Below is our ranking of the movies the get AI right according to their plausible elements. There’s no happy ending for humans, but Hollywood rarely portrays AI in a positive light. On the silver screen, writers and directors have been pitting man against machine for decades, but are these plots scientifically plausible?
What does Chappie movie get right about AI: Although it is “born” with a very basic understanding of the world and its surroundings, Chappy learns through experience. Though the film may not portray machine learning in the most realistic way, it is accurate in the sense that many of our most advanced AI algorithms today require robots to go through a trial-and-error learning process. A computer scientist at the University of California, Berkeley, and author of Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach, Stuart Russell, says the fact that he learns very quickly is quite realistic.
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02/18/2024 05:11 pm GMT
9. A.I. (2001)
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Summary: When the family’s son must be put into a hibernation-like stasis to save his life, they adopt a robotic boy, David, who is programmed to love.
What does AI movie get right about AI: A constant goal of David’s is to love and to be loved throughout the film, a result of his programming. David does not stray from his goals nor does he ever go rogue. “This robot boy wants to be loved. It is true that if you design it in such a way, then this robot will have these desires and act in such a manner,” says Marcus Hutter, a computer scientist at the Australian National University who studies mathematical approaches to artificial intelligence. “Since the aim of the company was to produce artificial children, it makes a lot of sense that this AI behaved as it did.”
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02/18/2024 07:46 pm GMT
8. Blade Runner (1982)
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Summary: Scientists will be able to create organic life in the future that will be indistinguishable from humans, but these “replicants” will only live for four years and will not be permitted to live on Earth.
What does Blade Runner movie get right about AI: By choosing organic over mechanical AI, Blade Runner explores whether consciousness can be grown in a lab. “How do I know that you have feelings?” Hutter asks. “I have no way of really knowing that. I just assume that because you are built up similarly to me and I know that I have emotions.” By being “built up similarly,” the replicants muddy the waters of defining consciousness.
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02/18/2024 04:56 pm GMT
7. Ex Machina (2015)
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Summary: A young programmer (Caleb) wins a trip to a computer genius’s (Nathan) facility where he will have the chance to administer the Turing test to a potentially sentient robot (Ava).
What does Ex Machina movie get right about AI: It doesn’t happen overnight that Nathan solves the AI problem. He’s not sure if Ava is sentient or not; she needs to be tested. Despite the movie’s poor accuracy on the Turing test, Hutter praises it for its sophisticated treatment of consciousness and for avoiding over-the-top action scenes. Consciousness is one of the biggest themes in all of these films, and Hutter thinks that if consciousness is ever achieved, it’s likely to be an emergent property of advanced AI rather than something that was explicitly programmed or activated: “In general I would say that if I have a system which is sufficiently complicated … if they display behavior we would interpret as emotions as humans, then there’s a reasonable chance that it has emotions.” Ex Machina at least treats the subject as complicated—something that needs to be tested.
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02/18/2024 05:01 pm GMT
6. Transcendence (2014)
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Summary: Computer scientist Will Caster becomes the first world’s first AI specimen when his consciousness is uploaded to a quantum computer after he dies.
What does Transcendence movie get right about AI: Until the very end, Will Caster’s AI self is confined entirely to the digital world; he exists solely as a computer program. The experts agree that shrugging off a physical body could allow an AI considerable freedoms and safety. “Once you have the ability to change the mind or the brain you can also get rid of a lot of evolutionary artifacts,” Hutter says. “I don’t think they’ll care so much about becoming like humans.”
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02/18/2024 06:51 pm GMT
5. I, Robot (2004)
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Summary: After an executive (Alfred Lanning) at USR robotics corporation is murdered, detective Del Spooner suspects a one of the company’s own robots is the perpetrator.
Where do I watch I Robot?
You can watch I Robot movie by buying or renting the movie on YouTube – here
What does I, Robot movie get right about AI:Of any film on the list, I, Robot addresses Isaac Asimov’s three laws of robotics most directly: 1) A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm; 2) A robot must obey orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law; 3) A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
On their own, the laws might be a fairly good starting point for creating safe AIs. Sonny, the film’s main robotic character, appears to have somehow defied his programming and gone rogue. According to the experts, this is something that could never happen, but I, Robot provides a very reasonable explanation for the machines’ sudden change of behavior when it is revealed that an AI named VIKI has introduced the “Zeroth law” which states: “A robot may not harm humanity, or, by inaction, allow humanity to come to harm.” Like in many of the other films on the list, this directive is taken to the extreme when the robots decide that humanity is a danger to itself and must be pacified. Unpredicted and unwanted consequences could become a reality if we aren’t careful about how we program advanced AIs.
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02/18/2024 06:11 pm GMT
4. Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970)
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Summary: An American supercomputer designed to prevent nuclear war teams up with its Russian counterpart and together, with control over most of the world’s nukes, they hold humanity at ransom unless humans relinquish control of society to their new computer overlords.
What does Colossus: The Forbin Project movie get right about AI: In Hollywood there seems to be a misconception that a machine must acquire sentience or free will to oppose humans. But according to Russell, “It’s completely unnecessary. It’s completely nonscientific.” Whether the supercomputers are sentient in this film is debatable, but they wouldn’t need to be to oppose humanity. All the machine needs is programming that contradicts with our own wants. “If we give these machines goals and we’re not very careful about it, they’ll do what we asked them to, but we may not like the results,” Russell says. Hutter goes so far as to say that he might not mind being ruled by a sentient machine. Humans are greedy and prone to pursue self-interest even at the expense of others, he notes. A completely rational computer, with intelligence far beyond our own, might actually be able to create a more fair society for everyone. He agrees with Colossus when, at the film’s conclusion, the AI states, “You will say you lose your freedom. Freedom is an illusion. All you lose is the emotion of pride.”
What does Bicentennial Man movie get right about AI:For the first time in our list, we have nonviolent AI. Although it doesn’t make for a very compelling story, most of the experts are optimistic that humanity will be able to peacefully coexist alongside AI. “As far as accuracy, there aren’t any things that are outrageous,” Goebel says. “The fear or anxiety that Hollywood portrays … is maybe the most serious thing that’s mistreated.”
What does Her movie get right about AI:Samantha doesn’t have a body, but she does have a voice. Her shows the risks of becoming emotionally attached to machines, and does so without the need to package AI into a humanoid frame. Russell, in particular, warns of designing humanoid AIs. “People are going to become emotionally attached,” he says. “You’re less likely to ascribe consciousness to a grey box. That’s one reason I think it’s a bad reason to have humanoid robots. Imagine how difficult that [would be] for a child growing up.”
And furthermore, AI may have different interests than its human creators. In the film, Theodore Twombly may grow as a result of his relationship with Samantha, but the two were clearly never an ideal pair. Samantha was free to roam the Internet and the world, carrying out hundreds of conversations at once. Twombly is confined to the limitations of his body and brain. “Machines don’t have to experience the world at the same rate at humans,” Russell says. That makes them great for performing millions of computations per second, but pretty lousy companions.
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02/18/2024 09:01 pm GMT
1. 2001: A Space Odyssey
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Summary: While investigating a strange signal emanating from a large black monolith on the moon, the crew of Discovery One discover that their onboard AI (HAL 9000) is malfunctioning.
What does 2001 Space Odyssey movie get right about AI:The experts seem to agree that 2001’s treatment of AI is the most accurate of any of the movies on the list. HAL seems certainly seems sentient, but when asked whether the computer has feelings or emotions, one of the astronauts (Dave) responds that there’s really no way to know. When asked if he would believe a computer that claimed to have feelings, Russell says something similar: “It could be that we end up just shrugging our shoulders.” HAL seems to express fear as Dave slowly deactivates him, but the desperate pleading could just be one final attempt to carry out his mission.
HAL also sticks to his programming. Like Colossus, HAL never strays from his original goals. All of his seemingly nefarious actions are carried out simply because he believes it is the best way to complete the mission. It’s not a survival instinct or emotion that makes HAL into a villain, just simple programming. 2001 makes it clear that consciousness is not a requirement for AI opposition.
Movies That Get AI Right
Below is our ranking of the movies the get AI right according to their plausible elements. There’s no happy ending for humans, but Hollywood rarely portrays AI in a positive light. On the silver screen, writers and directors have been pitting man against machine for decades, but are these plots scientifically plausible?
10. Chappie
9. AI
8. Blade Runner (1982)
7. Ex – Machina
6. Transcendence
5. I, Robot
4. Colossus: The Forbin Project
3. Bicentennial Man
2. Her
1. 2001: A Space Odyssey
Also Read: AI ethics and laws
10. Chappie (2015)
Summary: A robot police warrior is able to become self-aware after a programmer cracks the code for true artificial intelligence.
What does Chappie movie get right about AI: Although it is “born” with a very basic understanding of the world and its surroundings, Chappy learns through experience. Though the film may not portray machine learning in the most realistic way, it is accurate in the sense that many of our most advanced AI algorithms today require robots to go through a trial-and-error learning process. A computer scientist at the University of California, Berkeley, and author of Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach, Stuart Russell, says the fact that he learns very quickly is quite realistic.
9. A.I. (2001)
Summary: When the family’s son must be put into a hibernation-like stasis to save his life, they adopt a robotic boy, David, who is programmed to love.
What does AI movie get right about AI: A constant goal of David’s is to love and to be loved throughout the film, a result of his programming. David does not stray from his goals nor does he ever go rogue. “This robot boy wants to be loved. It is true that if you design it in such a way, then this robot will have these desires and act in such a manner,” says Marcus Hutter, a computer scientist at the Australian National University who studies mathematical approaches to artificial intelligence. “Since the aim of the company was to produce artificial children, it makes a lot of sense that this AI behaved as it did.”
8. Blade Runner (1982)
Summary: Scientists will be able to create organic life in the future that will be indistinguishable from humans, but these “replicants” will only live for four years and will not be permitted to live on Earth.
What does Blade Runner movie get right about AI: By choosing organic over mechanical AI, Blade Runner explores whether consciousness can be grown in a lab. “How do I know that you have feelings?” Hutter asks. “I have no way of really knowing that. I just assume that because you are built up similarly to me and I know that I have emotions.” By being “built up similarly,” the replicants muddy the waters of defining consciousness.
7. Ex Machina (2015)
Summary: A young programmer (Caleb) wins a trip to a computer genius’s (Nathan) facility where he will have the chance to administer the Turing test to a potentially sentient robot (Ava).
What does Ex Machina movie get right about AI: It doesn’t happen overnight that Nathan solves the AI problem. He’s not sure if Ava is sentient or not; she needs to be tested. Despite the movie’s poor accuracy on the Turing test, Hutter praises it for its sophisticated treatment of consciousness and for avoiding over-the-top action scenes. Consciousness is one of the biggest themes in all of these films, and Hutter thinks that if consciousness is ever achieved, it’s likely to be an emergent property of advanced AI rather than something that was explicitly programmed or activated: “In general I would say that if I have a system which is sufficiently complicated … if they display behavior we would interpret as emotions as humans, then there’s a reasonable chance that it has emotions.” Ex Machina at least treats the subject as complicated—something that needs to be tested.
6. Transcendence (2014)
Summary: Computer scientist Will Caster becomes the first world’s first AI specimen when his consciousness is uploaded to a quantum computer after he dies.
What does Transcendence movie get right about AI: Until the very end, Will Caster’s AI self is confined entirely to the digital world; he exists solely as a computer program. The experts agree that shrugging off a physical body could allow an AI considerable freedoms and safety. “Once you have the ability to change the mind or the brain you can also get rid of a lot of evolutionary artifacts,” Hutter says. “I don’t think they’ll care so much about becoming like humans.”
5. I, Robot (2004)
Summary: After an executive (Alfred Lanning) at USR robotics corporation is murdered, detective Del Spooner suspects a one of the company’s own robots is the perpetrator.
Where do I watch I Robot?
You can watch I Robot movie by buying or renting the movie on YouTube – here
What does I, Robot movie get right about AI: Of any film on the list, I, Robot addresses Isaac Asimov’s three laws of robotics most directly: 1) A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm; 2) A robot must obey orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law; 3) A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
On their own, the laws might be a fairly good starting point for creating safe AIs. Sonny, the film’s main robotic character, appears to have somehow defied his programming and gone rogue. According to the experts, this is something that could never happen, but I, Robot provides a very reasonable explanation for the machines’ sudden change of behavior when it is revealed that an AI named VIKI has introduced the “Zeroth law” which states: “A robot may not harm humanity, or, by inaction, allow humanity to come to harm.” Like in many of the other films on the list, this directive is taken to the extreme when the robots decide that humanity is a danger to itself and must be pacified. Unpredicted and unwanted consequences could become a reality if we aren’t careful about how we program advanced AIs.
4. Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970)
Summary: An American supercomputer designed to prevent nuclear war teams up with its Russian counterpart and together, with control over most of the world’s nukes, they hold humanity at ransom unless humans relinquish control of society to their new computer overlords.
What does Colossus: The Forbin Project movie get right about AI: In Hollywood there seems to be a misconception that a machine must acquire sentience or free will to oppose humans. But according to Russell, “It’s completely unnecessary. It’s completely nonscientific.” Whether the supercomputers are sentient in this film is debatable, but they wouldn’t need to be to oppose humanity. All the machine needs is programming that contradicts with our own wants. “If we give these machines goals and we’re not very careful about it, they’ll do what we asked them to, but we may not like the results,” Russell says. Hutter goes so far as to say that he might not mind being ruled by a sentient machine. Humans are greedy and prone to pursue self-interest even at the expense of others, he notes. A completely rational computer, with intelligence far beyond our own, might actually be able to create a more fair society for everyone. He agrees with Colossus when, at the film’s conclusion, the AI states, “You will say you lose your freedom. Freedom is an illusion. All you lose is the emotion of pride.”
Also Read: AI enabled smart kitchens
3. Bicentennial Man (1999)
Summary: A robot butler becomes human over several generations, even replacing his mechanical pieces with lab-grown organs.
What does Bicentennial Man movie get right about AI: For the first time in our list, we have nonviolent AI. Although it doesn’t make for a very compelling story, most of the experts are optimistic that humanity will be able to peacefully coexist alongside AI. “As far as accuracy, there aren’t any things that are outrageous,” Goebel says. “The fear or anxiety that Hollywood portrays … is maybe the most serious thing that’s mistreated.”
2. Her (2013)
Summary: A recently divorced writer (Theodore Twombly) installs a new sentient operating system (Samantha) on his computer and the two begin dating.
What does Her movie get right about AI: Samantha doesn’t have a body, but she does have a voice. Her shows the risks of becoming emotionally attached to machines, and does so without the need to package AI into a humanoid frame. Russell, in particular, warns of designing humanoid AIs. “People are going to become emotionally attached,” he says. “You’re less likely to ascribe consciousness to a grey box. That’s one reason I think it’s a bad reason to have humanoid robots. Imagine how difficult that [would be] for a child growing up.”
And furthermore, AI may have different interests than its human creators. In the film, Theodore Twombly may grow as a result of his relationship with Samantha, but the two were clearly never an ideal pair. Samantha was free to roam the Internet and the world, carrying out hundreds of conversations at once. Twombly is confined to the limitations of his body and brain. “Machines don’t have to experience the world at the same rate at humans,” Russell says. That makes them great for performing millions of computations per second, but pretty lousy companions.
1. 2001: A Space Odyssey
Summary: While investigating a strange signal emanating from a large black monolith on the moon, the crew of Discovery One discover that their onboard AI (HAL 9000) is malfunctioning.
What does 2001 Space Odyssey movie get right about AI: The experts seem to agree that 2001’s treatment of AI is the most accurate of any of the movies on the list. HAL seems certainly seems sentient, but when asked whether the computer has feelings or emotions, one of the astronauts (Dave) responds that there’s really no way to know. When asked if he would believe a computer that claimed to have feelings, Russell says something similar: “It could be that we end up just shrugging our shoulders.” HAL seems to express fear as Dave slowly deactivates him, but the desperate pleading could just be one final attempt to carry out his mission.
HAL also sticks to his programming. Like Colossus, HAL never strays from his original goals. All of his seemingly nefarious actions are carried out simply because he believes it is the best way to complete the mission. It’s not a survival instinct or emotion that makes HAL into a villain, just simple programming. 2001 makes it clear that consciousness is not a requirement for AI opposition.
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