Artificial Intelligent in Films Throughout the Years

A simple webpage by

Victoria Xiao

Introduction :)

The discussion of Artificial Intelligence and its development has been portrayed in many mediums such as literature, cartoons and films. In recent years, such topic has been increasingly explored in cinematography. However, the public has the tendency of discriminating the unknown. Hence, artificial intelligence has been visualized by majority of the public as intimidating and dangerous since the publication of Turing’s “Computing Machinery and Intelligence”. Yet, as technology grows and artificial intelligence develops, the publics’ attitude towards AI technology has varied. Although in early films such as 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) and The Matrix (1999), AI was mainly portrayed as potential danger and a threat to human existence, a significant transformation of such negative attitude can be seen in recent films such as Her (2013) and Blade Runner 2049 (2017). Noticing that the time span of these films is almost half a century. By now, basic service AI technology is almost accessible to most of the public. Therefore, the question, whether the development of artificial intelligence is absolutely doomed, has been reconsidered. This essay will analysis the transformation of artificial intelligence representation through exploring the depiction of varied human interactions with artificial intelligence in the following five films: 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), The Blade Runner (1982), The Matrix (1999), Her (2017), and The Blade Runner 2049 (2017).

The Dangerous Artificial Intelligence? Views of AI through Films by Victoria Xiao, written in 2018.

List of Films

Name	Direactor	Production Year
A Space Odyssey 2001 Click for the Trailer	Stanly Kubrik	1968
The Blade Runner Click for the Trailer	Ridley Scott	1982
The Matrix Click for the Trailer	Lilly Wachowski, Lana Wachowski	1999
Her Click for the Trailer	Spike Jonez	2017
The Blade Runner 2049 Click for the Trailer	Denis Villeneuve	2017