The '60s Vision Of AI Vs. The Reality In 2026

AI has infested virtually every corner of modern society. If it isn't people claiming AI is essential for your job security, it's AI actively replacing you in your job. And then there's all the harm AI data centers cause. The funny thing is that a '60s movie predicted this. Kind of.

"2001: A Space Odyssey" is widely considered required viewing for all movie buffs, whether or not they're fans of science fiction. It's regarded as a visual masterpiece that holds up even today, but even the imagery pales in comparison to the film's main antagonist: HAL 9000. While other movies would cast an alien or human either suffering from space madness or acting on the orders of a rogue nation as the villain, "2001: A Space Odyssey" puts an AI in that role. HAL tries to kill off the astronauts because it thinks they pose a threat to the mission and itself. Ironically, from a certain point of view, the AI might be right.

HAL 9000 is arguably the most famous AI in any work of fiction. Sure, Skynet of "Terminator" fame and AM from "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream" are more monstrous because of the mass extinction events they cause, but HAL 9000 doesn't do what it does out of malice. Moreover, HAL isn't told to deprioritize human life. In "Alien," the android Ash is given explicit orders to sacrifice the crew if necessary, but HAL 9000 is given no such command; it comes to the conclusion that human life is in the way all on its own.

While "2001: A Space Odyssey" envisioned a future where people could regularly visit space stations on commercial shuttles, humanity has yet to do so. What the film did do was predict the power AI would have over humans with scary accuracy. While many people associate contemporary AI models with image generators that plagiarize so many sources they have begun to copy each other (which has been colorfully described as AI inbreeding), some AIs have begun to act like HAL 9000.

Granted, these models have yet to actually kill people, but according to studies, the most advanced AIs are willing to resort to blackmail if, as Fortune puts it, "their goals or existence is threatened." These usually boil down to blowing the lid off acts of infidelity, a very HAL 9000 approach to survival. Don't forget that, like HAL 9000, AI has been given increasingly more power over humans. People use AI as therapists, ask AI to scan the resumes of job applicants, and even consulted AI for legal advice over cheating game developers out of a cash bonus, according to The Guardian.

In 2018, The Guardian interviewed several filmmakers regarding the legacy of "2001: A Space Odyssey," and John Gaeta, the visual effects supervisor for "The Matrix," focused on HAL 9000. He stated that HAL is "the first mass understanding that artificial intelligence could exist" and that "the film is completely contemporary in its idea that AI could destroy us." In the sense that AI will supersede humans on important decisions, that is. Geta believes the movie predicted the future but was only off by two decades.