Literature (written and cinematic) is replete with classic if-we-had-only-known scenarios, many of which involve robots or biological experimentation. Typically these involve situations where the ¡°solution¡± was to solve some other ¡°dire¡± threat.
Science fiction¡ªone of my favorite topics. There are plenty of science fiction stories on both sides of the conscious AI question. They aren¡¯t always villains.
The I, Robot stories by Asimov from the 1950s and 1960s are pretty much pro-AI. They introduced the famous ¡°three laws of robotics¡±, which have been much discussed lately. I have always thought The Caves of Steel?would make an excellent movie because it¡¯s a murder mystery which also explores the rights of a human-like robot. The forgettable Will Smith movie shares nothing with the excellent and clever Asimov stories, except its title.
Heinlein¡¯s 1966 novel The Moon is a Harsh Mistress?has a benevolent conscious AI as its main character. I think it's his best book.
Philip K. Dick¡¯s 1968 novel?Do Androids Dream of Electric Sleep?explores the ¡°humanity¡± of an artificial intelligence. It was made into the excellent 1982 movie Blade Runner,?which is a favorite of mine. (It¡¯s one of the rare cases where the movie is better than the book.)
And then there¡¯s HAL from 2001: A Space Odyssey. At first glance it appears HAL is malevolent, but it turns out HAL was just obeying its programming instructions. This comes out more clearly in the trilogy of novels written by Arthur C. Clarke, co-author of the screenplay, and in the sequel 2010: Odyssey Two. (The original movie was inspired by Clarke¡¯s story The?Sentinel.)
And we have Data from Star Trek: The New Generation. In particular, watch the episode The Measure of a Man.?(Season 2, Episode 9)
I could go on and on with these.
Of course, there are plenty of evil AIs.
The most famous is probably the cyborg in The Terminator.
One that comes to my mind is from the 1966 novel?Colossus?by Dennis F. Jones. It was made into a not-so-good movie The Forbin Project.?It imagines what might happen when the entire defense of the country is turned over to an advanced AI called Colossus.
Let¡¯s not forget Battlestar Galactica, the execrable 1978 version was reborn as a much better 2004 series. The Cylons are describes as ¡°cybernetic¡± beings who want to kill all humans.
Then there's?Westworld!?Yul Brynner was a marvelously evil robot in the 1973 film. The 2016 TV series has a mix of good and bad robots.
Going slow should be the cry of everyone on the cusp of any advanced technology.?
Those who insist on moving quickly are the ones who will create the ¡°unintended consequences¡± results.
