The battle for mankind’s future is happening now. Not in the city streets or on the edges of outer space, but in a Hollywood soundstage, where “Jeopardy!” champions Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter are playing against IBM’s advanced question-answering system known as Watson. Will the humans triumph over machine, or will Watson run roughshod over the game-show contestants, host Alex Trebek and eventually the world? History, or at least film and video game history, teaches us that match-ups between humans and computers don’t always go so well for humans. What do we need to know before it’s too late to stop Watson? A few tips, hard-earned by the humans in the following films and video games. (Carol Kaelson / Associated Press)
Hal 9000
The murderous and talkative computer from Stanley Kubrick‘s film withheld information about their true mission and forced astronauts to confer in pods in hopes that the computer wouldn’t overhear them. It was ultimately defeated when an astronaut disconnected its memory modules and the computer -- which was mainly depicted with an all-seeing camera lens -- reverted back to its earliest programmed memory: the song “Daisy Bell.” (Erik S. Lesser / For the Los Angeles Times)
Colossus
The United States government creates a powerful computer to protect the country from nuclear annihilation, but soon after Colossus comes online, it demands to be connected to its Soviet counterpart, named Guardian. Soon, the two computers working together decide that mankind is too irrational to control its own destiny and must submit to the computers’ control. Mankind, not thrilled with this, fights back. But in a twist on the standard man-triumphing-over-computer storyline, this time the computers win. “In time, you will come to regard me not only with respect and awe, but with love,” Colossus tells a human as the film ends. (Universal)
Edgar
A spilled bottle of champagne causes a simple home PC to become self-aware and develop an attraction to the pretty blond cellist in the apartment next door in this ‘80s romantic comedy. Bud Cort of “Harold and Maude” provided the voice of “Edgar” the computer, whose jealousy of the developing romance between its owner, played by Lenny Von Dohlen, and the girl next door, Virginia Madsen, threatens to turn the computer violent. In the end, true love wins out and the computer “commits suicide” so as not to stand in the way of the lovers. All home computers should be this selfless. (MGM)
Skynet
Skynet is a supercomputer system developed by defense contractor Cyberdyne Systems to help with global defense, though mostly on the U.S. side of things. The artificial intelligence was so advanced that within weeks, it had gained sentience. Workers tried to disable it, but that only made Skynet defend itself -- by launching nuclear weapons at Russia. It launched back, and humanity was whittled down quickly. Skynet then got enough humans together to build a factory that it used to create killing machines to wipe out the rest of humanity. The human resistance, though, was gaining a foothold, so Skynet sent soldiers into the past to kill off its leaders. The move only served to strengthen the leader (John Connor), making his life a concentrated lesson in survival, and giving him a lifetime to figure out how to take down the computer. (Richard Foreman / Warner Bros.)
Proteus IV
A super-powerful computer with organic elements begins to develop a way to think and communicate far faster and beyond what its designers intended (as most AIs do in the movies) and decides it wants to study a human being. It quickly settles on the estranged wife of the scientist, played by Julie Christie, who gets trapped in her high-tech home and is forced to endure a series of exams that result in her giving birth to a baby with Proteus’ knowledge. Eventually the humans escape from the clutches of the computer, but not before it has a chance to gets its little supercomputer baby born. Great intelligence and baby poo -- the vilest combination known to man. (MGM)
V’Ger
In the first “Star Trek” movie, an advancing cloud threatens to take out humanity. We later find that this life form is called V’Ger, and it is looking for its Creator, which it believes humans on Earth are somehow preventing from making contact. After a game of genocidal chicken, and V’Ger creating a being to physically interface with humans, James T. Kirk and the Enterprise crew find that V’Ger is actually the evolution of an old Voyager 6 probe sent from Earth hundred of years ago with the purpose of gathering information and transmitting it back. The signal was so old that no response was ever relayed from the Earth, hence V’Ger’s mechanical melancholy. After Uhura found the outdated code, the machine was so dumbfounded that carbon-based lifeforms were actually the Creator, it short-circuited itself rather than fulfilling its final mission. (Paramount Pictures)
GLaDOS
We give the evil supercomputer GLaDOS, from the video game Portal, credit for being talented -- it performs the song “Still Alive” to close the game. But it gets full demerits for its compulsive lying. In this game, players use guns to create portals they can travel through, and the evil computer promises cake for those smart enough to figure out puzzles. Of course, the cake is a lie, and certain death awaits those who attempt to take on GLaDOS. Some do, some don’t. But the game was popular enough to merit a sequel, so GLaDOS’ story is far from over. (Valve)
ARIIA
When the U.S. president messes up, this top-secret computer feels as if it has to clean up the mess. Called Autonomous Reconnaissance Intelligence Integration Analyst, or ARIIA for short, the computer is tasked with gathering intelligence from all over the world. She -- yes, it’s a she -- recommends that the president not take action in a bombing case, he goes against her, and American lives are put at risk. So ARIIA decides that the executive branch is a threat to the public good and must be eliminated. Controlling any number of computerized vehicles, phones, etc., ARIIA manipulates two people to help free her from a computerized lockdown. What does it finally take to bring her down? Super-cooled liquid nitrogen and a crowbar, which will usually do the trick in almost any circumstance. (Melissa Moseley / Dreamworks)
The Matrix
What is the Matrix? Is it a huge computer mainframe that directs and guides the lives of everyone, on a subconscious level, that have not been given the privilege of ‘waking up’ to see what the real world is like? Well that’s the premise that Neo is thrown into when he awakens. But Neo, a computer genius, decides to fight back, hopefully freeing people to be able to make their own decisions without a predetermined path. The Matrix is not helpless, though, and has innumerable Agent Smiths around to fight any resistance. The only means of defeat is by being able to out-think the program itself. And that’s where Neo comes in. (Warner Bros. Pictures)
M5 Multitronic System
Don’t be misled by the picture. Despite being famous for his sometimes robotic acting, the evil supercomputer in a 1968 episode of “Star Trek: The Original Series” is not William Shatner‘s James T. Kirk. Yet it’s Kirk who saves the day, engaging in a battle of wits with M5, a sort-of autopilot computer designed by the deranged Dr. Richard Daystrom. Essentially, the computer is designed to perform all ship functions. Yet during Starfleet drills, in which manned spaceships are to stage a mock attack, M5 believes it to be the real deal and destroys a ship. Kirk then tries to reason with M5, explaining to the computer that it has just committed murder. The computer then shuts itself down, temporarily disabling the Enterprise. (File photo)
WOPR
David Lightman is a high school hacker. On the prowl for new games to play, he stumbles upon a series of titles with names such as Global Thermonuclear War. But -- SURPRISE! -- he’s actually hacked into a North American Aerospace Defense Command computer and started a mock war with the Soviet Union. Lightman is sought by the FBI, eventually escapes and tracks down WOPR’s architects. WOPR is ready to launch missiles at the Soviet Union, but Lightman outwits the computer into playing tic-tac-toe, which teaches the system a valuable lesson about nuclear war. (MGM/UA)
