HBO's Westworld artificial intelligence, then and now

Much as they are today, people were enthralled by artificial intelligence in 1973 -- the year Michael Crichton released the film Westworld. The film became MGM's biggest box office hit of the year, yet launched the same year as the first AI winter: a massive event of depleted AI resources, dashed expectations, and dwindling interest over the ensuing decades. In 2016, Westworld is back, and the immense changes in deep learning, open source, and computing power are fundamentally shifting AI's future. Compute capacity and the technology's capabilities have now advanced far enough that AI can complement and accelerate society, versus the trough of disillusionment realized in 1973. HBO's new version of Westworld, produced by Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy, is one of the most popular shows on TV today.