While we patiently await the imminent AI takeover, we’ve compiled a list of movies tackling artificial intelligence in diverse, funny, frightening, and intelligent ways. AI enthusiasts won’t be disappointed – from Spielbergian hero’s journeys riffing on Pinocchio, to deadly girlfriends with integrated robot parts, to reality-layered simulations, to grasshopper-shaped wise-cracking prototypes, and manipulatively pretty androids, these are the best sci-fi movies about artificial intelligence.

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Deadly Friend (1986)

Wes Craven’s Deadly Friend (based on Friend by Diana Henstell) was something of a departure from supernatural fare into sci-fi/killer robot territory. Bright Paul (Matthew Laborteaux) is something of a robotics genius and loves showing off his pet robot BB. He is smitten with the girl next door, Samantha (Kristy Swanson). When the miserable neighborhood grouch Elvira (Anne Ramsey) destroys BB and Samantha is murdered by her alcoholic father, Paul turns to his robotic expertise. He reanimates Samantha by integrating BB’s consciousness into her. Samantha/BB starts getting revenge on the neighborhood bullies and causing chaos.

When Deadly Friend was first released, the 80s horror market was saturated with masked lunatics like Friday the 13th, Lovecraftian throwbacks like From Beyond, and grisly nature-run-amok films like Cujo, Food of the Gods Part 2, and Slugs, so a movie exploring how artificial intelligence impacts a suburban community was an interesting change of pace for the genre. The movie might be campy, overly dramatic, and tonally uneven, but the central relationship between Paul and Samantha is genuinely sweet. The AI subplot potentially could have been so much more if Craven had been given the freedom to make the film he wanted, and there are quite a few creepy moments throughout. Deadly Friend makes the list for that basketball scene alone, if nothing else.

Short Circuit (1986)

Short-Circuit
Image via Tri-Star Pictures

John Badham’s cult favorite Short Circuit introduced one of the sassiest cyborgs to ever grace the silver screen. One of several prototypes developed by the US military – Johnny Five (Tim Blaney) is struck by lightning, which gives him a winning personality and a bit of sentience. He escapes in a truck and shacks up with Ally Sheedy’s animal lover, Stephanie Speck. Stephanie keeps him out of sight until designer Newton Crosby (Steve Guttenberg) comes looking for his robot. He is stunned by Johnny 5's newfound sentience. However, the military wants their property back and is willing to send in the other, meaner prototypes — emphasized by their murderously red, glowing eyes.

The most interesting aspect of Short Circuit is how the US government is prepared to monopolize this technology for militaristic purposes. They examine Johnny Five's growing awareness and morality when he is emulating a grasshopper and inadvertently kills it. The robot is horrified he "disassembled" a sentient being, and it's one of his first lessons in respecting all life. It also helps that the robot is hilarious.

Ex Machina (2014)

Ava looking at an A.I. prototype face in Ex Machina.

Alex Garland’s Oscar-winning directorial debut Ex Machina is a modern retelling of Shakespeare’s The Tempest with artificial intelligence. Unsurprisingly, it is a movie with a lot on its mind — consciousness-expanding, human and AI-autonomy, as well as biblical and literary connotations. The road to Hell is paved with good intentions and science goes spectacularly awry for Domhnall Gleeson’s wet-behind-the-ears programmer Caleb when he is whisked away to a Top Secret hideaway. Caleb participates in sessions with a beautiful android named Ava (Alicia Vaikander) to ascertain if she thinks like a human while misogynist CEO Nathan (Oscar Isaac) observes. Caleb starts to fall in love with Ava and believes she reciprocates his feelings. But the AI has far more nefarious plans.

Using AI to explore gender wars and female autonomy (or lack thereof) is a fascinating premise. Ava has been stripped of her freedom and privacy and must contend, on a daily basis, with the reality of male ownership and invasive psychological tactics to determine if she can think for herself. Ava is a new form of life and subsequently has no rights or at least this seems to be the consensus among the surrounding male characters. Ava understands how to appeal to male chauvinism by giving the men around her exactly what they expect of her, and she secures her own freedom. Ex Machina takes us into the heart of darkness for a pitch-black examination of the consequences of Transhumanism.

Upgrade (2018)

upgrade

Leigh Whannel’s futuristic ultra-violent vigilante film Upgrade pays homage to action-oriented, Robo-centric movies of the 80s. It follows auto mechanic Grey (Logan Marshall-Green), deeply in love with his wife Asha (Melanie Vallejo), who works Cobolt, a corporate entity specializing in cybernetic augmentations. After a mysterious ambush, Grey is left in a wheelchair, and Asha is killed. But all is not lost - Cobolt offers him an upgrade, and he becomes a lean, mean, revenge-driven machine. Of course, there is a conspiracy, betrayal, and lots and lots of violence. LOTS. Upgrade is pure pulp fiction with an outlandishly over-the-top sci-fi conceit lifted wholesale from Robocop. Not a criticism, Upgrade does something innovative with the trope. Human augmentation is a staple of science-fiction storytelling so Whannel's inventive approach to this generic story device is welcome.

A.I. Artifical Intelligence (2001)

Riffing on Pinocchio, Steven Spielberg’s A.I. Artificial Intelligence is epic and sublime on a massive scale. The heart-wrenching sci-fi fable revolves around David (Haley Joel Osment), a Mecha (or android) capable of activating an imprint enabling him to experience human emotion. Monica (Frances O’ Connor) and Henry (Sam Robards) take the AI after their own son is diagnosed with a degenerative condition. Things go well until Monica and Henry’s son returns and begins creating trouble for the AI. What follows is a non-traditional hero’s journey with David believing if he locates The Blue Fairy, she may be able to transform him into a real boy. A.I. takes its cues from Pinocchio and the insurmountable odds that the classic character faced to survive and one day become something more than himself. The message of this modern retelling might seem trite and outdated to more jaded viewers, but it's conveyed in a thought-provoking way, incorporating identity and self-belief into a fairytale plot.

The Matrix (1999)

Carrie-Anne Moss as Trinity in The Matrix
Image via Warner Bros. Pictures

Is that deja vu you’re experiencing? Apparently, it is a delay in the circuitry processing information, or just maybe it is a glimpse at the machinery underlying reality. In other words...a glitch in The Matrix. The Wachowskis' first entry in the franchise was released in 1999 and is one of the most influential films of all time. Imagine if Skynet had won the war against humanity and rather than exterminate all of us, decided to allow us to exist within a simulation, Now add in a moody Keanu Reeves, martial arts-inspired fight sequences, a scary Laurence Fishburne, along with a lot of leather, stylish raincoats, and some industrial strength pomade. The Matrix has a convoluted and complicated narrative structure with a broad and (still) evolving mythology. It asks big philosophical questions about reality, identity, and human endurance all wrapped up in blockbuster packaging.

The Terminator (1984)

Arnold Schwarzenegger as Terminator wearing sunglasses and pointing gun
Image via Tri-Star Pictures

Who wouldn’t be flattered if Micheal Biehn traveled across time for you? In James Cameron’s The Terminator, unassuming waitress Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) is about to have an awful day. A world-dominating Artificial Intelligence (Skynet) from the future has sent Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Terminator back to eradicate her before the birth of her son - a resistance leader against the machines - before he is even born. The majority of The Terminator is an intense chase movie with Biehn’s resistance fighter, Kyle Reese, and Connor barely outwitting the Terminator's brutal and seemingly unstoppable killing machine at every turn. It is also a damn good love story with Reese and Connor having instant chemistry and his innocent outlook inspiring more than a little sympathy. Schwarzenegger is a revelation as a stoic, stone-cold killing machine who pursues the duo relentlessly, destroying anything or anyone who gets in his way.