For decades, AI has been cast as a threat in movies — often playing the bad guy who wants to take over the world. But why is its image so negative? And what does that say about our fears of technology?

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Artificial intelligence has frequently been depicted as a villain in movies and television, often reflecting human anxieties about technology. Early examples, such as Robbie the Robot in 'Forbidden Planet', combined human-like traits with an underlying sense of threat, setting a pattern for future portrayals.

Experts suggest that these negative depictions stem from concerns about AI's growing influence and the ethical dilemmas it presents, especially as AI becomes more integrated into daily life. Films like 'Her' and series like 'Person of Interest' highlight both the emotional complexities and surveillance capabilities of AI, raising questions about what it means to be human and whether AI's morality depends on human control.

Why AI is almost always the bad guy in movies

Over the years, AI has appeared in many forms in movies and television series, as robots, computers and even figures that seem almost human. These characters that we love, hate or fear tell us a lot about our relationship with AI. Paula Murphy, a researcher in film and literature at Dublin City University, has written a book about this topic. For me, I think the first clear representation of artificial intelligence is in the 1950s. And it's the character of Robbie the Robot, who appears first in Forbidden Planet in 1956. Robbie was a smart and kind robot with human characteristics, including humor. Still, it was portrayed as a threat. Paula Murphy says that AI is often portrayed as something evil wanting to take over the world. Why? I think AI film reflects human anxieties about artificial intelligence for sure. And that's why we see so many negative portrayals. Those anxieties are perhaps multiplied by the fact that more recent representations of artificial intelligence in film show that our relationship with AI is really intertwined. AI that knows us, shapes us and influences our world is both thrilling and unsettling, especially when love is involved. Like in the movie Her, where the main character Theodore falls for an AI chatbot named Samantha, which makes us wonder… Are they like us or not like us? What does it mean for how we define ourselves as humans if artificial intelligences can exhibit similar emotions and feelings and understandings? Another common on-screen portrayal of AI is as a tool. The series Person of Interest explores the potential for digital surveillance via AI. Once dystopian, things like facial recognition or governments and companies spying on us through our phones are more realistic today. And there are ethical questions like, can AI be fundamentally good or bad? Or does it depend on how we humans control it?

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Why AI is almost always the bad guy in movies

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