We are all living inside of an obscure sci-fi film from 1970
The 1970 film 'Colossus: The Forbin Project' is highlighted for its prophetic depiction of an autonomous supercomputer gaining control over global nuclear defenses. The author suggests the film's themes of techno-fetishism and AI control are increasingly relevant today.
Why it matters
Uses classic science fiction to frame contemporary anxieties regarding AI safety and autonomous systems.
Imagine that a film was released this year in which the following happened:
Unless it is a documentary, something so on the nose probably won’t get made any time soon. Fortunately this exact film was already made 56 years ago.
Colossus: The Forbin Project was released in 1970. It was adapted from a 1966 novel by British sci-fi author D.F. Jones named simply, Colossus.
While the film seems to be well appreciated, with respectable scores on sites like Rotten Tomatoes and Letterboxd , it is certainly not well known and could probably be described as obscure, I can’t ever remember seeing it on TV or being discussed alongside the more famous films of the time.
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