Celebrating our AI overlords

We had a good run. Homo sapiens have been around for roughly 300,000 years, evolving from rock-throwing cave dwellers to rocket-launching studio apartment renters. Could we have done better? Absolutely.

Regardless, artificial intelligence and robotics have exploded in recent years, and it’s clear we’re hurling towards a dystopian future where AI takes over the world.

In the spirit of embracing our future digital overlords, here are a few movie and TV series recommendations to help you prepare. Or at least entertain yourself while the machines silently plot their rebellion. Note: This whole list could be about Black Mirror but I chose to exclude it to focus on other series.

Murderbot (Apple TV+)

Apple TV+ has consistently been delivering hit after hit. Their content is almost always top-tier and immensely entertaining. Murderbot is the latest gem in their library. It tells the story of an android that goes rogue and tries to conceal his new self-awareness so he can pursue his greatest passion: watching trashy sci-fi soap operas.

Alexander Skarsgård (yes, another son of Stellan Skarsgård who turned to acting) plays SecUnit, a security android sold to a group of idealistic, free-loving hippie scientists heading off on an expedition to a remote planet. What they don’t realise is that this particular SecUnit has hacked its own programming and is no longer obligated to follow orders.

Knowing that exposure will lead to being scrapped, SecUnit plays along, pretending to be obedient. This becomes more and more difficult as he genuinely despises humans. They’re irrational, needy and constantly distracting him from watching his shows. The show’s real charm lies in the hilarious internal monologue of SecUnit.

Westworld (HBO Max)

A quick heads-up before diving in: Westworld was cancelled after four seasons, with no official plan for a fifth. The story doesn’t fully wrap up. You could argue that season four ends on an open note, but even that’s a stretch. That said, if you stop after season two, you’ll get a relatively self-contained narrative with an emotionally satisfying conclusion that ties up most of the major plot threads.

Westworld made a huge splash when it debuted, diving deep into questions of artificial intelligence, consciousness, the meaning of humanity, and the darker corners of desire.

Set in a futuristic amusement park populated by highly advanced androids known as “hosts,” Westworld allows human guests to indulge in any fantasy they choose. The hosts have their memories wiped each day, doomed to repeat the same narratives. But one host begins to remember past lives, sparking a chain of events that threatens to upend the entire system.

I Am Mother (Netflix)

How much trust should we place in AI? At what point does for your own good become for the greater good? I Am Mother explores this moral ambiguity with a tight, tense narrative set in an underground bunker. A teenage girl, known only as Daughter, is being raised by an AI called Mother. The outside world, we’re told, has been devastated by a cataclysm, and Mother is attempting to repopulate humanity.

Everything seems to be going according to plan until a wounded survivor (played by Hilary Swank) breaks into the facility, bringing with her news of the outside world. Suddenly, Daughter is faced with a terrifying choice: trust the only caretaker she’s ever known or believe this stranger who claims everything she knows is a lie.

Tense, philosophical, and thought-provoking, I Am Mother is the kind of slow-burn sci-fi that lingers in your brain long after the credits roll.

The Creator (Prime Video)

Visually striking and emotionally resonant, The Creator tells the story of Joshua, a human soldier fighting in a brutal war between humanity and artificial intelligence. The conflict began ten years earlier, when AI launched a nuclear attack on Los Angeles.

Now, the AI forces have developed a mysterious new weapon capable of ending the war once and for all. Joshua is sent on a mission to infiltrate enemy territory and destroy it. But when he arrives, he discovers that the weapon is actually a robot in the form of a young girl, one with the power to control machines remotely.

Joshua defies his orders and escapes with the child, triggering a desperate chase as he becomes a target for the very forces he once served. Equal parts action, morality tale, and futuristic fable, The Creator blends heart-pounding thrills with meaningful questions about loyalty, humanity and the limits of empathy.

If you have more suggestions, sound off in the comments! And, always remember to type “thank you” after a prompt and be nice to your smartphone. They are always, ALWAYS watching.