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All Rights Reserved. IGN(r) is among the federally registered trademarks of IGN Entertainment, Inc. and may only be used with explicit written permission. News All News Columns PlayStation Xbox Nintendo PC Mobile Movies Television Comics Tech Reviews All Reviews Editor's Choice Game Reviews Movie Reviews TV Show Reviews Tech Reviews Discover Videos Original Shows Popular Trailers Gameplay All Videos Account Settings Security Subscription Email Preferences ISSUE NO. 1 Before Skynet and The Matrix, This 50-Year-Old Movie Predicted the Rise of AI When artificial intelligence becomes a god, who will come to love it? Before Skynet and The Matrix, This 50-Year-Old Movie Predicted the Rise of AI - IGN Image Planet of the Sci-Fi Fan By Scott Collura Updated: Oct 7, 2023 3:50 pm Posted: Oct 7, 2023 2:35 pm Mankind versus a hostile AI! From The Terminator to The Matrix to Ex Machina and beyond, so many movies and TV shows have explored the idea of artificial intelligence attempting to take over the world. Some of these films may be getting on in years, but the best sci-fi never feels dated. For Alien, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and many others, the ideas and concepts at the heart of the truly great films are timeless. It's not the sci-fi trappings like the blinking lights and special effects that make them movies we want to revisit time and again. One of the earliest entries of the AI genre came in 1970 - way before audiences had any real sense of where the digital revolution was about to take the world - with the overlooked classic Colossus: The Forbin Project. It remains, 53 years after it was released, one of the most gripping and prophetic films to ask the question: What happens when we create something that is smarter than us? The film's title refers to Colossus, a super-computer that is basically Skynet 14 years before The Terminator even came out. James Cameron is apparently a fan of Colossus: The Forbin Project, and it doesn't seem like a stretch to say that he and Gale Anne Hurd were at least partially inspired by the 1970 picture when they wrote their franchise-starter. The end of humanity's dominance is only a matter of time for Dr. Charles Forbin (Eric Braeden).The end of humanity's dominance is only a matter of time for Dr. Charles Forbin (Eric Braeden). After kicking things off with the Universal Pictures logo - a rotating Earth that's about to be overcome by a new world order - Colossus immediately if subtly predicts its premise with a pair of shots that quickly flash by. To the sound of trippy electronic sound effects and a vibrating score, we see the beeping light of what is maybe an EKG machine, followed by an out-of-focus eyeball... but wait a second. Is that actually some kind of computer read-out that's beeping? And maybe that's not an eyeball at all, but a camera lens staring at us through hazy focus? In 1970, you couldn't pause the tape... uh, DVD... uh, stream to be sure, though a little later we see that the EKG thingy is in fact a monitor device built into Colossus. But the blurring of the line between computer and human being is clear. And while that's an idea that had so effectively been conveyed just two years earlier with 2001: A Space Odyssey's HAL 9000, Colossus: The Forbin Project took that evolution one step further as its computer eventually approaches something closer to... godhood. What's your favorite movie about AI? ( )The Terminator ( )Terminator 2: Judgment Day ( )2001: A Space Odyssey ( )The Matrix ( )Her ( )Blade Runner ( )Ex Machina ( )AI: Artificial Intelligence ( )Other (Tell us in the comments.) AnswerSee Results Also shooting for godhood, perhaps, is Dr. Charles Forbin (Eric Braeden), the brilliant if short-sighted mind behind Colossus, which the U.S. President (Gordon Pinsent) sees as the ultimate in Cold War technology. A super-computer designed to control the country's nuclear arsenal, Colossus - just like in that song about, well, God - will soon have the whole world in its hands. We first meet Forbin as he tours the top-secret facility where Colossus' brain is housed, switching on gizmos that are meant to portray the most sophisticated computer imaginable in the 1970s, but which look mainly like flashing blinkies and colorful buttons. There's not a touchscreen in sight! Of course, when this film was made, the very notion of how we would interact with computers in the 21st century was inconceivable for most people. The GUI (graphical user interface) that is commonplace now - essentially, interacting with machines through graphics instead of text - wouldn't really be invented for another three years. The microchip had only been created 12 years earlier! So the filmmakers here had to figure out how we would communicate with a computer like Colossus. The answer? Through a LED-light news ticker and a teletype. [forbin-2a-] Considering how often Hollywood has botched its depictions of computers - often endowing them with abilities that don't make sense, like when a character only has to do some fast typing on a keyboard to magically move plot or action forward - it's fairly remarkable how convincing Colossus is as a machine. Convincing and scary. This is what makes good sci-fi - striking imagery or hyper-accurate depictions of future tech are secondary to high stakes and captivating storytelling. Take the scene where Colossus' communication line to its Soviet counterpart - another newborn super-brain called Guardian - is severed by the humans. A world map in the White House situation room shows Colossus trying to find a new path to its sibling. It almost feels desperate - sad - as the computer fruitlessly reaches out for its friend, as depicted visually on the map as various telecom pathways. But then Colossus drops a message on its news ticker: "IF LINK NOT RESTORED ACTION WILL BE TAKEN IMMEDIATELY." Actually, that's not a message. It's a threat. Up until now, the illusion of human control has kept Forbin and the rest on their perch. But when the President gets on the line - the user has to dictate what they want to say to Colossus to an underling, who types it into a device that's even bigger than the typewriter I took to college with me - he makes things worse, and the computer announces that it's launching a nuclear missile directed at the Soviet Union. Guardian does the same, aimed at the US. What follows is a flurry of teletype sounds - type-type-type-type - and beeps and increasingly nervous voices as Forbin tries to negotiate with his creation. The Michel Colombier score intensifies as suddenly we're on a countdown clock. Multiple video conference screens feature the scrambling Soviets while the camera trains on the world map, where simple yellow-white lines indicate the two missiles passing one another on their way to their final destinations. Colossus is a tight 100 minutes of increasingly ratcheted-up tension as the cocky Forbin and the clueless President watch their control of the world disappear utterly and completely. " It's an incredibly gripping sequence, culminating in Forbin giving the computer what it wants. Four tense-as-hell minutes after the first missile launch, the sequence ends with one aborted attack, one destroyed Soviet town, and Colossus one step closer to full dominance over man. That's the type of action the film provides - it's basically just a bunch of guys in a room talking to a news ticker. It's simple and there's no need for high-tech frills. But man, is it unforgettable. Still, it's no surprise that most of the movie posters for Colossus: The Forbin Project focus on a minor character who is gunned down midway through the film, since that death takes place during one of the few more traditional "action" scenes. Directed by Joseph Sargent, a TV helmer who was transitioning to a full-time feature career and would soon turn out the classic NYC subway thriller The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, Colossus is a tight 100 minutes of increasingly ratcheted-up tension as the cocky Forbin and the clueless President watch their control of the world, slowly at first, but eventually in runaway-train-like fashion, disappear utterly and completely. Early in the film, the charming Forbin gives a Steve Jobs-like presentation about how impressive his new tech is (the only thing missing is the black turtleneck). Speaking of Jobs, it's interesting that the not-too-distant future depicted here doesn't seem to have any room for Big Tech. Colossus is apparently a government-funded project, and Forbin has to bend to the will of the President at times - even more so in the book on which the movie is based. That said, the film predicts some of the workplace and lifestyle developments that have since become commonplace for us. Zoom calls are basically a thing, as is a work-from-home ethos - at least for Forbin and his team, who all live on a sort of campus where work and play are intermixed. Eventually, Forbin is forced to live under the constant gaze of an ever-watchful Colossus, which perhaps isn't all that different for some of us who are forever tied to our tech, social media and otherwise. Eventually, Forbin cannot escape the watchful eye of Colossus, not even in his home.Eventually, Forbin cannot escape the watchful eye of Colossus, not even in his home. During that earlier presentation at the White House, Forbin - standing in front of a portrait of Washington no less as he unwittingly signs away mankind's freedom - had asked rhetorically, "Is Colossus capable of creative thought?" His answer at the time is no. So when, shortly thereafter, Colossus outgrows his creator in a matter of days, it's got to be a tough pill to swallow. (In a great sequence, Colossus and Guardian begin to communicate via basic math - 2+2=4 and so on - but before too long, they've advanced to theoretical mathematics and are breaking new ground on topics that the human scientific community hasn't even been close to touching.) But that's the real trick, isn't it? From Frankenstein to HAL to Scarlett Johansson's Samantha in Her, the genre has a long history of man creating something that, once created, can no longer be controlled. Forbin, in his quest for more knowledge and scientific dominance, made a mind greater than his own. Indeed, early on, when he attempts to punish Colossus like a bratty child and seems to briefly win back control of the computer, his assistant asks if he's disappointed. Forbin only chuckles in response, but it's right there: Deep down, there's a part of the scientist who wants his creation to be "more." And if that means letting a super-computer run the planet Earth... Eh, whaddaya gonna do? It's the genie out of the bottle syndrome, and while the current AI situation that we are facing in 2023 may be far less dramatic than Dr. Forbin's nightmare scenario - no AI in the real world has blown up a city yet as far as I know - the bottom line is that much of the reasoning and arguments made in favor of the development of AI are the same as the promises Forbin and the President make: "[It will be used as] an aide to the solution of the many problems that we face on this Earth..." The 25 Best Sci-Fi Movies Aliens, robots, outer space, future Earths, time travel, exquisitely posed questions about the place of humanity within the grand cosmic void -- science fiction is about the intimacy of exploration and the enormity of ideas.

Ever since 1902's A Trip to the Moon, directed by Georges Melies, writers and directors have sought to transfer their exciting hot takes on mankind's ultimate fate to the big screen. Blade Runners, Body Snatchers, Terminators and more, we've scooped up the 25 best sci-fi films for your approval/outrage.

Our selection process? Well, aside from being just a great piece of moviemaking, the top 25 entries required a significant impact on the genre, stories and ideas that raised the bar on what good storytelling can be, pop-culture reaction, originality, and of course editor's choice. 25. Galaxy Quest (1999)

Where to Watch: Prime Video, Fubo, Paramount+

Hailed as the best "non-Star Trek" Star Trek movie, Galaxy Quest is a hilarious love letter to both sci-fi fandom and iconic performers in sci-fi properties perhaps held back in their careers because of their association with said sci-fi. Starring Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, and more as the cast of a beloved yesteryear space exploration series, Galaxy Quest finds the funny in a cosmic fish-out-of-water scenario where actors must battle in space for real and pedantic nerds save they day with their obscure knowledge. It's an absolute blast from start to finish. 26 Images 24. WALL-E (2008)

Where to Watch: Disney+

Finding Nemo's Andrew Stanton went from deep sea to deep space for this delightfully warped trek, seen through the eyes of a trash-bot tasked with cleaning up a centuries-later Earth smothered in garbage.

Laced with satirical social commentary regarding the consequences of excess and pollution, WALL-E is a love story among the landfills and one of the best Pixar movies to date. It's an imaginative romp through the fattened ashes of humanity featuring a mostly-silent, slapstick-prone protagonist finding romance amidst enthralling visuals and an emotionally-charged apocalypse. Evoking the distinguished charm of old silent movies, while still featuring occasional dialogue, WALL-E clings to optimism in the wake of waste. 23. Ex Machina (2014)

Where to Watch: Max

Alex Garland's intimate, close-quarters sci-fi suspense piece Ex Machina centers on a lowly programmer (Domhnall Gleeson) who gets invited to the house of his CEO (Oscar Isaac) to administer the Turing test to the CEO's latest creation -- a humanoid robot (Alicia Vikander). It's an A.I. tale designed to set you on edge and catch you off guard.

As a stylish and savage slow-burn thriller, Ex Machina is the perfect example of the genre taking a huge leap forward with a small-scale film. Sci-fi can be both eye-popping and mind-opening, and quite often it's the more cerebral stories that resonate the loudest. You won't even notice, until it's too late, that Ex Machina is a crazed cautionary tale about the hypothetical terror of technology.22. Inception (2010)

Where to Watch: Rentable on most platforms

Christopher Nolan movies won the hearts and minds of fanboys with Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, but he truly solidified his status as a filmmaker at the top of his game with 2010's Inception. A mind-bending sci-fi stunner that proved Hollywood blockbusters could still be smart while also dazzling us on a visual and visceral level, Inception is certainly one of the best films to hit, sci-fi or not, in this still young 21st century.

Inception doesn't just simply fit into the sci-fi genre; it's a caper film as well as an avant-garde delve into dreamscapes. At the heart of the picture is Leonardo DiCaprio's Dom Cobb, a stricken widower who specializes in a form of corporate espionage that involves stealing information from a mark's mind while they sleep. Of course, as good as Cobb is at his job, it's his own dreams -- including appearances by his dead wife (Marion Cotillard) -- that are his biggest challenge.

Buoyed by a great cast (including Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Elliot Page, Tom Hardy, Ken Watanabe and Michael Caine), stunning visual effects and those rarest of Hollywood commodities -- an original and intelligent script -- Inception is a no-brainer for this list. Unless we're just dreaming all of this, that is...21. Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)

Where to Watch: Paramount+, Showtime apps

"In another life, I would have really liked just doing laundry and taxes with you."

Our most recent entry on this list is an honest-to-goodness Best Picture winner. In fact, the multiversal madness of A24's Everything Everywhere All at Once took home seven Academy Awards, which is one of the most significant feats for an arthouse film in history. Michelle Yeoh stars as a bitter laundromat owner confronted with a dimension-hopping variant of her own husband (Ke Huy Quan) and different branching destinies of her own life as she battles an entity threatening all of existence. It's a rollicking sob-fest, delighting fans with warped humor, uncanny imagination, and powerful heartache. By the end of Colossus: The Forbin Project, the solution to those many problems means that Colossus/Guardian have inherited the Earth, and Forbin is a prisoner in his own life, working as a slave to his creation. Mankind may be better off because of Colossus, but it's no longer calling the shots. The final moments of the film are perfect, early-'70s bleak sci-fi: Forbin finally breaks down in rage and frustration as the now seemingly all-knowing, all-seeing Colossus reads out its benevolent plans for humankind's future. That includes a promise that, in time, Forbin will come to regard the machine with love. That Forbin's last words, as the computer - and we - watch him simultaneously from every angle, are "Never!" means nothing to the AI. See, Colossus has evolved past mere man, and it knows better now. It's got the whole world in its hands. Talk to Executive Editor Scott Collura on Twitter at @ScottCollura, or listen to his Star Trek podcast, Transporter Room 3. Or do both! Planet of the Sci-Fi Fan Column See all [planetscif] [planetscif] 1 issue [planetscif] ISSUE NO. 1 [colossus-c] When AI Becomes God: 50 Years Ago This Movie Predicted the Rise of Artificial Intelligence Recommends When AI Becomes God: 50 Years Ago This Movie Predicted the Rise of Artificial Intelligence [planetscif] ISSUE NO. 1 1d ago When AI Becomes God: 50 Years Ago This Movie Predicted the Rise of Artificial Intelligence 1d ago - When artificial intelligence becomes a god, who will come to love it? Scott Collura 89 Pet Sematary: Bloodlines Review 2d ago Pet Sematary: Bloodlines Review 2d ago - A serviceable prequel unearths Pet Sematary lore Pet Sematary: BloodlinesMatt Donato 62 The 'Half-Sequel' Is the Future, and PlayStation Has a Head Start [playstatio] ISSUE NO. 14 4d ago The 'Half-Sequel' Is the Future, and PlayStation Has a Head Start 4d ago - The 'standalone expansion' label is too harsh for such great games. Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom LibertyMatt Kim 313 Assassin's Creed Mirage Review 4d ago Assassin's Creed Mirage Review 4d ago - A strong return to stealth and sand. Assassin's Creed MirageJarrett Green 918 Forza Motorsport Review 4d ago Forza Motorsport Review 4d ago - Car-spangled banger. Forza MotorsportLuke Reilly 1.7k Where, When, and How to Start Phantom Liberty 12d ago Where, When, and How to Start Phantom Liberty 12d ago - Good things to those who wait. Cyberpunk 2077Matt Kim 36 The Conjuring Movie Timeline, Explained Sep 8, 2023 The Conjuring Movie Timeline, Explained Sep 8, 2023 - Here's how to marathon the Conjuring-verse, including all the prequel films, in timeline order. AnnabelleMatt Fowler 59 How to Watch One Piece Anime in Order Aug 5, 2023 How to Watch One Piece Anime in Order Aug 5, 2023 - The One Piece timeline, explained. One PieceRo Moore Reviews*Starfield Walkthrough*Baldur's Gate 3 Classes Guide*Mortal Kombat 1 Fatalities*GTA 5 Cheats and Cheat Codes*News*IGN Store* Starfield Cheats*Map Genie*HowLongToBeat*Contact Us*IGN YouTube* Guides*IGN TikTok*IGN Twitter*Deals IGN supports Group Black and its mission to increase greater diversity in media voices and media ownership. Group Black's collective includes Cxmmunity, Black Women Talk Tech and AFROPUNK