While the film leaves the precise cause of HAL’s malfunctioning ambiguous, the novelization of 2001 written by Arthur C. Here you can see 2001 ’s influence on films like Ridley Scott’s Alien, which was updated for the neoliberal age with a corporation, rather than the government in Kubrick’s film, putting its employees at risk of an alien attack in the name of scientific advancement and profit. The robot’s malfeasance then was a product of his programmer, who sent the crew on a potentially dangerous mission, which was unceremoniously concealed from them. Once HAL is deactivated, a screen appears with a video message from Floyd Heywood, the astronauts’ boss, who reveals that they were sent to Jupiter to follow an unknown alien signal emanating from a mysterious prehistoric monolith discovered on the moon 18 years earlier. This mission is too important for me to allow you to jeopardize it.” The human thus becomes a burden for the hyperintelligent computer’s ability to complete his assigned task - a concern that might resonate with striking screenwriters and actors.Īfter breaking himself back into the ship, Bowman enters the control room to unplug HAL’s circuits while the AI begs him not to, expressing fear of death, before a significant plot twist occurs that complicates the movie’s ostensible warning of sentient AI gone rogue. When he attempts to return to the ship, HAL famously says: “I’m sorry, Dave. Now we’ve got a murderous AI in control of a ship.īowman attempts to go out into space in his own pod to retrieve Poole’s body. HAL also deactivates life support for the crew members in suspended animation. In a fit of vengefulness, HAL takes control of Poole’s pod and ejects him, sending him into space and killing him. But they didn’t account for his ability to read lips. Unsure of who to trust, the all-powerful AI or their human bosses, Bowman and Poole go into a space pod to discuss the possibility of deactivating HAL out of the AI’s earshot. The robot retorts that it was in fact human error, and that the astronauts should reboot the system anyway, which will put them out of contact with ground control temporarily. He sends Bowman out to fix one of the ship’s antennas, which the AI claims is going to malfunction within a few days.īowman sees nothing wrong with it and ground control tells him HAL was, for the first time, incorrect. HAL eventually disobeys his human masters he’s programmed to serve. If someone is trying to sell you a product that is foolproof, buyer beware. While watching this scene from 1968, I couldn’t help but be reminded of the credulous tech boosters of 2023 who expound on the potentialities of AI while downplaying its myriad dangers, which this film aptly foreshadows in the exaggerated fashion characteristic of the sci-fi genre.ĪI companies are already boasting of their product’s ability to eliminate the possibility of human error. We’re told, ominously, that HAL has never been wrong. The newscasters note a tone of pride in the robot’s voice as he explains to them his various functions and relationship with the crew. When we’re first introduced to the ship’s crew, they’re watching a news report hyping HAL’s human-like qualities. The AI is responsible for the ship’s maintenance as well as keeping Bowman and Poole company. David Bowman and Frank Poole - and three others who are in suspended animation until they arrive at their destination, Jupiter. HAL is aboard the ship with two astronauts who are awake - Drs. Rain did an excellent job providing the AI with its famously calm, rational, human-like voice, creating a sharp contrast with its increasingly erratic actions as the film progresses. HAL is symbolized by a simple red dot on a camera, providing a perfectly creepy image of an all-seeing eye present throughout the Discovery. The bulk of the film centres around HAL 9000, an AI voiced by the late Canadian actor Douglas Rain, going rogue aboard the Discovery One spaceship.
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