Stanley KubrickThe 1968 science fiction masterpiece, 2001: Space OdysseyThe film needs no introduction or proof. However, AI expert and research specialist Sasha Lucioni has subjected Kubrick’s film to an in-depth analysis to see how accurate it is. In terms of depicting AI and technology standards, Lucioni evaluated the 56-year-old film and offered her review: “We're definitely not there yet.” Well, we hope so.
In a video review for Insider, Lucioni lists several sci-fi movies and rates them based on how accurately they portray AI. Movies like Iron Man, T-shirt, and T-shirterminator 2: doomsday, Mission Impossible – Dead Reckoningand TV series Westworld All of these things are part of the analysis. When you get to Kubrick’s classic film, you focus on HAL 9000, a sentient AI that endangers astronauts and doesn’t comply with one of Isaac Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics (“A robot shall not injure a human being or allow a human being to be injurious through inaction”).
The scene specified in 2001: Space Odyssey Lucioni refers to a person who Where HAL 9000 uses one of its cameras to read the lips of astronauts Dave Bowman and Frank Ball. When they talk about the possibility that HAL made a mistake in diagnosing the failure, the computer denies any mistake and blames it on human error. Bowman and Paul decide to use the EVA capsule to talk and prevent HAL from listening to them. Of course, HAL is able to read their lips and continues his attack.killing Paul and forcing Bowman to risk his life by completely disconnecting the computer. According to Lucioni's analysis of the scene:
“Currently, you can’t really differentiate between different functions the way AI systems are built. We can’t really tell which part of the AI model is doing what… There are AI applications that try to read lips, especially to assist rather than monitor. From what I’ve seen, you really need to face the camera. You need to speak relatively slowly. Anytime there’s a beard or a face mask for example, it’s obviously impossible.
“So I think in this case, since they're speaking from the side, it would be really difficult to use any of the techniques we currently have to read lips because you're not really seeing them speaking on camera.”
Lucioni then addresses HAL's reaction when Bowman begins to disconnect the disks that power him. She describes this method as “old-fashioned,” but not unreasonable. (This includes physically unplugging the devices.) She shares her final assessment after analyzing this scene:
“There are different levels of self-awareness when it comes to a machine or a computer. HAL could certainly be aware of the disconnection of his drives, like the physical absence of a drive that was previously connected and is now disconnected. So that is certainly a form of awareness, it is a form of interpreting physical knowledge and acting on it.
But would an AI be able to associate a disconnected disk with death or no longer existing? So that's more like a metaphysical property that's a bit unclear to me.
I would give the clip a 2/10 because we're not there yet in terms of lip reading, and we're certainly not there yet in terms of self-awareness.
Why 2001: A Space Odyssey is widely considered the best sci-fi movie ever made
Whether or not the film is realistic in its depiction of artificial intelligence, there’s no doubt that the legacy of Kubrick’s deeply existential take on Arthur C. Clarke’s book of the same name is still very much alive, 56 years after its release. Some aspects of the technology are of course outdated, but the overall themes are very relevant to how we have evolved as a society, especially one that relies heavily on technology.
2001: Space Odyssey This film was a first in many ways: the sinister portrayal of technology as a sentient counterpart, the ambitious special effects, and the lack of answers when it comes to solving such a mystery. The truth is that no film since has been so profound in its depiction of the metaphysical and theoretical aspects of our progress as a civilization.
This adds to the film's legacy. It's the best hard science fiction film ever made because it adhered to the genre rules and styles that Kubrick was so accurate in predicting.AI filmmaking is certainly still a thing of the future, but there are some elements so important and beautifully shot that they seem timeless and have nothing to do with the accuracy of the film. 2001 It's also about how you feel: control is just a suggestion, and advanced technology can have the upper hand if we let it.
2001: Space Odyssey
Available to stream on Max.
