Film and History of Artificial Intelligence in the United States and Latin America

Course Description

Movies are works of art meant to entertain, but they can also serve as a critique of the societies they depict and dramatize. Many science fiction films achieve this by envisioning a future where technology spirals out of human control and poses a threat to humanity. In this course, we will explore the historical context surrounding Artificial Intelligence technology and how science fiction movies have portrayed it from the late twentieth century (around 1970) to just before the release of ChatGPT in 2022, which triggered the current generative AI boom. The history and films we will examine are primarily set in the US-Mexico borderlands, encompassing northern Mexico and southern California, and explore issues such as immigration, labor conditions, health, war, and pollution, particularly as they intersect with AI, with an emphasis on cyborgs and robotics. The focus on high technology in this particular geography produced a futurist aesthetic in these films that we will analyze historically. 

The seminar's organizing question is: How does studying history help us understand films from the past that envision a future of advanced technology, such as AI, that was not yet available? Now that the future is here in many ways, how do we, as historians, evaluate the filmmakers’ fears of AI’s potential to do future harm? Through class and small-group discussions, written and oral film critiques, and a final assignment that allows students to write their own screenplay, students will acquire the critical and analytical skills to answer these questions.