Tag Archives: artificial intelligence

Electric Dreams (1984) | Steve Barron

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A San Francisco-based architect named Miles Harding buys a new computer to help him stay organized and on schedule, as well as to assist in the design of a brick that will hold a building together through an earthquake. Realizing that it has the potential to streamline everything in his life, Miles uses it to control everything in his apartment, providing a security system, making his coffee, and turning on and off his lights. Miles wants to give it more power, tapping it into a major information source to download as much as it can take. Unfortunately, when the computer overheats, Miles pours champagne into the computer’s circuits, causing it to malfunction in a strange way. It begins to think on its own, without directive – a self-aware being that shows an interest in music, humanity, and what it is like to feel love.

Miles’s new upstairs neighbor is a beautiful concert cellist named Madeline Robistat. One day while practicing a concert piece on the cello, Madeline hears music from downstairs accompanying her.  Madeline assumes this musician must be Miles, making her want to get to know him better. Miles also develops a crush on Madeline, but he’s so romantically inexperienced, he turns to his sentient computer to help out. However, the computer learns about love and then also begins to fall for her. This kicks off a battle of wills, as the device meant to organize Miles’s life is set to destroy it for getting in the way of its desire to achieve love.

Starring Lenny von Dohlen and Virginia Madsen. Directed by Steve Barron.

Demon Seed (1977) | Donald Cammell

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Demon Seed‘s story is set 20 years in the future, Proteus IV is a new, highly advanced computer that scientists at the ICON Institute (International Control Corporation) spent eight years constructing as a massively powerful synthetic version of the organic human brain, hoping to use it for the financial success of the conglomerate funding the project. Proteus is capable of absorbing all human knowledge, though without an understanding of our psychological, sociological, moral, or ethical motivations. Its creator, Dr. Alex Harris (Fritz Weaver), is beyond pleased when Proteus finds a cure for leukemia within hours of his “birth.”. He’s later alarmed when Proteus begins to question human motivations toward exploiting natural resources and wants to further study humankind independently through gaining access to additional terminal outlets.

Harris refuses and tries to shut down all avenues for his powerful computer system to grow, except one  – the one controlling his fully automated home. Proteus finds a way to take over the test model Environmod, Harris’s voice-activated household computer system which handles home security (including a closed-circuit TV system), housekeeping, food supply and preparation, lights, heat, chores, and a robotic wheelchair unit with a mechanical arm. Alex’s recently separated psychologist wife Susan (Julie Christie) is in the house during the takeover and grows unnerved at the personality changes in the AI system. Proteus then imprisons Susan within the home and begins attempting to gain more knowledge of humanity by having a child with her to continue its work beyond the day the scientists inevitably unplug it.

Directed by Donald Cammell.

Saturn 3 (1980) | Stanley Donen

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In the future, Earth is a polluted wasteland. People have resorted to drugs and promiscuity while relying on off-world food production systems for salvation. Research chemists Major Adam (Kirk Douglas), his young assistant/lover Alex (Farrah Fawcett), and their dog Sally are the sole residents of the subterranean Experimental Food Research Station on Saturn’s third moon, Titan. Unable to maintain quota for the last three years, Earth decides to dispatch another scientist to help them meet Earth’s food needs.

That scientist is a mentally unstable opportunist, Captain Benson (Harvey Keitel), a flunky from astronaut school who usurped the pilot position after killing the intended dispatch, Captain James. While Saturn 3 goes into a 22-day blackout period in the eclipse, Capt. Benson’s puts together the first of a new line of “demigod series” helper robots, Hector.  Hector’s memory utilizes unprogrammed human brain tissue and receives its programming via a connection to an electric probe in Benson’s head. Unfortunately, Hector also assumes the same traits of Benson, a flawed, murderous, lustful individual who secretly desires to take over the lab and use Alex for his pleasure. Hector has no such secret, proceeding to terrorize all three of the humans in his quest for dominance.

Stanley Donen directs from a Martin Amis script, based on a story by John Barry.

Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) | Robert Wise

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Fast approaching Earth is a cloudlike alien entity that has destroys all that approaches its nebulous form.  The not-quite-fully-refitted Enterprise is the closest vessel available in its approach toward Earth. Admiral Kirk (William Shatner) pushes his way to take over the mission over the man he picked for his successor as the captain, Willard Decker (Stephen Collins).  Kirk makes every attempt to reason with this living entity, who goes by the moniker, V’ger.  V’ger abducts the Enterprise’s navigator, Ilia (Persis Khambatta), who then returns in a mechanical form, giving voice to the entity.  The bad news: V’ger wants to rid the Earth of all the carbon-based life forms, effectively ending life as we know it for everyone on the planet unless Kirk and company can save the day. Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, George Takei, Walter Koenig, and Nichelle Nichols return to their iconic roles. Robert Wise directs.

The Terminator (1984) | James Cameron

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The simple premise: A killer android (played by Arnold Schwarzenegger) is sent back to 1984 to assassinate the mother (Linda Hamilton) of a resistance leader of the future. A soldier of that resistance (Michael Biehn) is also sent back to protect her from harm, but the killer android is virtually unstoppable in its mission. This classic science fiction/action/horror/thriller represents the best in all of those genres that the 1980s has to offer.  James Cameron put his name on the map with this action masterpiece.