Robots are a common factor in many sci-fi movies, as they’ve always seemed like something a futuristic society would have. Of course, as society progresses, there aresome real-life robots now, maybe even within your own home. While we may have numerous examples of artificial intelligence nowadays, one thing we still haven’t discovered (for better or worse) is making these robots actually sentient, something we still only see in fiction.
While this topic remains fictional, there are many movies that like to play with the idea of robots coming to life and gaining their own sentience. There are many different ways to play with the subject too. From starting the AI as sentient to showing them gain it over the course of the movie, from making them good, bad, or anywhere in between, there are a lot of good stories to make, and there are a lot of good movies that have already been made.
Updated on August 12th, 2023, by Patricia Scheer-Erb:This article has been updated with additional content to keep the discussion fresh and relevant with even more information and new entries.
13I, Robot (2004)
I, Robotis based on the famous Isaac Asimov novel and takes place in the year 2035. Intelligent robots are common around the world, filling in various public service positions. To keep them in control, they operate under three rules intended to keep humans safe. Detective Del Spooner (played by Will Smith) is investigating the apparent suicide of the robotics founder, coming to believe a robot has broken one or more of these rules and murdered the man.
As he delves further and further into the case, he begins to uncover a plan that could turn the robots against the entire human race and turn them into their slaves. With some public robots becoming sentient due to hardware upgrades that allow them to override the rules, to others existing long enough to have evolved around the rules on their own, the high stakes in this movie are definitely attributed to the AI.
12Chappie (2015)
Director Neill Blomkamp took one of humanity’s biggest fears, namely robots gaining the upper hand, and created a masterpiece of a movie,Chappie. Set in the eclectic city of Johannesburg, the story begins with a scientist’s unwavering dedication to creating a sentient robot. While the majority of the police force already consists of robots, who fight to minimize the crime rate and uphold the laws, Deon Wilson (Dev Patel) longs to take it one step further. Without permission, he secretly manages to do the impossible. After stealing a previously damaged robot, the scientist is kidnapped by a group of gangsters, who see Deon’s project as an opportunity for themselves.
When Deon begins with the programming and bestows the mechanized cop with consciousness, Chappie is born. Literally. The robot has to learn everything just like a child and is easily influenced by his companions, good or bad. Amerika, Ninja, and Yo-Landi have big plans to use him during heists and become wealthy. While, at first, he is nothing more than a money-making tool, the relationship within this odd group is shifting. The sci-fi movie stands out with around two hours of amusing conversations, South African culture, gripping action, and lots of empathy. There might even be some shed tears for Chappie.
11Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
While, at first, it might not be the most obvious choice,Avengers: Age of Ultronhas every reason to be a part of this list. The entire Marvel Universe is constantly filled with fights between good and bad, and usually the beloved heroes have good intentions with regard to keeping innocent people safe. In this movie, however, CEO and brilliant scientist Tony Stark, who is known as the one and only Iron Man, creates a program named Ultron, which is supposed to uphold peace. Against Stark and his colleague Bruce Banner’s beliefs, the AI turns out to be sentient.
What starts with a desire for world peace ends with artificial intelligence gone wrong. The now-sentient Ultron turns into an immense danger since he believes that human extinction is the only way to save the world. An army of robots serves as his supporters and the Avengers have to unite once again to follow their duty. In an epic battle, they go head-to-head with the sentient AI and his army, as the Avengers hold the fate of the world in their hands.
10I Am Mother (2019)
InI Am Mother, the outside world is highly contaminated, causing the extinction of humans. There is only Mother, who is a robot, and Daughter, the last human, locked away in a bunker to keep her from ever setting foot outside. Except she isn’t the last human, and there is no contamination. Thanks to artificial intelligence, Mother is able to show various emotions and convince Daughter of certain beliefs. Mother acts as a savior and creator of a new, ethically advanced human race.
Daughter is supposed to be the first one and has to take personality exams, which, as she later finds out, are to establish if she is worth it. Only when she lets an injured woman enter the bunker, hiding her from Mother, her life as she knows it is turned upside down. She finds out about the reality of her situation, unveiling the insanity and lies in which she is being raised. An inner turmoil of what is right and wrong, and what is true and false lets Daughter struggle. Her own future and the future of the human race are now in her hands.
9Ex-Machina (2014)
Ex-Machinafollows computer programmer Caleb Smith, who wins a contest at work. The prize gives him a week’s vacation at the private estate of the company’s CEO (an amazing Oscar Isaac). Caleb soon discovers that the CEO has made an AI and programmed a robot, Ava, with it, and expects Caleb to take part in the Turing test along with a few other tests on her capabilities.
As he talks with her, however, he learns that she is a lot more sentient than he anticipated, and discovers that the CEO may not be who he seems. Ava is without a doubt in the middle of the story here, fighting for her safety and freedom in the only way she knows how. The movie even won an Oscar for its visual effects, most of which went into the makings of the robot.
Related:Here’s Some of the Most Intellectual Sci-Fi Movies and the Ideas They Explore
8Blade Runner (1982)
The storyDo Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?by the great Philip K. Dickis the inspiration behindBlade Runner. Rick Deckard, a former police officer, is brought back to the station and asked to do one last job. They need his help in hunting down and disabling four replicants, which are bioengineered humanoids made specifically to work in the space colonies. Four of them left and returned to Earth illegally, now hiding among the humans.
Despite having done this for most of his career, as Deckard chases down these four, the line between normal humans and the bioengineered begins to blur, and he wonders if these humanoids aren’t essentially humans at their core. Though the robot aspect of this movie isn’t as obvious as some others on the list, there’s no doubt it was one of the most influential sci-fi movies of all time.
7Her (2013)
Set in the near future,Herfollows the story of Theodore Twombly (played by Joaquin Phoenix), who is lonely and depressed after the end of his marriage. He makes a living by writing letters for other people who don’t want to, and his writing is struggling because of the emotional state he’s in. To try and cope he buys a new operating system that is intended to develop alongside the person who buys it and becomes a unique entity meant to fit in with the person who bought it.
Upon starting it, she names herself Samantha (a tender Scarlett Johansson) and they quickly grow to be friends. Despite essentially being his computer, their relationship soon develops deeper into a more romantic situation, and Theodore begins wondering if this is even sane.Herwas a rather unique take on AI that stole the hearts of its viewers. The film was nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars and Golden Globes, and it also won Best Screenplay at both.
6Moon (2009)
Moontells the story of Sam Bell, who works at a company called Lunar Industries, and, as a consequence, has to spend three years doing research on the moon. While he is willing to fulfill his duty and find as well as bring back necessary supplies to earth, the fact that he has to do so without any company seriously affects him. The only companion he has is GERTY, an artificial intelligence, who tends to his everyday needs and helps him stay sane.
When an accident interrupts his routine only shortly before his long-awaited departure to earth, he grows increasingly suspicious of GERTY’s intentions. Unexpected findings at the location of his accident make him question the AI’s honesty. With his uncertainty, Sam starts to feel insecure about his own sanity and struggles to differentiate between what is real and what is not. All he knows is that he has to find a way to make his way back to Earth, leaving the moon and GERTY far behind.
5The Matrix (1999)
The Matrixis a classic AI movie. The film follows Neo, a computer programmer who soon discovers and questions what the Matrix is, as he’s discovered it several times. He is contacted by Trinity and Morpeus and, upon deciding to learn more instead of returning to his life, he discovers that humans have been enslaved by machines and harvested for their bioelectricity, and the world they were living in was just a simulation their brains were forced to run through.
Neo then joins the pair to fight against the machines and every obstacle they throw at the team to attempt to free the humans from their control. When talking about evil robots taking over the human race, it doesn’t get much better than this. The movie won the Oscar for special effects, which brought this strange world to life and revolutionized sci-fi for the new millennium.
42001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
In2001: A Space Odyssey, large, indestructible obelisks seem to exist throughout space, radiating certain frequencies that humans are very interested in. The first one held the secrets of technological advancements, showing early humans how to create weapons out of bones. When another is discovered on the Moon and suddenly sends a radio signal out into space, efforts are made to begin exploring the mysterious signal.
A team of astronauts is sent on this mission without being told exactly what they’re doing, leading them to soon distrust their computer system, HAL 9000, as he knows the secrets and will do anything to keep the mission going. Thebrilliant Stanley Kubrick moviewas praised for its realistic depiction of space travel, and HAL is a perfect example of a sentient AI doing terrible things for what they think is the right purpose, lacking the emotions and empathy that sometimes cause actual humans to stop being logical and start being moral.
