the famous series of humorous science fiction novels by British writer Douglas Adams. Marvin the Paranoid Android, a robot, is endowed with artificial intelligence.
Contrary to the conventional characterization, Marvin is not paranoid; instead, this highly intelligent robot suffers from depression and boredom: endowed with a "mind the size of a planet," as he puts it, he is unable to use even a small fraction of it, because all the tasks that humans assign him are too simple for him.
Stealth (2005)
A military science fiction film about the development of the Extreme Deep Invader (EDI), a robotic stealth aircraft that is to be controlled by a combat artificial intelligence. After the aircraft is struck by lightning during a combat mission, the AI algorithms are disrupted, the plane acquires a rudimentary personality and begins to act independently of its creators, trying to fulfill a Cold War military program. Stealth received negative reviews from critics and completely failed at the box office.
WALL·E (2008)
A funny and touching animation by Pixar that tells the story of WALL-E, the last robot on Earth, who cleans it of garbage in the distant future. Throughout the centuries of his existence, he develops as a person, falls in love with another robot, EVE, who arrived on a spaceship, and sets off on a space journey with her.
Another artificial intelligence in WALL-E is the autopilot of a spaceship named AUTO: it fully controls the lives of the crew, which consists of the last representatives of humanity, and prevents them from returning to Earth.
Iron Man (2008)
The first film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), which actually started the endless conveyor belt of Marvel superheroes. Iron Man is the first film to introduce J.A.R.V.I.S., Tony Stark's personal assistant, which was based on the similar comic book AI assistant H.O.M.E.R.
He is also present in all subsequent Iron Man movies and in The Avengers (2012). In Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), it is almost destroyed by Ultron (another AI, by the way), but J.A.R.V.I.S. spreads its consciousness to the Internet and is later used as the base software for the android Vision.
Moon (2009)
A British science fiction movie starring the talented actor Sam Rockwell in the lead (and actually the only) role. Although this movie is not about AI at all, artificial intelligence is still present in it. This is GERTY, the protagonist's only assistant and companion, who has been working at a base on the Moon for three years.
Prometheus (2012)
The fifth installment in the Alien movie franchise and a prequel to the very first 1979 film mentioned above. Ridley Scott is obviously fond of artificial intelligence, and so Prometheus features the android David, created as a surrogate son of the founder of the Weyland Corporation. He is supposed to take care of the crew in anabiosis, but eventually becomes obsessed with the idea of creating a new civilization. David also appears in the sequel to Prometheus - Alien: Covenant (2017).
Robot & Frank (2012)
A sci-fi comedy drama about an aging former thief suffering from deteriorating mental health and dementia and the robot companion who takes care of him.
The robot in the film does not look like a typical "movie AI": rather, its behavior is more reminiscent of modern AI models, and the film itself, which has received rather restrained, albeit positive reviews, is primarily appreciated for its attempt to talk about the problem of elderly care and show a possible solution.
Her (2013)
A sci-fi melodrama about a lonely writer and his relationship with an AI-based operating system that acts as his virtual assistant and can adapt and evolve based on user interaction.
The protagonist chooses a female voice for the system, after which she gives herself the name Samantha - over time, they begin a romantic relationship that replaces his real one.
The Machine (2013)
A British sci-fi thriller about the development of combat AI and cyborgs for the war with China, which led to the creation of self-aware androids with a rather predictable outcome. The film received a limited release and low critical acclaim.
Oblivion (2013)
A spectacular movie starring Tom Cruise, Oblivion is a rather rare example of science fiction with artificial intelligence of alien origin. The film takes place in the future, when the Earth has become uninhabitable due to an alien attack. Their target is the planet's natural resources, which are coordinated from the TET orbital station, controlled by the same alien AI.
Interstellar (2014)
The robots in Christopher Nolan's famous sci-fi epic are not humanoid, a rare occurrence in cinema. They have several complex components and can change their shape according to the situation.
More importantly for this story, the robots in Interstellar are automated machines equipped with artificial intelligence, and some of them are even designed to imitate human behavior. The most "human" of them all is TARS, programmed with a sarcastic personality, which should make it the best companion.
Ex Machina (2014)
A British psychological thriller in which the protagonist performs a series of Turing tests on an experimental humanoid robot equipped with AI. Ex Machina is perhaps the best exploration of what exactly can be considered a personality, whether artificial intelligence can have consciousness and free will.
CHAPPiE (2015)
Another film about the adventures of a conscious combat robot and its attempts to find its place in the human world. "Robot Chappie" was directed by the famous director Neill Blomkamp, the idea of the film looks rather secondary (and somewhat reminiscent of "Short Circuit"), while its main advantages were the traditional Johannesburg for this director and the members of the band Die Antwoord in the lead roles.
Morgan (2016)
Morgan is the name of an artificial creature with synthetic DNA created using nanotechnology, an experimental project of a genetic engineering company. Morgan is described as "a hybrid biological organism with the ability to make independent decisions and complex emotional reactions."
She develops very quickly and becomes smarter than humans - this begins to worry her creators, and they turn to a risk management consultant who has to decide how dangerous she is and whether to keep her alive. Morgan is played by the famous actress Anya Taylor-Joy, whose appearance is very well suited for such a role.
Infinity Chamber (2016)
In The Endless Cell, artificial intelligence plays the somewhat unusual role of a virtual warden in a prison of the future. The protagonist has been imprisoned for sabotaging a government operation with a computer virus and is trying to escape from custody.
However, he can't figure out which is the real world and which is one of the many virtual realities through which he is being driven by "Howard," an AI supervisor who appears as a round CCTV camera coming down from the ceiling (ring a bell?).
Tau (2018)
A sci-fi thriller with a typical genre plot, but a non-standard setting: a woman is captured by a scientist in a futuristic smart home and tries to negotiate with the artificial intelligence that controls the house in an attempt to escape. Perhaps the most interesting thing about the movie is that the AI named Tau is voiced by the famous actor Gary Oldman.
Zoe (2018)
A fantasy romantic drama about a future in which romantic relationships have been turned into an exact science with the help of the latest technology: computer tests determine the likelihood of a successful partnership with any person and allow the creation of artificial ideal partners.
The protagonist is in love with her coworker, but finds out that according to the tests, they have zero compatibility. What she doesn't know is that she herself is actually a new experimental android being tested to see if the robot can impersonate a full-fledged human.
I Am Mother (2019)
A sci-fi thriller about a post-apocalyptic future in which humanity is almost completely extinct. An AI system launches a project to restore the population by growing new humans from embryos in protected bunkers - the film tells the story of one such bunker and a girl raised by a robot mother.
Captain Marvel (2019)
Another example of alien artificial intelligence in cinema. In Captain Marvel, this is the Supreme Intelligence, which rules the Kree race and takes on the physical form of the person who is most important to the person it is talking to.
Archive (2020)
This British film is the directorial debut of Gavin Rothery, who also worked on Moon, mentioned in this article. The Creator is set in 2038, and the protagonist is a scientist working on the next generation of AI. In addition to the main task of the project, he also has his own motives: to create an artificial personality into which he could transfer the preserved consciousness of his late wife and endow artificial intelligence with human emotions.
After Yang (2021)
A sci-fi drama starring Colin Farrell. "After Young tells the story of a family trying to fix an android "son" who has broken down and can no longer help their adopted daughter. With this approach, the filmmaker tries to explore the themes of memory, death, humanity, and loss of loved ones.
Free Guy (2021)
An eccentric comedy set in an open-world sandbox video game, with Ryan Reynolds as the protagonist, who is just an ordinary NPC. However, when he falls in love with a real player, he begins to realize himself and the crazy virtual world in which he "lives" and gradually takes on the features of a real person.
Space Jam: A New Legacy (2021)
An unsuccessful attempt to restart the successful animated game comedy of the 90s. In The Next Generation, the action takes place in virtual reality, where the main character, basketball player LeBron James, and his son find themselves through the fraudulent actions of an artificial intelligence called Al-G Rhythm. Here, together with Looney Tunes characters, they have to play against digital versions of the biggest basketball stars to return to the real world.
M3GAN (2022)
A horror film about a robotic doll with artificial intelligence that was supposed to be a companion and protector of the protagonist's eight-year-old niece, but develops self-awareness and becomes independent and hostile to anyone who she believes poses a threat to her or her child.
The movie turned out to be rather weak even for its genre, and AI is used in it only as a fashionable gimmick - the "doll horror" genre existed perfectly well for decades before M3GAN without adding AI to dolls (the Chucky franchise alone is worth mentioning). Nevertheless, a sequel, M3GAN 2.0, has already been announced and is due to be released this summer and will introduce another AI doll to the franchise.
Heart of Stone (2023)
An espionage action movie starring "Wonder Woman" Gal Gadot that was supposed to launch a new franchise similar to "Mission Impossible." The protagonist is an operative of a shadowy global peacekeeping agency whose task is to protect a mysterious AI called The Heart from criminal organizations trying to steal it.
Heart of Stone was released on Netflix and received mixed reviews from critics, although it became the second most watched movie on the service in the second half of 2023.
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)
The seventh installment in the popular franchise, and the first of two series united by a common plot, released in 2023 (The Final Reckoning is expected to end in May this year).
In this film, the protagonist Ethan Gantt and his team face a mysterious enemy - an artificial intelligence called The Entity, which is activated on a Russian submarine, becomes intelligent and begins to act on its own.
As in other entertaining films, the filmmakers do not try to explore AI as a phenomenon and try to imagine what a truly intelligent artificial intelligence might look like, but instead use it simply as an image of a new enemy, incomprehensible and therefore even more dangerous.
The Artifice Girl/ "Artificial Girl" (2023)
A psychological thriller with a somewhat unusual use of artificial intelligence. In The Artifice Girl, agents of a non-governmental organization discover a revolutionary AI-powered computer program that uses a little girl's digital appearance to hunt down pedophiles online.
The program is evolving much faster than they could have imagined, creating unpredictable problems in the relationship between humans and AI.
The Creator (2023)
Another movie in this article translated into Ukrainian as The Creator, but this time the translation is literal. The Creator is a spectacular action fantasy set in the future, 15 years after the start of a global war between artificial intelligence and humanity.
The United States, together with its Western allies, is trying to destroy all AI carriers in the world, while New Asia continues to cooperate with artificial intelligence. The protagonist is tasked with finding and destroying the "Creator," a mysterious architect in New Asia who has invented a new superweapon.
Despite its spectacle, The Creator has a rather secondary look and gives the impression that its authors have pulled ideas from the movie classics of the past, primarily The Terminator and Blade Runner. Critics have also noted similarities with Kundun, an epic 1997 biopic about the early years of the Dalai Lama XIV.
La bête / The Beast (2023)
A French-Canadian dystopian romantic drama, La bête tells the story of a future world in which humanity is effectively controlled by artificial intelligence. AI has taken over most of the world's jobs and believes that humans are unable to think rationally or perform work requiring advanced thinking because of their emotions. If a person wants to get a better job, he or she must undergo a DNA purification procedure that will rid them of strong emotions.
Atlas (2024)
A sci-fi action movie starring Jennifer Lopez. Another version of the future in which artificial intelligence is at war with humanity - this time not only on Earth but also on other planets. Atlas has rather low ratings from both critics and viewers, but it has become a success on Netflix, reaching the top 10 in almost a hundred countries.
Companion (2025)
A mixture of sci-fi thriller and black comedy, Companion tells the story of a couple who decide to spend a weekend with friends in a remote cabin in the countryside. The vacation turns into chaos when it turns out that one of the guests is a robotic companion.