The problem is not simply that the Singularity represents the passing of humankind from center stage, but that it contradicts our most deeply held notions of being. –Vernor Vinge
Films tend to reflect the time in which they are created. Despite the setting or content, it is common for films to portray topical concerns or contemporary public interests. This is especially true of the typically allegorical science fiction genre. Science fiction texts can almost always be interpreted as political or social criticism. The combination of film’s mass media platform and science fiction’s cultural insight creates a unique medium for peering into the public’s mindset at a point in time.
One such public fascination is artificial intelligence (AI), which can be interpreted as a computer system that is able to perform tasks that would normally require human intellect. Interestingly, the idea of humanistic artificial intelligences or cyborgs existed in the science fiction genre long before the invention of the electronic computer. Films such as Metropolis explored the potential fusion of man and machine as early as the 1920s. But never before had artificial intelligence been so commonly portrayed in the mass media as in the latter half of the twentieth century.