Speculative Fiction Tropes: Artificial Intelligence

Today marks my first foray into the April A-Z Challenge. This month, I'll be blogging (almost) daily about a different speculative fiction trope, one for each letter of the alphabet. Today's entry is on artificial intelligence.

As a child, 2001: A Space Odyssey introduced me to the concept of artificial intelligence (and the dangers therein). Written by Arthur C. Clarke and directed by Stanley Kubrik, it tells the story of a group of astronauts on a mission to Jupiter to investigate a mysterious anomaly. The mission is jeopardized when their ship's artificially intelligent computer system malfunctions and goes on a killing spree.

The HAL 9000 computer is one of the most compelling antagonists in the history of film, and served as a perfectly realized example of what might go wrong in a world where such technological wonders exist.

In the real world, we've yet to tread the deep waters explored by science fiction. I doubt Siri will be controlling the pod bay doors anytime soon. In fact, you're more likely to hear the term AI used in reference to the tactical abilities of a computer-controlled video game character than an actual personified intelligence. Real world AI research is highly technical, acutely divided into specialized subfields that tackle each aspect of the various boundaries that exist between current technology and the long-term goal of general machine intelligence that can think and problem solve the way we do.

In the meantime, science fiction writers have been exploring the concept in great depth, examining the potential benefits of such technology--as well as the deadly pitfalls. Many stories involving AI indulge the "Frankenstein Complex," a term coined by Isaac Asimov in his Robot series that refers to humanity's innate fear of mechanical men. These stories often take the premise of intelligent machines that turn on their creators to apocalyptic extremes. From The Matrix to The Terminator to Mass Effect, popular Science Fiction works in just about every form of media have explored this idea. We humans don't generally fair too well when the machines decide to rise.

Still, other works have presented a more optimistic view on AI. In the aforementioned Robot series, Asimov presents a world in which artificially intelligent automatons take on vital roles in human society, eventually going from subservient household appliances to a fully sentient race, becoming embroiled in a new civil rights debate along the way. In the Halo video game series, computer-based AIs serve as everything from instructors and advisers in educational facilities to systems administrators on interstellar starships (though it's worth noting that AI programs in this universe are given a limited lifespan à la Blade Runner to prevent them from contracting rampancy). And Star Trek fans will of course be familiar with Lt. Commander Data, an android who serves as an officer aboard the starship Enterprise. Interestingly enough, Star Trek also gave us The Borg, which could be seen as a transhuman take on the malevolent AI concept.

I've yet to write any stories that incorporate the AI trope, but I remain fascinated with it. What is it that's so intriguing (and menacing) about the idea that we may one day create an intelligence that rivals or eclipses our own from scratch? Is it the old "mankind shouldn't play God" paradigm that often permeates scientific discussion and debate? Perhaps it's a ready belief in our own inadequacy, that we can't be trusted to foresee the far-reaching consequences of our increasingly grand actions. And then there's Murphy's Law, which in this case states that if a super-intelligent AI can go rampant and orchestrate the end of humankind as we know it, it most certainly will at some point.

The examples I've mentioned here are only a few of my favorites. I don't know if we'll ever see a real world example of true artificial intelligence in our lifetimes, but it's an idea that continues to captivate. Though it's use in fiction certainly falls under trope status, I don't think it's reached cliche territory just yet (when handled well). There are still lots of intriguing angles to attack this idea from, and perhaps there's even some philosophical territory yet to be explored.

Recommended Reading

2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke
The Last Question by Isaac Asimov

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein

Recommended Viewing:
The Terminator 
The Matrix 
Battlestar Galactica 

Recommended Gaming:
Portal series
Mass Effect series
Marathon/Halo series