6 films & shows to help you understand Artificial Intelligence

A still from Shalini Kantayya's documentary 'Coded Bias' (2020), now on Netflix, which premiered at Sundance and was Emmy-nominated for Outstanding Science and Technology Documentary and a Critics' Choice Award.

When I was a teenager I watched the 2001 Steven Spielberg film A.I. Artificial Intelligence (currently streaming on Amazon Prime), starring Haley Joel Osment as a humanoid robot (‘David’) that looked like a small boy. David was intended to help two mourning parents get over the loss of their own child. It was a very different story from the “evil killer robots!” template I was used to at that point. While the film did not shy away from the dangerous aspects of technology, it was not an exercise in scaremongering. It forced me to learn more about what concepts like ‘robot’ and ‘artificial intelligence’ actually mean.

Here, then, are some films and TV episodes made in the last decade or so, dwelling upon AI. I have tried to represent as many genres as possible — classic science fiction, dramas, comedies, thrillers, and documentaries. All of these entries are also currently streaming in India (except one, and for that one you can buy the DVD). Hopefully, these films and shows will make you think more deeply about AI.

Joan is Awful (Black Mirror Season 6 Episode 1, streaming on Netflix)

Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror has never shied away from tackling recent and topical themes, which is why it was inevitable to see him writing an episode about AI, art, and appropriation — who can create art, for whom, and at what cost? Annie Murphy plays the titular Joan, a woman who finds out that Streamberry’s (the story’s version of Netflix) is airing a show called Joan Is Awful. Interestingly, the show is being made by a quantum computer using ‘CGI actors’. It fictionalizes episodes from her life, and paints her in the most unflattering light possible, every single time.

Unlike most Black Mirror episodes, this is essentially a light-hearted story, although it talks about some grave issues pertaining to AI, especially for writers and artists and creators of any sort, really. A key element is the fact that Joan’s data is being stolen in real time (from her phone, TV etc) in order to ‘feed’ the AI in question.

After Yang (Apple TV+)

In some ways, Korean-American director Kogonada’s 2021 film After Yang is the spiritual successor to Spielberg’s Artificial Intelligence. Jake (Colin Farrell) and Kyra (Jodie Turner-Smith) have a Chinese adoptive daughter named Mika — as well as a robotic ‘culture unit’ called Yang, supposed to help Mika connect to her heritage. When Yang grows unresponsive, the parents decide to repair the robot-child, because their daughter has become attached and does not wish to say goodbye to her friend. Some extremely subtle questions about memory, communication — and yes, the distinctions between ‘human’ and artificial intelligence — are handled with delicacy and warmth. A must-watch, really, and arguably one of the finest dramas of the 21st century.

The Congress

This is a 2013 part-animated, part-live-action dramatic thriller directed by Ari Folman, the Israeli filmmaker who also made the acclaimed documentary Waltz With Bashir in a similar style. The film stars Robin Wright as a fictional version of herself—an ageing actress who is no longer getting the good roles. She signs over the rights to her digital likeness to a studio named ‘Miramount’ (a combination of real-life studios Miramax and Paramount) in perpetuity. This means Miramount can make new Robin Wright movies without ever paying the actress again or even involving her in any way whatsoever.

This film basically predicted one of the key issues behind the 2023 Hollywood writers’ strike. For this reason alone, you should watch it and possibly, follow it up with newspaper reports about the list of AI-centric demands drawn up by the Hollywood writers. It’s not streaming in India currently, but since this is a 2013 film there’s always the DVD/Blu-Ray options.

Upload (Amazon Prime)

This is a series by Greg Daniels, who created the American version of The Office, and co-created Parks and Recreation, two of the most popular sitcoms of the 21st century. It’s set in 2033, and in this reality people can “upload” themselves into various virtual afterlives, which are created, sold and marketed in the way luxury vacations are in the real world. But can a romantic relationship survive when one party is an AI-created ‘shadow’? Is it possible to fall in love with someone whose whole life is programmed and not chosen? Can AI create a digital ‘heaven’ free from pain and suffering?

Upload has funny, insightful answers to these questions, all wrapped up within the structure and tonality of a romantic sitcom. Robbie Amell and Andy Allo turn in delightful performances as Nathan and Nora, the lead romantic couple of the story.

Coded Bias (Netflix) and The Social Dilemma (Netflix)

I chose to round this list off with a pair of documentaries, both on Netflix, in order to provide viewers with a healthy mixture of fact and fiction.

Shalini Kantayya’s Coded Bias is about two connected and very important issues — the racial prejudice hard-baked into facial recognition systems and the lack of a legal framework around artificial intelligence. Let’s say a local police department uses an AI-based, algorithmic facial recognition system to wrongly punish a man. Legally speaking, who is responsible? Is it the police, the programmer, the company that manufactured this system? Once you go down this rabbit hole, you’ll discover plenty to ponder upon. Two academics featured in this movie — Joy Buolamwini and Timnit Gebru — have done some very valuable work pertaining to AI/algorithm-based systems and their impact on society.

In a similar vein, The Social Dilemma asks viewers to consider an inconvenient truth: the fact that every social media company is collecting and compiling all of our data to train both artificial intelligence (AI) and large language models (LLM). Experts in design ethics and social psychology then explain the current and future impact of this large-scale data dump. These companies already target individuals using their weaknesses and insecurities—AI might just streamline this cynical process and elevate this business of ‘hate-clicks’ to a fine art.

Both these documentaries are highly recommended and if possible, do track down some of these experts on the internet and read their academic work to further enhance your understanding.