Threat, liberation and relationship – how AI is portrayed in films

Over the last few decades, there have been numerous films dedicated to the topic of artificial intelligence (AI). But how has it been portrayed? Our specialist, Mascha Kurpicz-Briki, describes the most common interpretations.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has become a central theme in the film industry in recent decades. From early science fiction classics to modern blockbusters, machines that mimic human intelligence are playing an increasingly important role. As early as 2020, for example, a search for “artificial intelligence” on the film website IMDb returned 735 hits [1].

AI takes on very different roles in the various films. How are applications of artificial intelligence portrayed in films? In the recently published book [1] by Dr Nadine Hammele examines this in detail. To this end, clear criteria were first defined as to which of these films should be included in the analysis. A narrow definition of AI was used; films with cyborgs, robotic beings from alien planets or other artificially created beings were not considered. The focus was also on feature films; non-fiction and documentary films were excluded. Due to the potential cultural differences, the study only considered Western culture. Accordingly, films produced in Europe, the USA, Canada and/or Australia were included. The resulting collection of films included films from the 1970s to the 2010s, which were then analysed and compared, particularly with regard to the narratives used.

Different roles of AI

Based on the analysis [1] three main forms of narratives were distinguished:

• Threat narrative
• Liberation narrative
• Relational narrative

The threat narrative comprises the films in which the entire society (15 films) or individuals (14 films) are put in danger by the AI. The analysis revealed that the threat in the 1970s to 1990s was more related to resilience or physical strength, while in the 2010s it is more about cunning, manipulation skills or networking.

Scene from “I, robot” (Copyright: 2004 Twentieth Century Fox)

The liberation narrative is about the liberation of an AI from humans who want to imprison, reprogramme or destroy it. A distinction was made for this narrative as to whether the AI corresponds to an adult person (11 films) or a person of child or adolescent age (10 films).

The relationship narrative contained stories about romantic love relationships (13 films), parent-child relationships (3 films) and friendly relationships (4 films). Interestingly, it is noted that both the romantic and the parent-child relationships involving an AI fail after some time. In the case of friendly relationships, rejection by the human was initially identified, which could then be overcome through a joint mission.

Confirmation: warlike or peaceful AI

The investigation [1] was able to confirm the previous findings from the literature and, in particular, expand them by further differentiating the categories. The AI is portrayed as evil in the films with the threat narrative and as good in the films with the liberation narrative. In the relationship narrative, this categorisation into warlike or peaceful AI is not as clear-cut, and the portrayal is more ambivalent. Another study also came to the conclusion that AI in films is usually portrayed negatively or ambivalently, but rarely neutrally [2].

Another interesting point is the conclusion that gender stereotypes are still a relevant topic in this type of film in the 21st century. Although it is also about emancipation, the image of female sexualised AI serving men is also reproduced. Future research could therefore address the question of the extent to which new films break with traditional gender roles.

AI in films from other cultures

While the above-mentioned study has shed light on many interesting aspects, the restriction to the Western cultural area brings with it a limitation. The perception of technology and robots can be very different in different regions and can have a corresponding impact on the development of films. A systematic elaboration and comparison of the narratives of AI films in different regions of the world in the future would therefore certainly be an interesting addition to the research described here.

References

• [1] Hammele, N. (2024). Artificial Intelligence in Film: Narratives and their Development from 1970 to 2020. transcript Verlag.
• [2] Murphy, P. (2024). AI in the Movies. Edinburgh University Press.