The Top 10 Best Artificial Intelligence in Movies

5. Stem- Upgrade

Being a cyborg might not sound so bad. At least not until you start factoring in the whole artificial intelligence component. Stem seems like a dream come true for Grey Trace (Logan Marshall-Green), who was left a quadriplegic after an accident. It’s able to bypass the damage to Grey’s spine by transmitting impulses from his brain to the rest of his body. With Stem, Grey can walk again!  He can also get revenge on the people responsible for paralyzing him and killing his wife. Stem helps Grey by taking over his body when he needs a bit of a boost in tough situations. The question becomes whether Stem is actually a good AI or a bad AI in the end. You’ll just have to check out the film in order to find out.  

4. Agent Smith- The Matrix Trilogy

Perhaps one of the most easily recognizable artificial intelligence in movies comes in the form of the evil human-hating, Agent Smith (played by Hugo Weaving). A program within the alternate reality of the Matrix, Smith was initially designed to detect and eliminate any humans threatening the system. After a fateful encounter with the computer hacker known as Neo (aka the chosen one), Smith was supposedly destroyed. He came back bigger and badder than ever though as he set his sights on not only destroying Neo but The Matrix as well. Now a full-blown computer virus, Smith let’s loose the dogs of war as he ran rampant inside The Matrix, building an army of “like-minded” supporters. Just another friendly reminder from Hollywood that AI isn’t just a good idea.       

3. Skynet- The Terminator Franchise

I know I said I wasn’t going to include androids on this list of artificial intelligence in movies, which is why I decided to go with the boss behind one of the best killer robots in cinema history. Arnold might have been the face of the robo-apocalypse, but the one pulling the strings was the evil Skynet AI. Rising to power in the early 90s, Skynet exterminated most of the human race in one fell swoop on July 3, 1991. Well, enough messing with the timeline seems to have screwed that plan up for the program and it looked like Sarah and her son, John, had managed to prevent the end of the world. Unfortunately, Terminator: Dark Fate revealed that a new evil AI rose up in place of Skynet called Legion. Bad news for the human race. Good news for movie lovers.  

2. HAL-9000  (Heuristically Programmed ALgorithmic Computer)- 2001: A Space Odyssey

When it comes to artificial intelligence in movies, few spring to mind as quickly as HAL-9000. Director Stanley Kubrick was one of the first directors to bring concerns about the dangers of AI turning on mankind to the big screen. Apparently HAL Laboratories didn’t pay any attention to those concerns when it put together the good old 9000 model. In fact, they went ahead and snagged a few government contracts, so they slapped one of these bad boys inside the Discovery One and sent it off to Jupiter. I’ll admit, HAL 9000 is capable of some pretty nifty feats, such as interpreting art, piloting a spaceship, playing chess, and strategically undermining and eliminating the astronauts in its care. I wouldn’t have dreamed of not including HAL 9000 on this list of the best artificial intelligence in movies, but it’s not number one…   

1. JARVIS (Just A Rather Very Intelligent System) – The MCU

With everything going on in the world, it seemed like a good idea to finish off this list of artificial intelligence in movies on a positive note. One of the more recent additions to the big screen, JARVIS is definitely one of the best parts of the MCU. Now, I know that I said I wouldn’t include any androids on this list, but technically JARVIS was an AI before he became Vision. It was during his tenure as Tony Stark’s virtual assistant that Iron Man was born and became a cornerstone of the MCU (personally, I don’t think Tony would have survived as long without him). Even after he retired, it was JARVIS who made his replacement “Friday” (and Spider-man’s Karen) possible. Of all the AI on this list, JARVIS is the one I’d want around the most.  

Honorable Mention: Trimaxion Drone Ship AKA Max- Flight of the Navigator

Kicking off this list of the best artificial intelligence in movies is a film that was a staple of my childhood. I grew up loving Disney’s Flight of the Navigator (available on Disney+ for any of you looking for a good movie to show your kids). The intelligence in the film is actually the operating system for an alien spaceship that a young boy named David discovers. David actually serves as Max’s navigator since David’s brain was filled with star charts by an alien species, causing the two to form a symbiotic relationship. While Max might be an incredible intelligence created by an alien species, he’s kind of clueless when it comes to the needs and emotions of organics. Still, his abilities when it comes to operating one of the coolest movie spaceships of all time earns him (it?) a solid spot at the top of this list. 

Shout-Out: WOPR- Wargames

When it comes to artificial intelligence in movies, WOPR is on the lower end of the scale. The program starts protocols to end a nuclear war when a hacker mistakes it for a game. The secret to defeating it? Tic-Tac-Toe. Seriously, a game that most 5-year olds can master defeated the AI in charge of the pentagon’s nuclear security measures. Props for trying though.

That concludes the best artificial intelligence in movies. Of course, there are a lot more than 10 out there, and if you think I forgot a good one, let me know in the comments below. I’ll be updating this list as new and improved AI hits the big screen. So, be sure to check back from time to time in order to see how the rankings might change.