Skynet embodies the terrifying singularity, the theoretical point at which technology advances beyond our control. In the series’ ever-expanding storyline (which spans six movies and a TV show so far), Skynet is a sentient, all-powerful military artificial intelligence.
It considers humanity a threat and attacks first with its global nuclear arsenal and then with an army of skeletal metal robots that look like humans (the titular Terminators). Humanity and the Terminators travel back in time from a post-apocalyptic future to gain an advantage in the coming war.
Although this movie and its first sequel were 1991’s Terminator 2: Judgment Day, as science fiction action masterpieces, their descriptions of artificial intelligence are inconsistent with reality and may even damage its popular perception. Series star Arnold Schwarzenegger claimed last year that Cameron “predicted the future” as “machines becoming self-aware and taking over… are already a reality”. In December 2023, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman complained that when the company was founded, “every article written about us used the same content. Terminator photo,” although he admits that “the greatest science fiction story I’ve ever read or seen…is about artificial intelligence going rogue.”
While experts consider the prospects of killer AI to be remote, popular perceptions of murderous metal machines have created more fears about AI than it deserves.
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