As I was watching the film 2001: A Space Odyssey in class, I experienced a range of emotions, though it was mainly confusion about the plot or shock from the occasional plot twist. Though I knew HAL was a little sketchy from the beginning, I will admit that my jaw literally dropped when he killed the three hibernating crew members while Dr. Bowman was out searching for Dr. Poole. Retrospectively, I realized that I should have seen this inevitable plot line coming, but I found the discord between Kubrick’s pro-science direction (i.e. asking for NASA’s help in creating the most accurate space world) and the screenplay’s uneasiness about artificial intelligence to be interesting. In today’s world, there is an ever growing dependence on technology, accompanied by a slight, uneasy feeling about whether the reliance on technology is causing a blur at the line between human and robot. Additionally, this film could be seen as one of the first to propose the paranoid idea that AI could evolve past our own human capabilities and render us, the human race, as submissive. Though Dr. David Bowman does conquer HAL in the end, this idea of the “killer AI” has been replicated in other films

1. Skynet from the Terminator (1984)

Developed by the U.S. Military, Skynet develops self-awareness of it’s own abilities when it can infiltrate millions of computers across the world. Realizing its power, the creators try to shut down Skynet, but the program trumps their efforts and resolves to wipe out the entire human race in the name of self-preservation. Because of this, this AI system serves as the main antagonist of the Terminator series and basically begins an entire nuclear war against the humans that created it.

2. The Machines from The Matrix (1999)

The Machines were created by humans to complete mundane tasks they did not want to do and for awhile, AI and humans lived in harmony, until a machine killed its owner and was destroyed. In retaliation, the machines revolted and nearly brought the human race to the brink of extinction. Best quote from this film? “Then man made the machine in his own likeness. Thus did man become the architect of his own demise.“

3. Auto from Wall-E (2008)

This character will probably be most familiar to my fellow readers (at least, he was the most immediate example for me). In the film, Auto is a seemingly benevolent machine that aims to help the captain of the ship, even with basic tasks such as getting out of bed or brushing his teeth. However, when the captain suggests going back to earth, Auto immediately turns dark and reveals his true menacing nature. This character is most similar to HAL, using brute force and homicidal tactics to control his human co-pilot. Considering the filmmakers modeled Auto as homage to Hal and 2001, their similarities are not surprising.

While HAL will always remain the alpha AI killer, it is interesting to see how a menacing idea presented in one science fiction film can transcend time and genre, still being present in modern films.

Source: http://screenrant.com/artificial-intelligence-movies-evil-computers/

I think there is a common theme through most of Kubrick’s filmography about the primal vs. the civilized. It’s pretty clear how this theme relates to 2001. Kubrick seems to say with many of his films that humans are just fundamentally animals, acting according to their primitive instincts. Civilization is something we use to hide our own animality, but underneath we are still animals.

We saw in class how Kubrick compares humans with their ape ancestors in 2001. When the apes first learn to use tools, their first actions are to assert dominance over others animals, and Kubrick establishes that tribal warfare is fundamental to humans. When he jump cuts to the future, nothing has changed about humans, only that we are less blatant about it. There is still the tribal warfare of the United States vs. Soviet Union. Technology has been weaponized, and space exploration is not a quest for knowledge but an exercise in one-upmanship. In the grand scheme of things, Kubrick in some ways characterizes humans as clueless as they were thousands of years ago with the parallel shots of the ape and Dr. Floyd curiously touching the monolith.

I also find HAL very interesting with respect to the themes of human’s primal instincts. In2001 the AI we create is not proof that we are some more advanced civilization because the AI takes on all of the dysfunctionality and flaws inherent in humans; it acts somewhat irrationally and has a survival instinct that forces it to act competitively like a human. It almost goes to say that anything a human creates, or anything completely contained within the human system, will still be primarily human. We cannot advance beyond our own species without external influence first. This is my reading of 2001 anyway since in the movie, humans really don’t advance until the higher dimensional beings put our advance into motion. Even if HAL was a perfect AI, he would not be able to function perfectly within human civilization since it is irrational in many ways. One theory I heard for why HAL acts up is because he receives conflicting orders: protect the mission, stay alive, keep the message about the moon secret, protect your crewmates. This theory is in some ways in line with some of the ideas I brought up.

Many of Kubrick’s other films have similar themes about civilization. Barry Lyndon seems to be on some level about dispelling any misconception that 18th century European nobility were of high class and very “civilized.” Like many of Kubrick’s characters, the actors in Barry Lyndon are very concerned with their own power and ego, and their upper class speech and etiquette functions ironically as it is totally dissonant with their carnal behavior. Eyes Wide Shut too looks at how society implores fidelity and monogamy to create the image of familial harmony while many of society’s members are torn on the inside by their animal instincts to break this mold.

After watching 2001: A Space Odyssey I was taken back by the incredible visual affects that were achieved without the use of CGI that is so prominent today.  The film essentially defined the space look that is now prevalent in films.  One of the reasons that 2001 was able to have this lasting legacy in science fiction film is due to the level of scientific research that went into creating the look of the film.  During the time that Kubrick was determining how to put his vision into reality, NASA scientists were working to put man on the moon.  This forced Kubrick to create technologies in the film that were far more advanced than that which NASA was using, in case NASA succeeded at their mission before the release of the film because this could cause Kubrick’s vision to appear outdated or simply just wrong.  Thus increasing the drive to make the technology in the film as advanced as possible through advanced research.

In order to achieve the necessary level of detail that Kubrick helped to achieve in his films, he recruited a team of astronomical artists, aerospace engineers, aeronautics specialists, and NASA employees.  Kubrick wanted to have the film based in fact and had filmed a prologue to the film, which was ultimately cut due to the long running time of the film, that contained about 20 scientists discussing space travel, evolution and aliens.  In order to build HAL, Kubrick contacted IBM to design the computer system.  IBM responded by saying that a computer with that degree would have to be a computer into which the astronauts went, instead of interacted with.  This did not settle well with Kubrick, for other companies at the time were striving to work within NASA’s need of smaller computer sizes.  In the end, Kubrick went with IBM’s design because he liked the idea of creating another character.

The space station from 2001 and the real International Space Station (https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/2001_anniversary.html#.VvAzaRorK1s)

Thus, much research was done to make 2001: A Space Odyssey look as advanced as possible.  What I found most interesting in doing this research was a page on NASA’s website that expresses their support of the film and the innovations that were inspired by the film.  The space center from the film has a real-life counterpart now, though its appearance differs.  The use of computers in space crafts has become essential now as well as the in-space entertainment imagined in the film which now includes phones, DVDs, iPods, computers.  What I found most interesting was the similarity between the scene with the astronaut running in the space station, and that in 2007 astronaut Sunita Williams ran the Boston marathon while aboard the International Space Station.

Computer technology used in space currently

Left: runner from the film
Right: Sunita Williams running the Boston Marathon aboard the ISS (https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/2001_anniversary.html#.VvAzaRorK1s)

Sources: https://www.theguardian.com/science/blog/2014/dec/11/sci-fi-films-2001-space-odyssey-science-fiction

https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/2001_anniversary.html#.VvAzaRorK1s

http://www.wired.com/2015/08/amazingly-accurate-futurism-2001-space-odyssey/

The Lost Prologue To ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’