AI in the Movies
By (Author) Paula Murphy
Edinburgh University Press
Edinburgh University Press
9th April 2026
United Kingdom
Paperback
208
Width 156mm, Height 234mm
AI in the Movies analyses film representations of artificial intelligence, from their first emergence in the 1950s up to 2020. These strong or general artificial intelligences take different forms: some are digital AIs, some robot AIs, some move between material and digital forms. Some are indistinguishable from humans, and some have no material existence at all.
Analysis of these representations demonstrates filmmakers eroding the division between human and AI, by presenting character doubles, narrative parallels and eventually, identities in which the biological and artificial overlap and intersect in new hybrid forms.
The book identifies the aspects of AI science that fascinate filmmakers and outlines the key themes and tropes in AI film, including parent-child relationships, the female robot, human-AI doubles, parallels and hybrids, and AI death and mortality.