Last month I posted about the fascinating Studio 360 public radio show on the making and impact of the film 2001: A Space Odyssey that led me to read a detailed book on the subject Space Odyssey: Stanley Kubrick, Arthur C. Clarke, And The Making Of A Masterpiece by Michael Benson. Today, Studio 360 had the second part of the show, this one focusing on how the film’s computer HAL portrayed Artificial Intelligence and technology, how its predictions compare with the reality now, and the impact the film had on subsequent science fiction films.
In the show today, some people say that the powerful image of HAL becoming malevolent has disillusioned them from inserting even Siri and Alexa into their lives. Tom Hanks, who is a superfan of the film, says that he refuses to use Alexa.
Non Sequitur provides another warning.
Not gonna try to listen (and no obvious transcript to skim), but re proper AIs, I’ve always been most partial to Culture Minds. Benevolent but cognitively superior in a qualitative way.
Let’s face it, HAL was hardly subtle. Or successful.
(Very much not superior)