Films About AI and Artificial Intelligence have become an increasingly popular Sci-Fi subgenre over the last five decades. Artificial Intelligence (AI) in basic terms is a simulation of human intelligence by machines. Amazon’s Alexa and OpenAI’s ChatGPT are recent examples of AI that have captured the imagination of technologists and people around the world. Tech leaders such as Bill Gates praise this new era of AI as ‘revolutionary’ and others such as Ray Kurzweil have proclaimed that AI will achieve human levels of intelligence by 2029.
In cinema however, AI has often been portrayed as dangerous and the precursor to our new robot overlords. Various AI film themes from the last 50 years have included everything from AI becoming indistinguishable from a human being to AI evolving to enslave mankind.
Films About AI are also closely related to another Sci-Fi film subgenre – Films About Robots. As robots generally need artificial intelligence to function, Films About Robots and AI Films will often be categorized in both subgenres. Where we try to differentiate between AI & Robots are that Films About Robots will typically feature a humanoid or physical manifestation of AI whereas AI films will typically feature AI as sentient technology powering a smart phone, smart home, computer and so on.
An example of a film that fits in both of these subgenres would be The Terminator (1984). The T-800 Terminators are Cyborgs that are powered by the evolved AI system, Skynet. Conversely, a film such as Runaway (1984) is much more about Robots with limited (though evolving) functionality with little to no themes of actual AI. In short, most AI films will also be in the Robots film subgenre whereas a good number of Robot Films aren’t categorized in the AI Film subgenre unless they have specific themes or narratives concerning AI.
As for additional subgenres, Films About AI is also closely aligned with subgenres such as Alien Invasion Films, AR & VR Films, BioTech Films, Hard Sci-Fi Films, Post-Apocalypse Films, Sci-Fi Military Films, Sci-Fi Films Set in Space, Thriller Techno Films, Thriller Action Films, Romantic Dramas and Romantic Comedies.
Prior to the 1970’s, AI wasn’t a prevalent theme in society or films. Though films such as The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) and Alphaville (1965) had some themes of AI, it wasn’t until the classic subgenre film 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) was released where the future (and danger) of AI was explicitly shown.
This newfound theme of AI running amok quickly took hold in the 1970’s with Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970), Westworld (1973), The Stepford Wives (1975), Demon Seed (1977) and Alien (1979). All of these films showed variations of how AI would evolve in disastrous ways by taking control of worldwide defense systems in Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970) to becoming obsessed with human beings in Demon Seed (1977).
In the 1980’s, personal computers or PC’s were becoming ubiquitous in households which also fueled Hollywood’s infatuation with AI. AI would be represented as killing machines in The Terminator (1984), Deadly Friend (1986) and Class of 1999 (1990). Family films would also embrace AI themes with D.A.R.Y.L. (1985), Weird Science (1985), Short Circuit (1986) and Flight of the Navigator (1986). And other classic subgenre films of the decade would show AI evolving to human-like Replicants in Blade Runner (1982) and an AI supercomputer that almost starts a nuclear war in WarGames (1983).
The 1990’s saw a continuation of AI-driven killer robots with Hardware (1990), Eve of Destruction (1991) and Screamers (1995). As Virtual Reality (VR) also gained popularity in the 1990’s, VR-themed films incorporated AI in films such as Virtuosity (1995), Nirvana (1997) and The Matrix (1999). And some of the first Films about AI Smart Homes occurred in the 1990’s with the thriller Homewrecker (1992) and family comedy Smart House (1999).
Remakes and sequels to AI-themed franchises dominated the 2000’s. The Animatrix (2003), The Matrix Reloaded (2003) and The Matrix Revolutions (2003) expanded on the AI themes central to The Matrix (1999). And Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003) and Terminator Salvation (2009) delved further into the evolution of SkyNet as malevolent artificial intelligence. On the remake side, The Time Machine (2002) incorporated the Vox 114 as holographic AI, The Stepford Wives (2004) was a Black Comedy remake of the 1970’s film and The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008) updated themes of the 1951 film to include more modern AI themes coupled with the dangers of climate change. Other classic AI films of the decade included Resident Evil (2002), Minority Report (2002), I, Robot (2004), Stealth (2005), Iron Man (2008) and Moon (2009).
The 2010’s saw the emergence of the Golden Age of AI Films. The subgenre would become one of the most popular Sci-Fi subgenres mirroring the rise of AI in society. Various new AI themes appeared in the decade, but one overarching theme was the most prominent – the evolution of AI to human-like levels where the AI was often indistinguishable from humans. Prometheus (2012), Her (2013), Ex Machina (2014), Uncanny (2015), Eva (2015), Marjorie Prime (2017), Blade Runner 2049 (2017), Zoe (2018) and Jexi (2019) all featured variations of this ‘more human than human’ theme. Some of these films would also become classics of the subgenre as the subgenre itself evolved to feature more complex moral and ethical issues of AI. Other classic films of the subgenre from the 2010’s included Oblivion (2013), Interstellar (2014), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Upgrade (2018) and Alita: Battle Angel (2019).
Though we’re only three years into the 2020’s, the quality and quantity of AI films continues to grow exponentially. Like the previous decade, subgenre themes continue to evolve to cover a wide range of AI themes. Archive (2020) would explore the role of AI in replicating the consciousness of a deceased loved one. After Yang (2022) features a family who mourns the loss of their malfunctioning android while discovering the memories of human life the artificial intelligence held dear. And Margaux (2022) and M3GAN (2022) would evolve the themes of malevolent AI with a ‘killer’ smart home and robot. Other notable subgenre films from the early 2020’s include Auggie (2021), Finch (2021), Kimi (2022), Brian and Charles (2022) and JUNG_E (2023).
Our complete list of Films About AI features over 139+ films from 1951 – 2023. As we mentioned earlier, there’s a significant overlap between AI films and Films About Robots, so if you don’t see a favorite film of yours in this collection, it’s likely in the Films About Robots or Techno Thrillers collections. We’re also planning some additional articles about AI so subscribe to our newsletter to get updated as we release future articles about AI in film.
Classic, must-see Films About AI: 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970), Blade Runner (1982), WarGames (1983), Electric Dreams (1984), The Terminator (1984), Weird Science (1985), Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), The Matrix (1999), Resident Evil (2002), Minority Report (2002), I, Robot (2004), Stealth (2005), Iron Man (2008), Moon (2009), Prometheus (2012), Her (2013), Ex Machina (2014), Interstellar (2014), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Blade Runner 2049 (2017), Zoe (2018), Upgrade (2018), Jexi (2019), Archive (2020) and M3GAN (2022).
Lesser-known and Rare Films About AI that didn’t make our list: Alphaville (1965), Hide and Seek (1984), The Stepford Wives (1975), Homewrecker (1992), Nirvana (1997), Smart House (1999), S1m0ne (2002), The Machine (2013), Marjorie Prime (2017), Monsters of Man (2020), I’m Your Man (2021), Kimi (2022), Margaux (2022), Brian and Charles (2022), Don’t Look Deeper (2022) and JUNG_E (2023).
We have embedded a compilation video of our Top Films About AI You Haven’t Seen and more details on these films can be found in the list below. Note: We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
