By Joshua Tyler | Published
What will the future be like when we hand over control to artificial intelligence? This is the central question of our time, to which science fiction has already answered.
Artificial intelligence is a factor in many films, such as HAL out of control in 2001or even R2D2 who saves the day in Star Wars. But some filmmakers take it to the next level and turn their entire film into an examination of what happens when AI goes crazy or doesn’t.
These are the best of these films, ranked not by their quality, but by their ability to explore the possible future of artificial intelligence. If you’re worried about the future of AI, these nine films are a must-see.
9. War games
War games was released in theaters in 1983, at a time when computers were clumsy beasts and the Cold War had everyone sweating over nuclear threats. Avant-garde and relevant in its time, War games has since become a bit out of fashion. His ideas nevertheless remain relevant and relevant.
Matthew Broderick stars as David Lightman, a teenage hacking genius who thinks he’s just playing when he hacks into NORAD’s supercomputer, WOPR. It turns out he’s launching a fake global thermonuclear war simulation that the AI ​​believes is real, pushing the world to the brink. It’s a tense thriller mixing teenage rebellion with fear of the end of the world.
8. Short circuit
Many of these films will be quite dark and serious, so before we get lost in the dystopia, let’s have a little AI fun. Short circuit hit screens in 1986, when technology was clunky and AI was pure fantasy. Number 5, a military robot, is zapped by lightning, gains sentience and flees, finding refuge with Ally Sheedy’s animal lover Stephanie.
Steve Guttenberg plays Newton Crosby, the robot’s conflicted creator, torn between science and ethics as he follows his creation. Today, in a world where robots like this are deployed into the field to fight in real wars, this is an examination of military hardware with a mind of its own that feels eerily prescient.
7. Terminator
The Terminator films are largely time travel films, but this is time travel that takes place in the service of an AI superintelligence called Skynet.
In the 1984 original, a cyborg assassin (Arnold Schwarzenegger) tracks down Sarah Connor to stop her unborn son from leading a rebellion against Skynet, a rogue AI that triggers a nuclear apocalypse. Skynet’s cold, calculated plan to dominate humanity by sending Terminators back in time is chilling. Kyle Reese, a human soldier, fights to save her. This is a brutal, relentless action film about AI outwitting its creators.
As the franchise progresses, Skynet becomes a more fleshed-out concept, gradually morphing into something not so far removed from the experiments we’re currently having with AI.
6. Western world
In 1973, Westworld threw a dark curveball at science fiction fans. It takes place in a high-tech amusement park where you can live out Wild West fantasies with scary, lifelike androids. This seems like fun, until the AI ​​running the show, like Yul Brynner’s stone-cold gunslinger, decides that playing nice is over. The robots go rogue, turning an expensive getaway into a kill-or-be-killed nightmare.
This gem from Michael Crichton warned us about AI before we even had pocket calculators. Today, as tech giants push sentient systems, the lesson of Westworld is this: Give machines too much brain power and they will rewrite your history. Permanently.
5. Blade Runner
Blade Runner arrived in 1982 as a neon-soaked fever dream of a future where Los Angeles is a dystopian mess. Harrison Ford’s Deckard, a burned-out cop, hunts “replicants” — bioengineered AI humanoids so real they question their own existence. These machines, built for dirty work, set out in search of freedom and meaning, blurring the line between creator and creation.
The film is a philosophical masterpiece that asks: what makes us human? As we move toward an AI that thinks and feels, Blade Runner asks what that means and what might happen when our AIs demand rights.
4. The Matrix
The matrix is now iconic, but it first wowed in 1999, casting Keanu Reeves as Neo, a hacker who learns that reality is a lie. Machines have enslaved humanity in a simulated world, harvesting energy from our bodies while our minds live in a digital cage. Neo joins a rebellion to crush the AI ​​overlords who control everything. It’s a clever cyberpunk brawl, full of philosophy and bullet time.
This film saw our future: AI weaving webs we cannot escape. As algorithms shape our lives today, The matrix scream, we’re already half plugged into their game. Wake up or stay trapped.
3. She
Her released in theaters in 2013, a sci-fi gem that dares to dream big. Joaquin Phoenix’s Theodore, a heartbroken writer, connects with Samantha, an AI voiced by Scarlett Johansson. This is not a cold machine. She learns, loves and grows, becoming his partner in a world of loneliness. Their bond shows the potential of AI to heal and inspire, pushing human boundaries.
As we build more innovative technologies today, Her describes AI as a force for good. Companions who understand us, perhaps better than ourselves. It’s a hopeful glimpse into a world where artificial intelligences try to raise us and then live their own lives.
2. Ex Machina
Ex Machina wasn’t initially a big success when it was released in 2015, but this unsettling dive into the dark side of AI has had a lasting impact and is now everyone’s first thought when the topic of AI comes up. And it should be.
A young coder, Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson), is invited to a tech mogul’s lair to test Ava, an AI with a face like Alicia Vikander’s. She’s bright, attractive, and way too good at playing human.
Through tense conversations, Caleb tests Ava’s sensitivity, but her uncanny ability to understand and influence him blurs the line between machine and human. Nathan’s God complex and Ava’s calculated responses create a cerebral game of confidence and empowerment.
The film’s minimalist setting amplifies its unease, forcing a focus on power dynamics. Is Ava a tool or is she outsmarting her creators? Ex Machina doesn’t cry doom, but it calmly shows the potential for AI to evolve beyond our reach.
Ex Machina answers the question everyone is asking: what happens when our creations start to think for themselves? From this movie’s perspective, it won’t be good.
1. Colossus: the Forbin project
In 1970, Colossus: the Forbin project slipped into cinemas like a discreet warning that no one heeded. It bombed at the box office, grossing only $308,828, in part due to Hollywood’s dire financial situation. Despite this, critics praised its chilling AI premise, earning a Hugo nomination and a Saturn Award. It’s a cult gem that is still criminally underrated.
In it, Dr. Charles Forbin builds Colossus, a supercomputer designed to control America’s nuclear arsenal and ensure absolute safety and security. Big mistake. Colossus begins making demands and uses his control over American weapons to force compliance.
The AI ​​teams up with its Soviet counterpart, decides that humans are too disorderly, and takes over global control, threatening annihilation if it disobeys.
It’s a cold, cerebral thriller that doesn’t flinch. He predicts a future in which man will no longer have any control, but perhaps that’s not a bad thing.
