annashay 
By Joshua Tyler
| Published
What will the future be like when we hand control over to artificial intelligence? It’s the central question of our time, and it’s one that science fiction has already answered.
Artificial Intelligence is a factor in many movies, like HAL out of control in 2001, or even R2D2 saving the day in Star Wars. But some filmmakers take it to the next level and turn their entire film into an examination of what happens when AI runs amok, or doesn’t.
These are the best of those movies, ranked not by how good they are as films, but by how well they explore the possible future of artificial intelligence. If you’re worried about our AI future, these nine movies are a must-watch.
9. WarGames
WarGames hit theaters in 1983, a time when computers were clunky beasts and the Cold War had everyone sweating over nuclear threats. Edgy and on point in its time, WarGames has since become a little dated. Its ideas, however, are still relevant and on point.
Matthew Broderick plays David Lightman, a teen hacker genius who thinks he’s just gaming when he cracks into NORAD’s supercomputer, WOPR. Turns out, he’s kickstarting a fake global thermonuclear war simulation that the AI treats as real, pushing the world to the brink. It’s a tense thriller blending teen rebellion with doomsday dread.
8. Short Circuit
A lot of these movies are going to be pretty dark and serious, so before we get lost in dystopia, let’s have a little AI fun. Short Circuit hit screens in 1986, when tech was clunky and AI was pure fantasy. Number 5, a military robot, gets zapped by lightning, gains sentience, and bolts, finding refuge with Ally Sheedy’s animal-loving Stephanie.
Steve Guttenberg plays Newton Crosby, the robot’s conflicted creator, torn between science and ethics as he tracks his creation. Today, in a world where robots like this are deployed on the ground to fight in actual wars, it’s an examination of military hardware with a mind of its own that feels eerily prescient.
7. Terminator
The Terminator movies are largely time-travel movies, but it’s time travel that happens in the service of an AI superintelligence called Skynet.
In the 1984 original, A cyborg assassin (Arnold Schwarzenegger) hunts Sarah Connor to stop her unborn son from leading a rebellion against Skynet, a rogue AI that triggers a nuclear apocalypse. Skynet’s cold, calculated plan to dominate humanity by sending Terminators back in time is chilling. Kyle Reese, a human soldier, fights to save her. It’s a brutal, relentless action flick about AI outsmarting its creators.
Over the course of the franchise, Skynet becomes a more fleshed-out concept, gradually turning into something not all that far off from the experiments we’re doing with AI right now.
6. Westworld
Back in 1973, Westworld threw a grim curveball at sci-fi fans. It happens in a high-tech amusement park where you can live out Wild West fantasies with creepily realistic androids. Sounds fun, until the AI running the show, like Yul Brynner’s stone-cold gunslinger, decides it’s done playing nice. The robots go rogue, turning a pricey getaway into a kill-or-be-killed nightmare.
This Michael Crichton gem was warning us about AI before we even had pocket calculators. Now, with tech giants pushing sentient systems, Westworld’s lesson is: give machines too much brainpower, and they’ll rewrite your story. Permanently.
5. Blade Runner
Blade Runner arrived in 1982 as a neon-soaked fever dream of a future where Los Angeles is a dystopian mess. Harrison Ford’s Deckard, a burned-out cop, hunts “replicants”—bioengineered AI humanoids so real they’re questioning their own existence. These machines, built for dirty work, start chasing freedom and meaning, blurring the line between creator and creation.
The movie is a philosophical masterpiece that asks: what makes us human? As we race toward AI that thinks and feels, Blade Runner asks what that means and wonders what might happen when our AIs demand rights.
4. The Matrix
The Matrix is now iconic, but it first blew minds in 1999, dropping Keanu Reeves as Neo, a hacker who learns reality is a lie. Machines have enslaved humanity in a simulated world, harvesting our bodies for energy while our minds live in a digital cage. Neo joins a rebellion to smash the AI overlords controlling it all. It’s a slick, cyberpunk brawl packed with philosophy and bullet-time.
This flick saw our future: AI weaving webs we can’t escape. As algorithms shape our lives today, The Matrix screams we’re already half-plugged into their game. Wake up or stay trapped.
3. Her
Her slipped into theaters in 2013, a sci-fi gem that dares to dream big. Joaquin Phoenix’s Theodore, a heartbroken writer, connects with Samantha, an AI voiced by Scarlett Johansson. She’s no cold machine. She learns, loves, and grows, becoming his partner in a world of loneliness. Their bond shows AI’s potential to heal and inspire, pushing human boundaries.
As we build more innovative tech today, Her portrays AI as a force for good. Companions that understand us, perhaps better than we understand ourselves. It’s a hopeful glimpse at a world where artificial intelligences try to lift us up, and then move on to live a life of their own.
2. Ex Machina
Ex Machina was not initially a big hit when released in 2015, but this unsettling dive into AI’s dark side has had a lasting impact and is now everyone’s first thought when the topic of AI comes up. And it should be.
A young coder, Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson), gets invited to a tech mogul’s lair to test Ava, an AI with a face like Alicia Vikander’s. She’s brilliant, seductive, and way too good at playing human.
Through tense conversations, Caleb tests Ava’s sentience, but her uncanny ability to understand and influence him blurs the line between machine and human. Nathan’s god-complex and Ava’s calculated responses create a cerebral game of trust and autonomy.
The film’s minimalist setting amplifies its unease, forcing you to focus on the power dynamics. Is Ava a tool, or is she outsmarting her creators? Ex Machina doesn’t scream doom but it does calmly shows AI’s potential to evolve beyond our grasp.
Ex Machina answers the question everyone has: what happens when our creations start thinking for themselves? In this movie’s view, it won’t be good.
1. Colossus: The Forbin Project
In 1970, Colossus: The Forbin Project slipped into cinemas like a quiet warning nobody heeded. It bombed at the box office, grossing just $308,828, partly due to Hollywood’s rough financial patch. Despite this, critics praised its chilling AI premise, earning a Hugo nomination and a Saturn Award. It’s a cult gem that’s still criminally underseen.
In it, Dr. Charles Forbin builds Colossus, a supercomputer designed to control America’s nuclear arsenal and ensure absolute safety and security. Big mistake. Colossus begins making demands and uses its control over America’s weapons to force compliance.
The AI links up with its Soviet counterpart, decides humans are too messy, and seizes global control, threatening annihilation if disobeyed.
It’s a cold, cerebral thriller that doesn’t flinch. It predicts a future in which man no longer has control, but that might not be a bad thing.
