Spielberg and Robots, Together Again — Soon Anyway

A little while back I read a few articles talking about Steven Spielberg directing a project called Robopocalypse; my initial reaction (based purely on the title and the fact that I am not the biggest Spielberg fan) was to laugh and disregard the film as a flimsy excuse to make stuff blow up. However, not too long ago I was graced with an advanced copy of the Daniel H. Wilson novel on which the film will be based. Now I am very excited to see the film come alive. Like Max Brooks’ zombie novel World War Z, Wilson chronicles the events of the robot uprising after the birth of AI (artificial intelligence). As a robotic engineer he is able to construct a time line of events that makes much more sense than a brash all out brawl with humanity right off the bat. These indeed are thinking machines.

In the not so distant future humans will have domestic robots designed to do daily, mundane chores. All new automobiles will have a smart drive system linking them to a central computer and other cars on the road. Soldiers will command robots and wear exoskeletons to aid in battle. Each one of these advances in technology become time bombs as soon as Archos, the man made AI comes on line. But, like an experienced General, Archos waits to deploy his full strength. He tests his soldiers on unprepared humans in chapters that were, at times, hard to read. Once the machines feel the time is right, they attack in force. But this isn’t a mass extinction type of attack, Archos has something else in mind; something that is frighteningly possible.

The idea of a robot uprising has never seemed scary to me until after reading Robopocalypse. The ease of the takeover is startling, with most instances of machine violence leading up to the war being chalked up to random accidents until it is too late to stop it. Grand battles, urban chaos, and the father/son storyline are all probable reasons for Spielberg’s interest in the project. Again, the pessimist in me is not too excited about the actual quality of the film; it has all the makings of a summer blockbuster which are not usual good movies, but damn, it sounds like it could be fun!

As of now, Spielberg has a project or two in the works before he kills us all with robots. As far as reports go, it won’t hit theaters until around 2013.  Either way, be on the lookout for the book on June 7th, 2011.

Does This Idea For A Robot Uprising Seem Appealing To You?