Plot: Miles buys himself a state-of-the-art computer that starts expressing thoughts and emotions after having champagne spilled down on him. Things start getting out of hand when both Miles and Edgar, how the computer calls himself, fall in love with Madeline, an attractive neighbor.

KBZ’s Take: Electric Dreams is a forgotten subgenre classic of the 80’s. While other subgenre films of the time were focused on the more malevolent aspects of AI (WarGames (1983), The Terminator (1984)), Electric Dreams was a romantic comedy that also happened to involve a personal computer (PC).

During this period of time, PCs were still making their way into homes with the promise of fundamentally changing the lives of everyone who used them. Electric Dreams expands on this promise of the PC revolution as Miles (Lenny von Dohlen) soon realizes the PC he has bought is not ‘normal’. His PC develops artificial intelligence and goes by the name of Edgar (voiced by Bud Cort). What follows are a variety of situations – some comic, some dramatic and some even tragic.

Electric Dreams doesn’t focus on the technical aspects of AI but rather on the human element that AI sometimes struggles to understand. Those elements are at the core of Electric Dreams and what ultimately makes it a great film. There are also quite a few AI themes found in Electric Dreams that have been expanded upon over the years by other subgenre films including Her (2013) and Jexi (2019).

Many older fans of the subgenre have likely already seen this film as it was a minor hit during the 1980’s. However, for younger fans of the subgenre, Electric Dreams should be one of the first films you watch to see how it inspired countless other films within the subgenre.

Additional Lists: Top Films About AI You Haven’t Seen #1

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Plot: Scientist attempts to bring back his dead wife through robotics and AI.

KBZ’s Take: Though Archive initially seems focused on robots (as there are quite a few in the film), it’s ultimately much more about AI – specifically recreating the thoughts and mind of a lost loved one.

This was our #1 selection in our Top Films About Robots You Haven’t Seen as the film tackles some unique themes within the Films About Robots subgenre. There are various robots that have physical as well as mental limitations as George (Theo James) works to create a near-perfect robotic replica of his deceased wife.

However, as the film progresses, it’s much more about AI themes – from the limited ‘learning ability’ of previous AI models to the recreation of an AI ‘brain’ that can be built with the thoughts, memories and emotions based on a human counterpart.

Unfortunately, due to Covid, the film had a digital only release so has been lost in the shuffle. However, for any fans of the subgenre, this is a must-see film and one of the best of the subgenre.

Additional Lists: Top Films About Robots You Haven’t Seen #1

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Plot: M3GAN is a marvel of artificial intelligence, a lifelike doll that’s programmed to be a child’s greatest companion and a parent’s greatest ally. Designed by Gemma, a brilliant roboticist, M3GAN can listen, watch and learn as it plays the role of friend and teacher, playmate and protector. When Gemma becomes the unexpected caretaker of her 8-year-old niece, she decides to give the girl an M3GAN prototype, a decision that leads to unimaginable consequences.

KBZ’s Take: While M3GAN soared at the box office due to it’s ‘killer robot doll’ themes, often overlooked are some of the current moral and ethical implications of AI found in the film.

First, while the film takes a more satirical look at the attachment between children and AI, this is a very real concern of AI development. As noted in the film, the AI within M3GAN is meant to be used in a support role for Cady (Violet McGraw) after the loss of her parents. However, due to Cady’s attachment to M3GAN, AI quickly turns into a replacement not only for her parental loss but also for any type of parental authority or supervision. This sense of attachment between a child and AI was also explored in After Yang (2022) albeit in a much different manner.

Second, though the ethical concerns of releasing a technology before it’s been thoroughly tested and vetted is looked at in a comical manner in M3GAN, it’s also a real concern for any technology – especially AI. Though nobody is worried about ‘killer AI’ being released on the unsuspecting masses anytime soon, there are concerns with bias and accuracy with current AI. As an example, a lawyer recently relied on chatGPT AI for a lawsuit only to find out that ChatGPT cited six cases that didn’t exist.

Though M3GAN fits squarely in the Horror Comedy subgenre, it has some surprisingly detailed looks at seldom tackled themes within the subgenre.

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Plot: High School student David Lightman has a talent for hacking. But while trying to hack into a computer system to play unreleased video games, he unwittingly taps into the Defense Department’s war computer and initiates a confrontation of global proportions. Together with his girlfriend and a wizardly computer genius, David must race against time to outwit his opponent and prevent a nuclear Armageddon.

KBZ’s Take: Before he was Ferris Bueller, Matthew Broderick starred in this surprising hit of the early 1980’s about the potential dangers of AI. Like HAL 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey (1969) and The Colossus Supercomputer from Colossus: The Forbin Project (1971) before it, WOPR (War Operation Plan Response) became the 80’s representation of ‘misunderstood’ AI as society was embracing the first stages of the PC revolution.

This was also a period of time when Nuclear War was a genuine concern around the world. Other films from that same year, including The Day After (1983) and Testament (1983), focused on real-world implications if nuclear weapons were launched.

While WarGames takes a more surface level look at how a Nuclear War could start, the film’s core theme is about the early development of AI and the struggles to teach AI to think like a human. Though the film has some suspenseful sequences, it doesn’t veer into the sinister intentions of AI that the film was obviously inspired by – Colossus: The Forbin Project (1971).

Though the film is over 40 years old, it still has some themes of AI that scientists and developers are still struggling with today. If you haven’t yet seen this classic film of the subgenre, it’s a must watch film about AI.

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Plot: In the not-so-distant future, Theodore, a lonely writer purchases a newly developed operating system designed to meet the user’s every needs. To Theodore’s surprise, a romantic relationship develops between him and his operating system. This unconventional love story blends science fiction and romance in a sweet tale that explores the nature of love and the ways that technology isolates and connects us all.

KBZ’s Take: Her is one of the best films of the subgenre that tackles the human emotional connection to and eventual romance with AI. While films such as Jexi (2019) looks at the more comical aspects of a human and AI relationship, Her highlights AI’s ability to learn and evolve to become your perfect (co-dependent) mate.

While director Spike Jonze initially focuses on the quirkier aspects of Theodore’s (Joaquin Phoenix) growing dependency on the AI Samantha (Scarlett Johansson), there’s an underlying AI theme in the film involving a unique evolution of AI itself. If you’ve seen the film, you’ll know what we’re referring to, but we don’t want to discuss it more here for people that have not seen the film yet. We can only say it’s one of the more interesting themes of the subgenre as AI evolves and determines it has different needs than humans.

People are already growing accustomed to impersonal AI systems like Alexa and Siri so it’s not hard to image a future where dependencies (and emotional connections) to these AI systems deepen as they become more personalized. Her will be looked back on for how prescient its Sci-Fi themes of AI are already becoming a reality.

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Plot: A paralyzed man receives an AI brain implant that starts to take over his life.

KBZ’s Take: While this is a great techno thriller, it’s also a great tale of revenge – but with a twist. A technophobe gets a new AI implant that assists him on his path to vengeance. Though it had a limited theater release, Upgrade is a prime example of how AI is often at the center of great Cyberpunk and Techno Thriller films.

Upgrade has everything in it from the ethics of AI to a Future Noir mystery thriller. Oh, and it can be a bit gory too. It’s also one of the darker Cyberpunk films with an emphasis on how much control we can lose to AI through human augmentation.

Additional Lists: Top Techno Thriller Films You Haven’t Seen (Part 1) #1, Top Films About Revenge You Haven’t Seen #5, Best Cyberpunk Films #7

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Plot: In the year 2029, the barriers of our world have been broken down by the net and by cybernetics, but this brings new vulnerability to humans in the form of brain-hacking. When a highly-wanted hacker known as The Puppetmaster begins involving them in politics, Section 9, a group of cybernetically enhanced cops, are called in to investigate and stop the Puppetmaster.

KBZ’s Take: Ghost in the Shell was our #1 pick for our Best Cyberpunk Films list and it’s one of the best films about AI. The film not only generated sequels and a live action remake but also influenced quite a few films in both the Cyberpunk and Films About AI subgenres.

From a Cyberpunk perspective, Ghost in a Shell literally defines all the tenets of the subgenre. Though it has a unique dystopian setting and class struggle, it’s the film’s technology that sets it apart from other subgenre films. The film is focused on human augmentation with cybernetic parts.

Throw in hacking, and Ghost in a Shell literally redefined how we would think about connected ‘cyborgs’ that become self-aware. It was a novel idea at the time and is still novel almost 30 years later (as technology gets closer to what’s shown in the film).

Additional Lists: Best Cyberpunk Films #1

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Plot: In the smog-choked dystopian Los Angeles of 2019, blade runner Rick Deckard is called out of retirement to terminate a quartet of replicants who have escaped to Earth seeking their creator for a way to extend their short life spans.

KBZ’s Take: Blade Runner was #1 on our Best Future Noir Films list, #2 on our Best Cyberpunk Films list and #3 here. The film’s core theme is about AI (in the form of Replicants) and tackles everything from the evolution of AI in surpassing humans to the moral questions of what it means to be human or AI.

As for the film, it’s based on Philip K. Dick’s “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep”. Dick is known as the father of Cyberpunk and even has an award named after him (that another famed Cyberpunk novelist, William Gibson, won in 1985). Though the film loosely follows the novel, it’s Ridley Scott’s direction and visuals that bring life to the Cyberpunk world. Until that time, there weren’t many filmed visualizations of a Cyberpunk world, but Scott set the standard with Blade Runner.

Watched together with its sequel, Blade Runner 2049 (2017), and various supporting films, there’s entire worldbuilding around AI and Cyberpunk that’s some of the best of the subgenre.

Additional Lists: Best Future Noir Films #1, Best Cyberpunk Films #2, Best Hard Sci-Fi Films #20

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Plot: D Caleb, a coder at the world’s largest internet company, wins a competition to spend a week at a private mountain retreat belonging to Nathan, the reclusive CEO of the company. But when Caleb arrives at the remote location, he finds that he will have to participate in a strange and fascinating experiment in which he must interact with the world’s first true artificial intelligence, housed in the body of a beautiful robot girl.

KBZ’s Take: When watching Ex Machina, it’s easy to get distracted by the robotic body of Ava (Alicia Vikander) and the performances of Vikander, Domhnall Gleeson and Oscar Isaac. The film mainly features these three main actors, and they all give amazing performances throughout the film.

What is more intriguing is the accuracy in AI development and the administration of the Turing Test. While the film does a great job explaining what the Turing Test is to non-technical filmgoers, where it excels is with the deeper implications of the Turing Test – to see if Ava can convince Gleeson’s character that she is not only human but a female.

Ex Machina is one of the best films in the subgenre that explores the concept of AI ‘sentience’ and how we might need to redefine how AI systems ‘become aware’.

Additional Lists: Best Hard Sci-Fi Films #3, Best Cyberpunk Films #6

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Plot: Humanity finds a mysterious object buried beneath the lunar surface and sets off to find its origins with the help of HAL 9000, the world’s most advanced supercomputer.

KBZ’s Take: This classic film of Sci-Fi was ranked #2 on our Best Hard Sci-Fi Films list and it’s #1 here due to the enduring influence it has had on various Sci-Fi subgenres including Films About Robots, Films Set in Space, Hard Sci-Fi Films and Films About AI.

For a film that’s now almost 55 years old, it’s amazing how much 2001 got right – from the designs of the spacecraft to outer space to the most infamous AI of all-time – HAL 9000. It helps that the film is based on the novel by Arthur C. Clarke and Clarke himself co-wrote the screenplay. Clarke was one of the premiere writers of Hard Sci-Fi and his involvement (with Director Stanley Kubrick) in 2001, helped inspire future films of the Sci-Fi genre.

Ultimately, what the film is most remembered for and has had the largest impact on every future AI film is its depiction of sentient AI in HAL 9000 and its malfunction due to being unable to resolve a conflict. One of the core themes of the subgenre is the inability of AI to override conflicting directives with its programming. This often leads to subthemes in the subgenre involving AI determining that humanity is the problem so has to takes measure into its own hands (Terminator’s SKYNET) to AI unable to understand human decision-making based on emotion (AI system TAU).

All roads (and themes) of the subgenre lead back to HAL 9000 and for that reason, it’s an easy call to list 2001: A Space Odyssey as the best film about artificial intelligence.

Additional Lists: Best Hard Sci-Fi Films #2

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