Long before AI startups caused a stir in Silicon Valley, science fiction movies and literature explored the possibilities of the once-elusive technology. From Marvin the Paranoid Android in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy to Iron Man's J.A.R.V.I.S., AI allies and adversaries have graced the silver screen, sparking inspiration for a new wave of tech visionaries.
The best sci-fi films have predicted the capabilities and features of AI tech years (and sometimes even decades) before the advent of products like ChatGPT and Midjourney.
We asked 10 of today's leading AI technologists for their favorite AI flick—the film that provides the most accurate, nuanced, or prescient depiction of artificial intelligence. Each person was limited to nominating just one movie, and we asked them to explain why they felt the movie offered the most spot-on take on AI.
As you might expect, the 2013 Spike Jonze film Her is at the top of the list for many of today's most influential AI leaders. But we also received a surprising variety of other film nominations that these AI leaders felt had something important to say about the technology. So grab the popcorn and a cozy blanket, and let's unravel the movie preferences of these AI maestros.
Luis Ceze, cofounder and CEO of OctoML
Top movie: Her
"Her is my favorite AI movie because, first, it’s a great movie," Ceze said. "It also showed a clear depiction of conversational AI in a natural way, which in many ways generative AI is realizing today. So natural that it led to clear intellectual and emotional connection between the human and AI characters."
Her is a 2013 science fiction romantic drama film directed by Spike Jonze set in a near-future Los Angeles. The story follows a lonely man going through a divorce who develops a deep and unconventional romantic relationship with an artificial intelligence operating system named Samantha. You can stream it on Max, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, and more.
Alex Ratner, CEO of Snorkel AI
Top movie: Star Trek: The Motion Picture
"I'm going to have to pick Star Trek: The Motion Picture—first of all, out of loyalty to the Star Trek franchise, which instilled in so many of us a deep excitement about the elevating possibilities of technology, including AI—the ship's computer, data, et cetera—as a strictly complementary partner to humans," Ratner said. "This film specifically is perhaps not the most accurate technical depiction of AI... but—no plot spoilers—it does include themes of self-supervision and the criticality of objective definition that are absolutely relevant to AI today!"
Star Trek: The Motion Picture is the first feature film in the Star Trek franchise, released in 1979 and directed by by Robert Wise. You can watch it on Apple TV.
Jon Turow, partner at Madrona Ventures, former head of computer vision AI services at AWS
Top movie: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
"Across the Spider-Verse gives a glimpse of what will be possible with GenAI to accelerate and amplify the work of human creators—even though, as far as I know, there was not any GenAI used in the creation of this film," Turow said. "Consider the following: Eagle-eyed fans who watched Across the Spider-Verse multiple times were surprised to see slightly different versions of the movie. Different jokes, different cuts, small differences in the action. The multiple versions are reportedly due to late-breaking international distribution issues. But the filmmakers themselves have also commented that while unintentional, the changes were also reflective of the film's multiverse setting... To me, this unintended example of serendipity in mass media seems like a small glimpse of what's to come. When you lower the cost of experimentation, creativity and innovation can flourish. Just imagine what that same group, with that same level of inspiration, could do."
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is the animated superhero sequel released in 2023 following Miles Morales, a.k.a. Spider-Man. This film follows the web-slinger's adventures in a shared multiverse known as the Spider-Verse, where alternate universes converge. You can stream it on Netflix.
Nancy Xu, founder and CEO of Moonhub
Top movie: The Creator
"I watched Gareth Edward’s The Creator recently. I liked it. I’m trying to thread the needle here between aspirational and reality. There are too many dystopian AI trope films that make the public fear AI, and the mastery of The Creator lies in its narrative of a world where AI actually empowers humans in what is eventually peaceful coexistence," Xu said. "I think this is the best outcome for humanity. We need to help people see how AI can empower individuals, and that there is a world where we can live with AI peacefully.”
Gareth Edwards' 2023 release The Creator is set in a high-stakes future, 2070, 15 years after a nuclear blast in Los Angeles igniting a war against artificial intelligence. The film's protagonist is an ex-special forces agent whose mission is to hunt down and neutralize the elusive Creator, a mastermind wielding a mysterious weapon that could tip the scales and bring an end to the ongoing AI war. You can stream the movie on Hulu and rent it on YouTube.
Richard Socher, CEO and founder, You.com
Top movie: Her
"The best part of Her was that at the end the AIs didn't think of destroying humans, but they were just a bit bored by our limited capabilites and went off to do their own thing," Socher said. "I think it also showed that humans can bond with AI, and it was one of the reasons for my investments in Replika and Huggingface."
Rob Woollen, founder and CTO of Sigma
Top movie: WarGames
"My favorite AI-related movie is the 1983 classic WarGames, which I recently re-watched for the thousandth time. It shows the great promise of AI as 'Joshua' explores thousands of scenarios automatically evaluating strategies at a scale no human could match, while also demonstrating the perils of letting AI systems run autonomously without human supervision," Woollen said.
In the 1983 American science fiction film directed by John Badham, WarGames, the storyline centers on David Lightman, a young computer prodigy who inadvertently infiltrates WOPR (War Operation Plan Response), a U.S. military supercomputer, all while on the quest for video games. You can stream it on Max, Hulu, and YouTube.
A.J. Shankar, founder and CEO of Everlaw
Top movie: Her
"Her, not for the dramatic emotional angle, but for the idea that everyone is going to have a custom AI that acts as an always-on assistant with an amazing memory and comprehensive access to personal communications and work product," Shankar said. "Smaller models that are cheaper to run, improved reasoning, and more sophisticated retrieval techniques all point to an AI that can run on your phone and help you manage your life."
Tim Armandpour, PagerDuty CTO
Top movie: Minority Report
"At home, we’ve been talking a lot with our kids about how AI is everywhere, and how it’s already changing our day-to-day routines at school, at work, and in society. We decided to watch Minority Report together as a family. I first saw that movie 20 years ago, and it held up remarkably well. It’s not just entertaining, but it also grapples in a very relevant way with the potential ethical dilemmas and unintended consequences of technology," Armandpour said. "With all the advances in machine reasoning and decision-making depicted in the movie, what stands out is there remain serious limitations with technology compared to human thinking. It was a thought-provoking film that sparked meaningful family discussions about the opportunity and responsibility to uphold our values and norms as generative AI continues to evolve."
Minority Report is a sci-fi thriller directed by Steven Spielberg. It explores themes of free will and the possible risks associated with depending on technology for law enforcement. You can stream and rent it on YouTube, Paramount Plus, and Apple TV.
Jason Zintak, CEO of 6sense
Top movie: Moneyball
"Just like Die Hard isn’t a Christmas movie, Moneyball isn’t a baseball story. It’s a story about data and analytics, the underpinning of AI, used to gain a competitive advantage by removing guesswork and revealing hidden game-changing opportunities," Zintak said.
Released in 2011, Moneyball is a biographical sports drama directed by Bennett Miller, adapting Michael Lewis's 2003 nonfiction book. Centered on Billy Beane, the general manager of the Oakland Athletics baseball team, the movie delves into the clash between conventional scouting techniques and data-driven analysis within the realm of baseball. You can stream and rent it on YouTube, Amazon Prime Video, and Apple TV.
May Habib, cofounder, and CEO, Writer
Top movie: Everything Everywhere All at Once
"Everything Everywhere All at Once—it’s what it feels like for enterprise leaders right now," Habib said. "Fatigue has set in and the last thing any of them want is to be asked about AI at Christmas dinner. Don't be that guy."
"Everything Everywhere All at Once, a 2022 absurdist comedy-drama film penned and directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, unfolds the story of a Chinese American immigrant. During an IRS audit, she stumbles upon the revelation that she must forge connections with alternate versions of herself from parallel universes to thwart a formidable entity's plan to obliterate the multiverse. You can stream it on Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, and more.
