It is a classic. Sure, we’ve seen movies like ‘Terminator’ and intelligent grumbling androids in ‘Star Wars,’ but there has never been anything like Asminov’s and Kubrick’s HAL. ’2001, a Space Odyssey’ was many movies in one, but the closest thing that comes to mind in regards to HAL’s murderous spaceship takeover is ‘Alien’. ’2001′ was in large part a horror movie and a serious warning to us all.

Could HAL, a murderous paranoid computer actually come into existence The answer, as far as I’m concerned, is a definitive ‘yes,’ and we must diligently guard against it happening. The biggest mistake that most people make regarding HAL, both within the movie and as viewers, is that HAL is, or somehow becomes ‘conscious.’ When dealing with computer programs, however, consciousness is clearly not a relevant issue. The problem is that we program computers to model us- in many ways a program is a direct recording of our brain processes.

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