Best AI Films: Here are 5 must-see films about artificial intelligence - and where to watch them

Artificial intelligence (AI) has barely been out of the news this year – with a slew of stories about the rapidly-progressing technology.

Haley Joel Osment stars in AI: Artificial Intelligence.

From friendly robots who just want to help out, to dystopian futures where computers have enslaved the entire human race, AI has long offered a rich seam of material for Hollywood.

Here are 5 of the most interesting takes by filmmakers.

2001: A Space Odyssey (Rent from £3.49 on Apple TV)

Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 sci-fi epic is often lauded as one of the greatest films ever – and almost as frequently labelled one of the most pretentious. Wherever your stance, there’s no doubt Hal, the computer tasked with maintaining an interplanetary spaceship, is a wonderful silicon-based baddie. The emotionless line “I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that” still provokes chills.

Ex Machina (Sky Cinema)

Perhaps the most rigorous intellectual study of AI provided by cinema to date, Alex Garland’s tricksy thriller sees Domhnall Gleeson win a contest to test out an advanced robot played by Alicia Vikander. Cue lots of pondering about the Turing Test, which determines whether a computer is capable of thinking like a human being.

Terminator 2: Judgement Day (Sky Cinema)

What’s the worst that could happen? James Cameron answers that question in this classic action film where an AI system called Skynet triggers a nuclear holocaust. Arnold Schwarzenegger stars as a cyborg tasked with protecting the possible saviour of the human race, following an equally-good first instalment where he’s cast as the villain. Skip the sequels.

AI: Artificial Intelligence (Paramount+)

Steven Spielberg’s underrated film was originally to be directed by Stanley Kubrick, with the late director’s notes used to craft the story of a robot boy who desperately wants to be a human (think Pinocchio with microchips). Featuring a creepily-good performace by Haley Joel Osment, it shows that an AI can be just as miserable as any human.

Big Hero 6 (Disney+)

If you want a more positive view of how AI may impact our lives this Disney film set in the futuristic city of San Fransokyo offers some hope. It features an inflatable healthcare robot named Baymax, whose mission to help not harm is key to a plot that sees him form an unlikely crimefighting duo with his creator’s little brother, Hiro. Warning: it will make you cry.