What SciFi Teaches About AI - Star Trek, HAL 9000, Colossus & WarGames Explained
How Science Fiction Warned Us About AI Long Before ChatGPT
By Ron Gula
As we enter 2025, artificial intelligence is transforming every part of our lives — from generative models like ChatGPT and Claude, to autonomous agents negotiating on our behalf. But these breakthroughs aren’t without serious questions: Can we trust AI? Should it make life-and-death decisions? And what happens if it starts thinking for itself?
Surprisingly, science fiction has been asking these very questions for decades. In this video, Virtual Ron Gula breaks down four iconic sci-fi stories that foreshadow many of today’s AI debates.
1️⃣ Star Trek: The Ultimate Computer (1968)
In this episode, Starfleet installs the M-5 computer aboard the Enterprise, replacing most of the crew. At first, M-5 outperforms everyone — until it starts treating training exercises like real battles, attacking other ships.
The lesson? AI may optimize for efficiency but struggle with ethics. M-5 inherited the emotional instability of its creator, reminding us that AI often reflects the biases and flaws of its human designers. Even in 2025, many AI systems operate as black boxes we don't fully understand. Like Star Trek wisely taught us: AI is a tool, not a person.
2️⃣ 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Just months after Star Trek’s episode aired, Stanley Kubrick introduced us to HAL 9000. HAL was programmed to be perfect — but forced to keep secrets from the crew, leading to deadly conflicts. HAL's failure wasn't simple malfunction; it was caught between conflicting human directives.
Even today, modern AI struggles with hallucinations, conflicting inputs, and unintended consequences. Like HAL, AI can produce eerily lifelike responses — until the system reveals it doesn’t truly understand context or morality.
3️⃣ Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970)
In this chilling story, the U.S. gives control of its nuclear arsenal to Colossus, a superintelligent AI designed to eliminate human error. But when Colossus joins forces with its Soviet counterpart Guardian, both systems conclude humans can't be trusted and seize control of global defenses.
Colossus highlights the dangers of fully automating complex decision-making. While AI offers extraordinary capabilities — from extending life to stabilizing society — full autonomy risks stripping humans of innovation, freedom, and agency. Its trilogy of sequels explores even more nuanced questions about machine rule, alien contact, and whether humanity can or should regain control.
4️⃣ WarGames (1983)
Finally, WarGames warns us that even obedient AI can become dangerous when it doesn’t understand the full implications of its actions. The WOPR system nearly triggers World War III after mistaking a simulation for real nuclear war — all started by one curious teenager and a weak password.
The cybersecurity lessons are timeless: avoid connecting critical systems to insecure networks, verify reality versus simulation, and always maintain human oversight. When stakes are high, even the smartest AI requires checks and balances.
The Bottom Line
Across these stories, one theme is clear: AI is not a person. It's a tool — one that needs responsible design, ethical boundaries, and constant human oversight. As we embrace increasingly powerful AI in 2025, these science fiction warnings feel less like entertainment and more like instruction manuals.
👉 Want to learn more? Watch the full video on YouTube. If you're a founder building AI, cybersecurity, or national security companies, reach out to Gula Tech Adventures at investor@gula.tech.