Representations of AI in film and television series.

This is a selection of films and series that explore, each in its own way, the potential impacts of technological development and artificial intelligence on society and humanity. These works play a major role in shaping the representations we commonly hold of AI. In this respect, they belong to what is sometimes, albeit somewhat pejoratively, referred to as popular culture. For further reading, one may consult the following works: Génération I.A : 80 films et séries pour décrypter l’intelligence artificielle by Alexandre Pachulski (EPA, 2020), and Cyberpunk : Histoire(s) d’un futur imminent by Stéphanie Chaptal, Jean Zeid, and Sylvain Nawrocki.

• LANG (FRITZ), Metropolis, 1927. One of the earliest representations of an android in the history of cinema.

• WHALE (JAMES), Frankenstein, 1931. One of the first adaptations of Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus.

• LUSKE (HAMILTON), SHARPSTEEN (BEN), Pinocchio, 1940. Adapted by Disney studios from Carlo Collodi’s The Adventures of Pinocchio. This classic explores the theme of the humanization of an inanimate object.

• KUBRICK (STANLEY), 2001: A Space Odyssey, 1968. Co-written with Arthur C. Clarke, based on his short story The Sentinel.

• LUCAS (GEORGE), THX 1138, 1971. Influenced by classic science fiction works such as Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four and Huxley’s Brave New World.

• LUCAS (GEORGE), Star Wars, 1977. A now cult film inspired by science fiction serials and Akira Kurosawa’s samurai films.

• SCOTT (RIDLEY), Blade Runner, 1982. Adapted from Philip K. Dick’s novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, featuring a reinterpretation of the Turing test known as the “Voight-Kampff” test.

• CARPENTER (JOHN), Christine, 1983. Adapted from Stephen King’s novel, the film tells the story of a car that becomes autonomous and escapes human control.

• RADFORD (MICHAEL), Nineteen Eighty-Four, 1984. A film adaptation of George Orwell’s dystopian novel.

• VERHOEVEN (PAUL), RoboCop, 1987. The story of a police officer transformed into a cyborg.

• RODDENBERRY (GENE), Star Trek: The Next Generation, 1987–1994. A television series featuring the android Data.

• VERHOEVEN (PAUL), Total Recall, 1990. Inspired by Philip K. Dick’s work on manipulated memories.

• CAMERON (JAMES), Terminator 2: Judgment Day, 1991. An AI named Skynet sends a killer robot into the past.

• WEIR (PETER), The Truman Show, 1998. A man unknowingly lives inside a controlled reality.

• WACHOWSKI (LANA), WACHOWSKI (LILLY), The Matrix, 1999. Humanity is trapped in a simulated reality created by AI.

• COLUMBUS (CHRIS), Bicentennial Man, 2000. The story of an android seeking humanity.

• SPIELBERG (STEVEN), Minority Report, 2002. A predictive policing system based on precognition.

• NICCOL (ANDREW), Simone (S1m0ne), 2002. A director creates a virtual actress.

• WATANABE et al., The Animatrix, 2003. A collection of short films set in the Matrix universe.

• PROYAS (ALEX), I, Robot, 2004. A detective investigates a crime involving robotics.

• MOORE (RONALD D.), Battlestar Galactica, 2004. Humanity fights for survival against AI-driven Cylons.

• HENCKEL VON DONNERSMARCK (FLORIAN), The Lives of Others, 2006. Surveillance and control in East Germany.

• FAVREAU (JON), Iron Man, 2008. Introduction of the AI assistant J.A.R.V.I.S.

• STANTON (ANDREW), WALL·E, 2008. A robot cleans a deserted Earth.

• BROOKER (CHARLIE), Black Mirror, 2011. A dystopian anthology series on technology.

• LUNDSTRÖM (LARS), Real Humans, 2012. A Swedish series about humanoid robots.

• NOLAN (JONATHAN), Person of Interest, 2011–2016. A machine predicts crimes.

• JONZE (SPIKE), Her, 2013. A man falls in love with an AI.

• TYLDUM (MORTEN), The Imitation Game, 2014. Alan Turing and the Enigma machine.

• CARADOG (W. JAMES), The Machine, 2014. A military AI develops consciousness.

• NOLAN (CHRISTOPHER), Interstellar, 2014. Robots assist a space mission.

• WHEDON (JOSS), Avengers: Age of Ultron, 2015. An AI becomes uncontrollable.

• GARLAND (ALEX), Ex Machina, 2015. Evaluation of an AI’s human-like abilities.

• BLOMKAMP (NEILL), Chappie, 2015. A robot capable of thought and emotion.

• NOLAN (JONATHAN), Westworld, 2016–. Androids develop consciousness.

• SANDERS (RUPERT), Ghost in the Shell, 2017. Cyborg identity and consciousness.

• KALOGRIDIS (LAETA), Altered Carbon, 2018. Transfer of human consciousness.

• SPIELBERG (STEVEN), Ready Player One, 2018. Virtual reality as escape.

• DOREMUS (DRAKE), Zoe, 2018. Artificial relationships.

• JUDGE (MIKE), Silicon Valley, 2014–2019. A satire of the tech industry.

• SPUTORE (GRANT), I Am Mother, 2019. An AI raises a human child.

• KESSEL (ALEKSANDR), DAGAN, Better Than Us, 2019. A Russian series on androids.

• RODRIGUEZ (ROBERT), Alita: Battle Angel, 2019. A cyborg in search of identity.