Which old sci-fi AI has aged best, and which has aged worst?

[NoMercyCass69]

Science fiction has been imagining artificial intelligence for over a century. Now that we have real AI systems in everyday life, it is fascinating to look back and see which predictions came close and which missed completely. Some stories feel strangely prophetic, while others look charmingly naive. I thought it would make a good discussion

HAL 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey is the obvious starting point. Calm, polite and quietly dangerous, he feels closer to modern concerns about AI goals and safety than many later robots. Samantha from Her predicted emotional attachments to voice assistants surprisingly well. On the other hand, plenty of older films imagined AI as clunky robots with flashing lights and monotone voices

Some predictions were right about the technology but wrong about how it would feel. Few stories imagined AI being mostly text on a screen, helping with homework and writing emails. Most assumed robots would come first, when in reality language came long before physical machines. Star Trek's computer, which answers questions in natural language, might be one of the most accurate. Few writers predicted that language would arrive before robotics

Then there are the doom scenarios. Skynet, the Matrix and countless others imagined AI turning on humanity. Some people think those stories shape how we talk about AI risk today, for better or worse

Which fictional AI do you think aged best, and which aged worst? Books, films, TV and games all count