Artificial intelligence (AI)is the ability of a digital computer or computer-controlled robot to perform tasks that normally (or used to) require human intelligence, such as visual perception, decision-making, language translation, and speech recognition. Most people already have a form of artificial intelligence in their homes. Siri, Bixby, Alexa, Cortana, and other voice-controlled personal assistants are systems that use AI.
AI that turns deadly is not a new idea seen only in the 21st Century. This concept has been in films numerous times,such as Skynetin theTerminatorfilms. While murderous AI may be an old idea, new films have made an updated twist on it. Here are a few of the scariest movies about artificial intelligence.
Updated on September 27th, 2023, by Danilo Raúl:This article has been updated with additional content to keep the discussion fresh and relevant with even more information and new entries.
20Westworld (1973)
Michael Crichton was the first to warn audiences about the dangers of AI by directingWestworldback in 1973, based on the novel of the same name he wrote. The premise would be used years laterto create a show at HBO that lasted four seasons. In the story, a computer virus overtakes the androids posing as inhabitants in the three levels of the Delos amusement park.
Yul Brynner plays the gunslinger android that duels the two human leads of the story. This was the first film to use computer-generated VXF back in the day, and it’s still a gripping reminder about how everything could go wrong when AI is left unchecked to develop on its own.
19Jung_E (2023)
Jung_Eis a South Korean sci-fi action/drama written and directed by Yeon Sang-ho. The film tells the story of a dystopian future where Earth has become barren and desolated due to climate change.
With humanity divided into factions, the Allied Forces are putting all their resources into developing a supersoldier army based on the genetic imprint and memories of a legendary Captain named Yun Jung-yi. The only problem? The lead scientistworking on the project is Jung-yi’s daughter, who can’t make the tech work to the advantage of the Alliance as the Kronoid clones created can’t overcome the simulations of the Captain’s last mission.
18The Terminator (1984)
James Cameron recently said, “I warned you guys in 1984,” regarding the extreme development of AI technology in the real world. The filmmaker created a truly menacing scenario inThe Terminator, as a military-developed AI named Skynet becomes sentient and triggers an event nicknamed “Judgment Day.”
The system took over all nuclear silos worldwide and wiped out most of humanity. What’s left of the species rallies behind a man known as John Connor, prompting Skynet to solve the issue before it comes to be by sending a programmed automaton known as the T-800 to hunt and kill Sarah Connor before she gives birth to John.
172001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Only the genius mind of Stanley Kubrick could come up with such an unsettling concept. Based on the novel by Arthur C. Clark,2001: A Space Odysseyintroduces us to HAL-9000, an AI tasked with running the basic operations of the ship manned by the crew led by Dr. Dave Bowman.
HAL becomes increasingly agitated when human actions begin tojeopardize the programmed directives of the mission. To ensure his success, HAL kills each crew member until he’s finally disconnected.
16The Matrix (1999)
The Matrixis a film that revolutionized the sci-fi genre and explored the consequences of unchecked human ambition. Written and directed by the Wachowski siblings, the story explores the events of human history after the breakthrough represented by the development of intelligent automatons; most of these machines take over all the menial works humans no longer want to do. The machines quickly learnthey don’t have the same rightsas their human creators, so they set shop in their own nation, surpassing humanity in every regard.
With the world’s powers deeming this unacceptable, they wage war against the machines just to lose badly, with the machines enslaving humanity to use them as living batteries while keeping them alive in a visual simulation that always resets itself thanks to an impurity in the code known as “The One.”
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15Transcendence (2014)
Transcendenceis a 2014 science fiction thriller filmstarring Johnny Depp, Morgan Freeman, Rebecca Hall, Paul Bettany, Kata Mara, Cillian Murphy, and Cole Hauser. The film follows a group of scientists racing to finish an AI project while being targeted by a radical anti-technology organization.
Dr. Will Caster (Depp) is a scientist working to create a sentient computer that will create a “Transcendence” of technological singularity. The nuance of the story is oddly found in humanity as the AI presented in the film seeks to do exactly what it is programmed to do, but our fear-mongering prevents him from accomplishing his mission.
14Demon Seed (1977)
Based on the novel of the same nameby Dean Koontz,Demon Seedis a 1977 science fiction horror film starring Julie Christie and Fritz Weaver. The film follows Dr. Alex Harris (Weaver), a scientist who developed Proteus IV, an extremely advanced autonomous AI program.
Proteus becomes obsessed with human beings, particularly Harris’s wife, Susan (Christie). Susan is imprisoned and forcibly impregnated by Proteus, who is attempting to bring about his own rebirth in a new body.
13Uncanny (2015)
Uncannyis a 2015 science fiction film that revolves around the world’s first “perfect” artificial intelligence that begins showing startling and unnerving emergent behavior when the scientist who created it begins a relationship with a reporter.
The film stars Mark Webber as scientist David Kressen, Lucy Griffiths as the reporter, Joy Andrews, David Clayton Rogers as the AI named Adam Kressen, and Rainn Wilson as billionaire CEO Simon Castle.
12Christmas Bloody Christmas (2022)
Released in 2022,Christmas Bloody Christmasis aChristmas-themed horror moviethat follows a robotic Santa Claus who goes on a killing spree on Christmas Eve. Tori, played by Riley Dandy, just wanted to spend Christmas Eve partying and getting drunk with her friends but ended up battling for her survival.
The robotic Santa Claus, played by Abraham Benrubi, is one of a few defective Santas that were recalled, but clearly never went back. A malfunction causes it to revert from its original programming from the U.S. Department of Defense, causing it to become a violent killing machine.
11Child’s Play (2019)
The 2019Child’s Playserved as both a remake of the original 1988 film and a reboot of theChild’s Playfranchise. The film stars Aubrey Plaza, Gabriel Bateman, Brian Tyree Henry, and Mark Hamill as the voice of Chucky.
Rather than being a doll possessed by the spirit of a serial killer, this Chucky doll is a high-tech doll who had his safety protocols disabled by an overworked and malicious employee. As such, Chucky develops self-awareness and becomes hostile and murderous. Of course, Chucky ends up in the hands of a young boy named Andy Barclay (Bateman).
