Are you ready for HAL?: 4 questions to ask about AI before launch

HAL Supercomputer prop from Stanley Kubrick's 1968 film, "2001: A Space Odyssey." HAL (heuristically programmed algorithmic computer) first debuted in the Stanley Kubrick classic film "2001: Space Odyssey" (1968). While part of HAL's programming required the computer to keep the real purpose of the mission a secret from astronauts, HAL was also programmed to assist its human travelers on the mission by verbally taking questions and instructions and also providing verbal feedback with the help of natural language processing. During the voyage, HAL experienced logic conflicts when it attempted to balance relaying critical information to astronauts against its directive to keep mission information secret. The end result was a series of software malfunctions that placed HAL on the path of destroying the human inhabitants of the ship in order to safeguard the secrecy of the mission.