Robot Revolution: Top 5 Best A.I. Movies

“I think we should be very careful about artificial intelligence. If I had to guess at what our biggest existential threat is, it’s probably that. So we need to be very careful,” -Elon Musk

I am no scientist, I can't write code, and I didn't even take a chemistry class in school; but I have to agree with Mr. Musk. With all of the news about Facebook's A.I. program in the news, I have been reminiscing of the movies that warned us of this day and the days to come.

First, for those of you that may not know what happened, Facebook was developing a program where bots or A.I. could communicate and work out a "deal" or come to an agreement on a transaction using only A.I. No human involvement. What happened was the first plot twist in a sci-fi thriller. The Facebook A.I. developed a language that humans could not understand. The Facebook chat bot exchange is below:

Bob: I can i i everything else 

Alice: balls have zero to me to me to me to me to me to me to me to me to 

Bob: you i everything else 

Alice: balls have a ball to me to me to me to me to me to me to me to me

These chat bots were trying to work out a deal on exchange some imaginary balls and hats and books. So now that you are thoroughly creeped out, let's talk about those movies I have been thinking about.

Here are my top 5:

1. A.I. Artificial Intelligence - This takes the no. 5 spot because the protagonist is a human. As the viewer you feel sympathy for the "Mecha," which is not all that creepy but does make you think deeper on how human emotions would play into our relationships with A.I.
   
   
2. I, Robot - No, I'm not talking about the awesome vacuum. This film with Will Smith wasn't the greatest creatively but was intense nonetheless. Basically, robots who were designed as assistant-like machines who were programmed to never be able to harm humans. Something goes terribly wrong and they decide to harm humans. All but one of the robots, that is.
   
   
3. Alien - If you listened to episode 1 of our podcast, you'll know that Aliens (the 2nd in the trilogy) is in my top five action movies of all time. Alien was more of a sci-fi thriller. Less gunfire, less explosions, less mechs throwing aliens off of spaceships. However, the A.I. part that freaks me out is the fact that an android is able to hide in plain sight and carry out a mission that puts the whole crew at risk.
   
   
4. Blade Runner - There is a common theme with #1-3. Not being able to tell the difference between human and robot or A.I. Blade Runner is good because it was a pioneer. One of the first movies to challenge the thinking of a robot not looking like a robot. Plus, 80's Harrison Ford.
   
   
5. Ex Machina - My all time favorite A.I. movie. The reason I like this flick, besides the awesome ultra modern architecture and breathtakingly remote wilderness, is the fact that you can visually see that the A.I. is a robot and yet you can't help but fall for her. You should be able to see the problem. If not, let me help. Imagine your worse breakup, then imagine the whole relationship was a lie and at the end of it your frienemy is dead and you are trapped in one room of a house where nobody will find you. 

-Dustin