Debunking 10 Misconceptions About Artificial Intelligence Portrayed in Films

Berfin Ceren Meray
Onedio Member
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As artificial intelligence becomes a reality, the fanciful depictions of AI in movies and other media are coming under scrutiny. In films, especially in the sci-fi genre, images of robots with emotions or advanced computers creating other sentient beings are common, but some of these portrayals are highly inaccurate. As technology progresses, these on-screen depictions will likely be updated, but for now, they continue to diverge significantly from real AI. Let's delve into these misconceptions together.

Artificial Intelligences with Exponential Growth Rate

In movies, artificial intelligence robots are often depicted as being created in some kind of high-tech lab, with multiple failed attempts until suddenly, creators make a breakthrough and successfully create a functioning AI robot. This success is often portrayed as singular and unrepeatable or instantaneous. The reality is that AI is a learning model made up of detailed coding from various sources.

Sensitivity Development Through Accident or Human Interaction

When movie buffs think of artificial intelligence, they might imagine a complex and advanced robot pondering its own existence. This 'sensitivity,' attributed to thinking and contemplating, humanizes the robot and questions its value. However, a robot or machine cannot simply become conscious. No matter how intelligent a language model may seem, it's a mimicry, assembling learned pieces from elsewhere to produce a word jumble that appears original but is the result of clever computations and learning.

Emotional Artificial Intelligences: AI Experiencing Sadness, Anger, and Joy

Some films go as far as giving emotions like sadness, anger, or even love for human users to robots, making them tired or upset with their tasks, as seen in movies like Dark Fate. None of these depictions are accurate. Firstly, emotions don't arise organically in machines, and secondly, designing an AI with embedded emotions, as shown in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, would likely have adverse effects.

Artificial Intelligence Using Humans for Their Goals

Every AI created so far serves a specific purpose and cannot exceed its parameters. Image generators can follow commands to create images for humans. Planning AIs can suggest smart tasks and learn patterns while organizing calendars. In every case, AIs are provided with a singular purpose. In movies, AIs go beyond their purpose and start using the humans who created them for their personal goals. However, AI programs are too restrictive and limited to use humans for their nonexistent goals, making this unrealistic or impossible.

Artificial Intelligences Longing to Be Human

A robot embarking on a journey to become human presents us with a strange paradox. Let alone loading a brain into a computer, it's impossible to load a brain into a computer. AI cannot think or behave like humans do, just as animals behave differently from humans.

Artificial Intelligence Striving to Be Human

In reality, an android on a quest to become human presents us with a strange paradox. Leave aside loading a brain into a computer, it's impossible to load a brain into a computer.

The Sole Creator of Artificial Intelligence

In many films, there's a person presented as the father (or mother) of artificial intelligence. In I, Robot, this person is Dr. Alfred Lanning, but this notion creates a wrong idea about what creating AI means. AI has come into existence through the vision of hundreds of individuals contributing in small parts throughout history. Today, existing AI is often associated with companies like OpenAI, as creating any AI program requires a multitude of people. It's not a single leap but an army of innovators taking smaller steps together.

Absence of Power Source/Storage Issues

Using artificial intelligence currently is one of the most comprehensive and challenging functions any computer can access. AI consumes vast amounts of energy and requires massive storage space. However, movies create independent, fully functional AI roaming within a human-like body. These robots never seem to recharge and appear to have access to infinite storage and energy, but there's often no explanation behind this phenomenon.

Artificial Intelligence Programming

Due to the incredible demand for resources, real AI programs are usually created with a single purpose in mind. Whether it's image generation, weather forecasting, stock trading, or human-like conversation, intensive programming is required for AI to work. Movies often assume that AI doesn't require extensive programming or that the programs creating the AI can be ignored, altered, or adapted as desired when the robot decides to do something different. However, computers cannot exist without rigid structures and rules.

Evil Artificial Intelligence

Whether it's Avengers: Age of Ultron, The Terminator, or Blade Runner, these movies all feature an artificial intelligence seeing human behaviors, deciding to initiate a robot uprising against humans. These AIs become conscious, learn from historical records, learn about human cruelty and the fragility of life, and decide to destroy those who don't comply with their demands. While instances of language learning models behaving incredibly hostile have been seen on the internet, for a robot to be evil and decide to destroy humans, the AI would need to be completely different from what exists today.