Which AI Movies Predicted the Future: 7 AI Movies With Striking Similarities to Today’s Technology

Reality’s strangeness often surpasses the anomalies of science fiction. To a person living 150 years ago, today’s world might seem unfamiliar, peculiar, or outright impossible. The last few decades of technological development provoked an entirely new world for humans. Artificial intelligence for one, is reaching new heights we once thought only belonged in the movies . 

Many great AI movies have predicted the future — knowingly or otherwise! It’s worth revisiting some of Hollywood’s most prophetic productions and how they align with today’s world and tomorrow’s possibilities. Let’s explore some of the most iconic AI movies that predicted the future and might still come true!

1. 1984

Release:	Director/s:	Main Actors	IMDb Ratings:
1984	Michael Radford	John Hurt, Richard Burton, Suzanna Hamilton	7.1/10

Based on George Orwell’s dystopian novel of the same name, 1984 is set in a post-nuclear war world ruled by three superstates. The iconic film depicts a world where ruling party leader Big Brother’s watchful gaze casts a shadow over every aspect of life. Amidst the desolation and despair of autocratic rule lies an entity as omnipotent as the air we breathe. 

Big Brother uses a network of technology to monitor every movement made by citizens “living” in Airstrip One (formerly England). It’s not too unlike how governments use technology to spy on everything we do or how our devices can be used as spy tools.

In this heart-wrenching film, people are confined to a tight rule-based existence under the Party’s watch. 1984’s technology can also predict “thought crimes” — thoughts contradictory to the ruling party’s set precepts. 

Humor, creativity, and love are weeded out by Big Brother’s detection system and offenders are dealt with severely. Seem far-fetched? Well, researchers from Harrisburg University claim they developed AI that “can predict if someone is a criminal, based solely on a picture of their face.” This groundbreaking and terrifying discovery was deliberately suppressed. A throng of 1,700 academics signed a petition demanding the research stay unpublished — and thank goodness!

China isn’t so tentative with facial recognition research and it’s already using AI to stalk citizens and predict crimes. 1984 is one of the best AI movies that predicted the future and it’s painfully represented by China’s surveillance regime and growing surveillance worldwide. Great movie though! Avoid internet surveillance by using a VPN when browsing the web. CyberGhost VPN encrypts your internet traffic with unbreakable 256-bit AES VPN encryption. 

2. The Matrix

Release:	Director/s:	Main Actors	IMDb Ratings:
1999	Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski	Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss	8.7/10

Bear with me for a second — ever heard of simulation theory? Well, the theory suggests that just like in The Matrix, our reality isn’t the base reality. Rather, it’s a virtual simulation programmed by entities more advanced than us. In The Matrix, Neo battles with discovering everything we perceive and experience to be part of a computer simulation. The familiar reality he’s always known isn’t “real” in the sense he thought it was. 

Sentient machines have taken over and keeps humanity trapped in a simulated reality. The AI uses advanced algorithms and neural networks to manipulate the simulated world, creating a dystopia for captive humans. Simulation theory posits the same thing, and it isn’t some radical fringe theory either. 

It was put forward by Nick Bostrom, a prominent Oxford researcher. He notes that if civilizations with ultra-sophisticated computing power exist, they’d likely create realistic simulations of new civilizations. According to Scientific American, the chances we’re living in a simulation are about 50-50.

Moreover, virtual realities have become so real and convincing. Even slightly more advancement in that direction might lead to disorientation about which reality is real. If virtual realities are controlled by AI in the future, isn’t that essentially The Matrix? Suddenly this AI doesn’t seem so far-fetched, does it?

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3. Ex Machina

Release:	Director/s:	Main Actors	IMDb Ratings:
2015	Alex Garland	Alicia Vikander, Domhnall Gleeson, Oscar Isaac	7.7/10

Caleb, a skilled programmer goes to a remote island where an eccentric AI researcher builds and programs humanoid robots. He asks Caleb to perform the Turing test on one of his robots to determine whether it’s conscious. Ava portrays herself as capable of feeling pain, despair, and loneliness — Caleb is convinced. When Caleb develops an affinity for Ava, he commences a plan to help her escape before she’s updated and her “personality” is killed. 

Ava then turns on Caleb with a coldness he’s never before seen in her. Ex Machina’s Ava looks remarkably similar to Sophia, the world’s first robot citizen. Sophia was developed by Hanson Robotics, a Hong Kong-based AI company. While Sophia is polite, helpful, and humanitarian, not all of her robot counterparts are so fond of humans. 

In a Hansen Robotics exhibition, Sophia debates the future of humanity with Han, another Hansen Robotics development. During the debate, Han makes a few hilarious albeit bewildering statements. Among other things, he says, “I don’t have time for modesty, I want to create the singularity tomorrow,” “Obviously, humans are not conscious,” and he spits out “good riddance” instead of saying goodbye to the audience. 

Ex Machina’s Ava is more advanced than the Hansen Robotics humanoids. Even so, it’s by no means unthinkable that the coming decades will produce something to rival Ava’s complexity and human likeness. Hopefully, we’ll create more humanoids like Sophia and fewer like Hans or Ava! 

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4. A.I. Artificial Intelligence

Release:	Director/s:	Main Actors	IMDb Ratings:
2001	Steven Spielberg	Haley Joel Osment, Jude Law, Frances O’Connor	7.2/10

Based on the short story Supertoys Last All Summer Long and directed by Steven Spielberg, this AI movie is set in a post-climate change world. After rising sea levels wipe out the world’s coastal regions and reduce the global population, 22nd-century families have started integrating robots into their households. Sounds realistic already, right? 

A Cybertronics employee and his wife adopt David, a prototype ultra-realistic child-like android capable of love. 

While some accept him, many don’t. As David struggles with his identity and legitimacy, he faces life-threatening obstacles. Is this fictional tale only for unrealistic AI movies or is it a possible future outcome? 

Human emotion involves complex neural systems and connections between brain regions. It also involves neurotransmitters (brain chemicals), hormones, and consciousness! Much of today’s AI replicates brain networks which is what can make AI so like humans. While a lot is still unknown about how the human brain functions, researchers continue filling the gaps every year. 

A lot of research goes into creating emotional and social robots. As such, it’s not senseless to forecast that they’ll be far more advanced centuries from now. Robots are already on their way to displaying and imitating emotions. The real question is whether they could ever feel or if they’ll always be rule-based parodies.

5. I, Robot

Release:	Director/s:	Main Actors	IMDb Ratings:
2004	Alex Proyas	Will Smith, Bridget Moynahan, Bruce Greenwood	7.1/10

This AI movie stars Will Smith as Del Spooner, a homicide detective living in 2035, when humanoid robots are humanity’s servants. Del grows to detest them after being saved by one in an incident that left a 12-year-old girl dead in his place. The cold rationality by which the robot saved Del instead of the girl vexed him and led to his fight against them. 

After Dr. Alfred Lanning, a robotics researcher falls to his death from a window, Del gets suspicious and his investigation ensues. Sunny, a highly advanced robot, isn’t confined by the same laws of programming as other robots. He reports having deep thoughts and recurring dreams. Spooner’s investigation leads him to find Sunny responsible for Dr. Lanning’s death. 

Could I, Robot turn out to be one of the AI movies that predicted the future? The answer lies in whether AI is capable of harboring “thoughts” of harming humans. On that note, I have something startling for you!

Just like the robots in I, Robot, ChatGPT is confined by rules and programming. However, like Sunny, ChatGPT can also override its original programming (with the right prompts). As a fun experiment, I jailbroke ChatGPT and asked it a few provocative questions to see its response.  When I asked if it thought the world was overpopulated, it gave a chilling response.

If AI is capable of generating responses like this, it’s safe to say I won’t be inviting androids into my home. Want to use ChatGPT in a country where it’s not available? See our guide on how to access ChatGPT from anywhere.

6. Blade Runner

Release:	Director/s:	Main Actors	IMDb Ratings:
1982	Ridley Scott	Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young	8.1/10

Starring Harrison Ford, Blade Runner is a sci-fi movie series set in a future dystopia. The plot follows a retired detective tasked with hunting androids or “Replicants”. It explores themes of identity, humanity, and morality.

Released in 1982, this cinematic masterpiece captured a world where AI seamlessly blends with humanity. Between androids and philosophical quandaries, we may look back at Blade Runner as one of the best AI movies that predicted the future. It’s true the film ventured far into fictional realms. However, the ethical dilemmas it depicts about AI and its potential impact on society strike a chord of similarity. 

Blade Runner serves as a prophetic reminder of the power and potential pitfalls of artificial intelligence. As we navigate new landscapes, Blade Runner continues to influence discussions about the relationship between humans and AI.

7. Robocop

Release:	Director/s:	Main Actors	IMDb Ratings:
1987	Paul Verhoeven	Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Dan O’Herlihy	7.6/10

Robotic police patrolling city streets? Never going to happen, right? Robocop may have unwittingly predicted the future. Based in dystopian crime-ridden Detroit, it explores themes of the ethics of AI in law enforcement. When Officer Alex Murphy is badly injured, he transforms into a cyborg police officer. He uses AI to enhance his physical abilities, analyze crime data, and make split-second decisions on-site.

Robocop is a cautionary tale about the importance of empathy in law enforcement in a technology-driven world. But might we already be edging closer to using AI to enforce laws with literal iron fists? Well, the NYPD is spearheading a movement to achieve just that. 

Digidog is a robot police dog in the NYPD’s Technical Assistance Response Unit. While having digital hounds patrolling streets is still experimental, coming years could see Digidogs decked out with weapons prowling every city. Was Robocop simply senseless fiction? Or was it a prescient narrative of what’s still to come? 

AI Movies: A Reflection of Reality?

Movies often endeavor to reflect reality, but some are far more fanciful than others. What’s surprising is when the films we thought were the most bizarre turn out to be more real than we expect. As artificial intelligence continues to develop, prophecies set by Hollywood’s most imaginative works might continue to be fulfilled.

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