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this makes me wonder if there should be a watch party for academics for AI movies...maybe for movies where the AI is less apocalyptic, dystopian, tragic and more where it's part of the background existence--it participates in the plot but doesn't dominate...I enjoy many of these movies but I'm also inclined to look for examples that are thoughtful or helpful...

I'm glad I, Robot was not on the list--it was such a bastardized version and antithetical to Asimov's works....I was surprised there was no mention of the Aliens series and robot as corporate representative....

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I'd be delighted to host such a watch party.

Asimov: the Apple Foundation series enrages me. Ye gods.

Alien! Shoot, I forgot -

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15 hrs ago·edited 15 hrs agoLiked by Bryan Alexander

Saw _Avalon_ at Auckland Film Festival when it was released. Became an immediate favorite. Much less appreciated then and now than it deserves; perhaps the Japanese plus Polish psychocultural script and design combined with virtual world AI -- not merely pop humanoid AI -- was and remains too conceptually complex to most to identify with. Or maybe it was the way humankind's 'comatose state' of war-player escapee levels up to a paradisiacal reality emerging from a genuinely portrayed dystopia...

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0267287/

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I saw it soon after it came out and was so surprised by it. Disappeared since.

I remember it being about virtual worlds and gaming, but don't remember the AI level.

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24 hrs agoLiked by Bryan Alexander

What about 1981's Heartbeeps? https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082507/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_7_nm_1_in_0_q_heartbeeps ok it's dumb but it does touch on many of themes your other movies do.

and the movie currently in theaters, Wild Robot might be worth an honorable mention too.

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I don't think I've heard of Heartbeeps.

Wild Robot: meaning to see that.

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Nov 1Liked by Bryan Alexander

I love this piece overall, but I think you're doing Schwarzenegger a disservice. His goal was to appear menacing and inhuman, and he completely succeeded.

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True!

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Nov 1Liked by Bryan Alexander

New AI-related question to the classic quote: "I am sorry Dave. I am afraid I can't do that." https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/picture/2024/oct/30/artificial-intelligence-is-it-bad-yes-but-on-the-other-hand-it-is-also-terrible

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That's one reason I included Dune here, to point to the massive dislike of and opposition to AI.

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Nov 1·edited Nov 1

Why is "Avengers: Age of Ultron" not included?

https://youtu.be/JAUoeqvedMo?si=1gei41HgTuTe35Gz

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...because I forgot it right after seeing it.

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