Stories about artificial intelligence are older than computers. They have always been less about machines than about us: our fears of being replaced, our hopes of being understood, our questions about what makes a person.
For younger readers and viewers, several of these picks make a good starting point for conversations about technology, privacy and fairness at home or in the classroom.
What it gets wrong
The best works in this list do not try to predict the future. They take one idea seriously and follow it to an emotional conclusion, which is often more revealing than any forecast.
- Best for a long weekend
- Best for younger audiences
- The classic everyone cites
- Best for a first introduction
What it gets right
What has changed is that audiences now have their own experience of talking to a machine. A scene that felt like pure fantasy ten years ago can now feel uncomfortably familiar.
