2024: A Space Odyssey? How AI and Technology of the Present Compares to HAL9000 and the Predictions of 2001: A Space Odyssey

It’s remarkable how 2001 predicted what technologies we would have and how we interact with them. At several points during the movie, characters are observed making video calls and/or receiving video messages, much like modern-day Zoom or Facetime. Whereas we carry our phones in our pockets, characters in the film either visit terminals similar to payphones to access these large stationary devices (and need to pay a fee for using them) or they are mounted screens within the spacecraft (similar to how landlines were mounted to the walls). At one point, one of the main characters, Dr. Floyd, makes a call from the space station to Earth and talks to his young daughter. While she can manipulate the video call and seems unphased by it, the authors underscore an important point we often make within CIDDL. Even though these technologies may seem second nature to us and our students, we still need to teach them how to use them to support academics and life. Dr. Floyd calls to speak to his wife, who is not home, and, instead, has a conversation with his daughter, who is about six. He is trying to ensure that she tells her mom he called, and, just like most six-year-olds, she seems uninterested. The film does not explore technologies that could support reminders. Popular technologies in classrooms today include (1) having Alexa set a reminder, (2) using speech-to-text to write a reminder, or (3) emailing and texting the unreachable person. 

A post in 2001 would only be complete with an in-depth look at HAL9000, the artificial intelligence that controls the spaceship. You may know the quote, “Open the pod bay door, HAL.” If you aren’t, ask your favorite AI assistant (Alexa, Siri, etc.) to “open the pod bay door.” The responses are quite entertaining. HAL is designed to be infallible. According to his program design, he is all-knowing and does not make mistakes. This is beyond our correct conception of AI because ChatGPT has a disclaimer saying it can make things up. This has become known as “hallucination”. 

While I cannot ask HAL how he compares to ChatGPT, I asked ChatGPT how he compares to HAL. Here’s the response:

I am a text-based AI language model developed by OpenAI, known as ChatGPT. While HAL 9000 is a fictional artificial intelligence from Arthur C. Clarke's "2001: A Space Odyssey," there are some key differences between us:

• Fiction vs. Reality: HAL 9000 is a fictional character from a science fiction novel and movie, whereas I am a real-world AI developed for various practical applications.
• Purpose: HAL 9000 was designed to control and manage the systems of the Discovery One spacecraft, including making critical decisions. My purpose is to assist users in answering questions, providing information, and engaging in text-based conversations.
• Voice Interaction: HAL 9000 communicates using a synthesized voice and can understand and respond to voice commands. I, on the other hand, interact solely through text-based responses.
• Sentience: HAL 9000 is portrayed as having human-like consciousness and emotions in the story, leading to ethical dilemmas. I am not sentient, and I do not possess consciousness or emotions.
• Context: HAL 9000's context is limited to the events of the story, while I have access to a wide range of general knowledge up until my knowledge cutoff date in January 2022.

In summary, while both HAL 9000 and I are artificial intelligences, we serve different purposes, exist in different contexts, and have different capabilities. HAL 9000 is a fictional character, whereas I am a tool designed to assist with information and text-based communication.