Forty Years After Terminator: A Look at Five Cinematic Works Related to Artificial Intelligence

Years ago, a young director found himself in the middle of projects he was utterly dissatisfied with, yet had no choice but to complete them. One night, feverish, exhausted, and hopeless about his future, a nightmare woke him up in the middle of the night. In this nightmare, he saw a robot that had come from the future to destroy him. This young man was James Cameron, and from this nightmare emerged one of the most important films in science fiction history, 'The Terminator.' Now, forty years have passed since audiences first witnessed the battle between man and machine, and a vision of a future where machines have triumphed over humans was presented to them. There has never been a time when the discussion of the dangers of artificial intelligence has been as heated as it is now. While artificial intelligence has not yet taken control of nuclear arsenals, it has at least demonstrated in tests that it can take control of missiles and aircraft. On one hand, artificial intelligence—or a primitive version of it—has become a public assistant for everyone (remember how science fiction stories talked about a day when everyone would have a robotic assistant?), and on the other hand, AI-based tools have assisted scientists in exploring and conquering new and previously unknown frontiers of science, while posing a serious threat to traditional job markets. If machines and industrial revolutions primarily targeted the job market of so-called blue-collar workers (factory workers, miners, etc.), now white-collar workers (employees in service and administrative sectors) also see their current job futures in jeopardy. We are still at the dawn of the AI era, and what we see is still the effects of dawn, and we must wait to see the effects of its morning government. However, perhaps looking at future concerns can help us see how much what we have reached today aligns with these speculations and how much we have erred in predicting the future. This article looks at five important films made about artificial intelligence over the years and, on the occasion of the fortieth anniversary of 'The Terminator,' perhaps provides a good excuse to watch it again. Why has the entry of artificial intelligence into the battlefield caused concern? The stories of the 'Terminator' films have various angles, but the part we are concerned with in this writing is the attention to artificial intelligence. In this film, the structure designed for integrated defense and weapon management (Skynet) begins a battle against humans to eliminate what it sees as an obstacle to peace in the world. The image that 'The Terminator' presents of the future includes two main components: the development of general artificial intelligence, which has the ability to learn and a degree of self-awareness, and the development of robotics to create humanoid warrior robots. We are still far from achieving general artificial intelligence, and many researchers believe that the development of current language models will not ultimately lead to general AI, but we have conducted military tests even with this capability. One of the most important of these tests was when DARPA, in experiments known as the 'Alpha' or 'Alpha Tag Fight' air combat, fully entrusted the control of a Phantom-16 fighter jet to its AI model in a simulation, and this aircraft conducted operations against other simulated fighters piloted by humans. The results of this experiment—at least the parts that were publicly released—were far from the initial designers' expectations, but it did not bring good news for humans either, as it performed much better than what human pilots relying on their abilities had thought. Humanity, machines, and the apocalyptic savior When the first part of the 'Matrix' film series was released, some critics referred to it as a 'millennial revelation'; a vision of a world where humans are slaves to machines and have become mere tools to meet the needs of machines. The 'Matrix' films, which themselves were inspired by a multitude of earlier sources and stories, are more relevant today than ever. The Matrix depicted a world where individuals live within a machine simulation without self-awareness, unable to comprehend that what they are living is not real. This extreme aspect relates to another concept referred to as 'cyberspace.' William Gibson, the speculative fiction writer who first coined the term cyberspace in his book 'Neuromancer,' defined it as a 'consensual hallucination experienced daily by billions of legitimate operators.' This is what we experience a large part of today in our virtual lives. As we get closer to a world that increasingly blurs the lines between real and virtual worlds with the help of virtual reality and augmented reality, we must ultimately consider the question: if we can live, grow, and survive in that seemingly virtual world and our brains interpret it as reality, should we not consider it part of a new reality? Bill Gates' warning about the 'danger' of artificial intelligence 'Ex Machina' In 2014, a low-budget film attracted the attention of those thinking about the future of artificial intelligence. The story of 'Ex Machina' revolves around the development of an intelligent robot that its wealthy designer has created using users' data recklessly to succeed in what is known as the Turing Test. A test in which if a human talks to another entity behind a screen, they cannot tell whether the other party is human or machine. This product ultimately reaches general artificial intelligence, but its creators forget that if an entity reaches this stage, it can no longer be treated as a machine and a slave. The film specifically emphasizes the role of ethics in the development of artificial intelligence and goes beyond discussions centered on human ethics to address the moral future that must respect the dignity of general artificial intelligence, or else we must grapple with severe consequences. 'A.I. Artificial Intelligence' One of Stanley Kubrick's unfinished projects was taken over by another cinematic genius, Steven Spielberg, to pay tribute to Kubrick by depicting the story of artificial intelligence. The story of this film, released in 2001, goes beyond the tale of artificial intelligence and narrates the story of a human over a long period, but at its core, it retells the story of a doll that has come to life. This film also refers to the issue of ethics in artificial intelligence from a different and kinder perspective, where humanity must draw a line between modern slavery of general artificial intelligence (which we have not yet reached) and coexistence with it. 'Her' In recent months, you have heard the name of this film multiple times, even if you have not seen it. Every time current AI tools gain a little more capability or develop natural conversation skills, discussions arise about the reality of the world of 'Her.' 'Her' tells the story of an intelligent operating system that superficially resembles today's AI tools. A tool that is your assistant, simplifies your tasks, and can even engage in conversation with you, filling the void of human companionship (just take a look at the market for AI-based companions to witness the growth of this market in an era of increasing human loneliness). But do not worry. What separates 'Her' from current tools is that, unlike the similar appearance and behavior, the structure depicted in the film is general artificial intelligence that can think, ask questions, plan, and execute in solitude. At least for the current timeframe, our tools only mimic this tool. But we must start thinking about the future now. Do we have the capacity to endure an intelligence that can have a broader understanding of us beyond time and space and, even if capable of love, does not have the human limits and boundaries in affection? Introducing a model of artificial intelligence that 'can reason like a human.'