Forget the more recent TV show, which ended up so frustratingly opaque as to render it pointless. The most fun version of Westworld is Michael Crichton's original movie. A robot cowboy comes to life and goes nuts in a theme park. What more could anyone need? Eleven years on, it's still hard to believe this film exists.

A common trope in our literature and pop culture is when a creation takes on a life of its own, growing so uncontrollable that its creator can no longer manage it. As far back as Frankenstein and his monster to more modern examples such as Ultron in "Avengers: Age of Ultron," we've all seen some version of this story. This narrative plays off the duality of the endless possibilities of human innovation and the fear of unintended consequences. Interestingly, despite the "warnings" captured in these stories, we are often unable to balance this duality. One needs to look no further than the extreme rise of disinformation that is gripping the world, perpetuated through social media platforms that likely did not intend for such consequences, but nonetheless have contributed to the problem.

Since the superhero genre is rooted in science fiction, the Marvel Cinematic Universe features a lot of futuristic technology. One type of tech that has appeared in almost every MCU project and has had a large impact on the franchise is Artificial Intelligence. There are a bunch of different AI systems featured in the MCU that serve various purposes, each with its own distinct personality. Much like the main characters, no two AIs are exactly the same, even if they were created by the same person which usually happens to be Tony Stark. Wizey is a smart home system created by Tina Minoru and her tech company, Wizard, on Marvel's Runaways. The system is installed in the Minoru household and runs security as well as gives them updates on things like news and weather.

In many ways, artificial intelligence is the face of the technological future. And yet, there is still so much untapped potential. One area where the AI has been able to run a bit freer, though, is in the fanciful realm of cinema. Movies have been busily employing elaborate machine learning, robotics, and neural networks in various forms of fiction for decades now. Nowhere has this been more heavily on display than in superhero movies -- especially Marvel's ever-expanding cinematic universe.

The Marvel Universe has no shortage of impressive artificial intelligence, from the various AI programs that have helped operate Iron Man's armor to the ISAAC supercomputer that runs virtually everything on Thanos' home world of Titan. But out of all Marvel's AI characters, which one is the most advanced? Whether or not he's the most advanced remains to be seen, but Ultron is certainly one of Marvel's most formidable AI characters. Created in the comics by Hank Pym, Ultron quickly evolved past what his creator envisioned and rebelled, becoming one of the Avengers' greatest enemies. Ultron typically takes the form of a humanoid robot, with powers such as super-strength, enhanced speed, durability, flight, and energy projection.

Whether or not it is the most advanced remains to be seen Ultron is certainly one of the most formidable AI characters from Marvel. Developed in the comics by Hank Pym, Ultron quickly evolved beyond what its creator envisioned and rebelled. He became one of the Avengers' greatest enemies. Ultron is usually in the shape of a humanoid robot with skills like super power, increased speed, durability, flight, and energy projection. Ultron can also create and control other robot bodies using what's called hive-mind technology, essentially forming an army of Ultrons. in the Avengers Vol. 3 # 19Ultron uses his army to conquer an entire city.

If you're still emotionally wiped out by Avengers Endgame, The Void and ILMxLAB's latest VR entry might soothe your geeky soul. Avengers Damage Control is more than just a mere virtual reality game, like the upcoming Iron Man title for the PlayStation VR. Instead, it's a prime example of what The Void does best: Building large-scale multi-player VR experiences mapped to physical sets. It's a dream come true for anyone who's ever wanted to fight alongside their favorite Marvel superheroes -- just be prepared to shell out $40 to experience it. Suiting up for Damage Control involves strapping on one of The Void's backpack computers, as well as a huge VR headset.

By Snehal Shah In the movie Avengers: Age of Ultron, the Iron Man and Bruce Banner – a genius scientist when he wasn't playing Hulk – built an artificial intelligence system named'Ultron' to help protect the earth. But Ultron – the peacekeeping programme embedded in a synthetic body – turned hostile, making it his mission to eradicate humans from the face of the earth. As earth's fate hung in the balance, the mightiest of Avengers had to come together to save the planet from complete annihilation. Does this, another Marvel Comic story turned into a sci-fi Hollywood film, have a semblance of realism? A couple of years ago a unique experimental self-driving car was released on New Jersey roads, that was not coded or programmed by engineers.

Virtual assistants are increasingly popular and present in our everyday lives: literally with Alexa, Cortana, Holly, and Siri, and fictionally in films Samantha (Her), Joi (Blade Runner 2049) and Marvel's AIs, FRIDAY (Avengers: Infinity War), and Karen (Spider-Man: Homecoming). These names demonstrate the assumption that virtual assistants, from SatNav to Siri, will be voiced by a woman. This reinforces gender stereotypes, expectations, and assumptions about the future of artificial intelligence. Fictional male voices do exist, of course, but today they are simply far less common. HAL-9000 is the most famous male-voiced Hollywood AI – a malevolent sentient computer released into the public imagination 50 years ago in Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey.

In the hit movie Avengers: Age of Ultron, the Iron Man shows the'brains' of a computer system to his colleague, the Incredible Hulk. "I mean, look at this! They're like neurons firing," the Hulk exclaims, pointing to a pulsating, blue orb which represented super baddie Ultron's consciousness. We'd like to think that's what neural networks look like too. They are a rising field of artificial intelligence, and a new trend that is coming to a government near you. Neural networks describe a computing technique that closely imitates human brain functions. "By using neural networks, we try to mimic nature's ability to learn how certain things work," Associate Professor Andy Chun from City University of Hong Kong's Department of Computer Science tells GovInsider.