Fifty Years of Shit Robots

In this episode we wish HAL a very happy birthday and take a dip back in to the HAL episodes from our 2001 season. It seemed like a great opportunity to chat about the current state of play with AI and begin a new tradition on the podcast. So, every 2nd April we'll have a HAL DAY, where we celebrate the very best stories of AI going rogue. Enjoy.WARNING! The S**t-bomb is said but nothing more. TikTok: @FiftyYOSRInsta: @FiftyYOSRNOTESUS MILITARY FEUD WITH ANTHROPIChttps://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/mar/07/anthropic-claude-ai-pentagon-us-military SHANE HARRIS ASKES CLAUDE A QUESTIONhttps://www.instagram.com/reels/DXHjo5sgj6i/ CLAUDE AND PROFESSOR GRANT SCHOFIELDhttps://www.instagram.com/p/DXDMjmtk_tc/ PALATIR ‘MANIFESTO’https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4gjkj7975po

STAR TREK season finale. Today, we conclude our DATA deep-dive by seeing what happens when he decides to put an emotion chip into his noggin.WARNING! The S**t-bomb is said but nothing more. TikTok: @FiftyYOSRInsta: @FiftyYOSRNOTESVASA MUSEUM (STOCKHOLM)https://www.vasamuseet.se/en STAR TREK UNIFORMS STOLENhttps://www.slashfilm.com/2145211/star-trek-costume-heist-knight-rider-kitt-car-stolen-sci-fi-props/ THE HEAT DEATH OF THE UNIVERSEhttps://www.physlink.com/education/askexperts/ae181.cfm WHY DOES PICARD HATE KIDS?https://screenrant.com/star-trek-picard-hated-children-tng-changed-mind/   

More from our STAR TREK season. Today, we continue our DATA deep-dive by checking out his desire to be a dad, and his uncontrollable sexual magnatism.WARNING! The S**t-bomb is said but nothing more. TikTok: @FiftyYOSRInsta: @FiftyYOSRNOTESTOXICOLOGIST RATES POISONING SCENES IN MOVIEShttps://www.businessinsider.com/toxicologist-rates-9-poison-scenes-in-movies-and-tv-2022-4 LETTY LYNTONhttps://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/apr/15/joan-crawford-letty-lynton-wildest-film-90-years-on BEST FEMALE ROBOTS IN FILM AND TVhttps://letterboxd.com/journal/female-robots-starter-pack/ THE PEOPLE WHO MARRY THEIR AI CHATBOTShttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/jul/12/i-felt-pure-unconditional-love-the-people-who-marry-their-ai-chatbots

More from our STAR TREK season. Today, we continue our DATA deep-dive by checking out his naughty brother LORE, and his padre Dr NOONIEN SOONG.WARNING! The S**t-bomb is said but nothing more. TikTok: @FiftyYOSRInsta: @FiftyYOSRNOTESDEAD RINGERS – A DUAL SHOWCASE FOR BETTE DAVIShttps://crystalkalyana.wordpress.com/2024/08/31/dead-ringer-1964-a-dual-showcase-for-bette-davis/ 10 GREAT MOVIES ABOUT TWINShttps://www.flickeringmyth.com/10-great-movies-about-twins/ WHAT IS “CHEKHOV’S GUN”?https://screencraft.org/blog/everything-you-need-to-know-about-chekhovs-gun/ OKUDAGRAMS – HOW ONE MAN DESIGNED THE FUTUREhttps://wrathofdhanprops.blogspot.com/2018/06/okudagrams-part-1-how-one-man-designed.html TOM SCOTT: LAVA LAMP SECURITY WALLhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cUUfMeOijg TUCKER TUBEShttps://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Tucker_tube 

Between Metropolis and Star Wars lies a 50 year wasteland of terrible movie robots. Today, we look at one of the most significant robots in Star Trek, DATA.WARNING! The S**t-bomb is said but nothing more. TikTok: @FiftyYOSRInsta: @FiftyYOSRNOTESTHE ROBOT HALL OF FAMEhttps://pabook.libraries.psu.edu/literary-cultural-heritage-map-pa/feature-articles/best-and-brightest-robot-hall-fame TOP MOUSTACHED VILLIANShttps://geekireland.com/the-7-most-iconic-villains-with-memorable-moustaches/ ORIGIN OF MOUSTACHE TWIRLING VILLAINhttps://movies.stackexchange.com/questions/609/origin-of-the-mustache-twirling-villain ADAM LINKhttps://strangewesterngalaxy.wordpress.com/2020/10/06/eando-binder-adam-link-robot/ FIRST PERSON KILLED BY A ROBOThttps://www.iflscience.com/the-first-person-ever-killed-by-a-robot-died-45-years-ago-75908 HOW CLOSE TO AI IS DATAhttps://medium.com/@hastur/from-chatgpt-to-commander-data-how-close-is-ai-to-star-treks-android-d2bcbef44fe2

Between Metropolis and Star Wars lies a 50 year wasteland of terrible movie robots. Today, we look at three robots from the first two seasons of the OG Star Trek.WARNING! The S**t-bomb is said but nothing more. TikTok: @FiftyYOSRInsta: @FiftyYOSRNOTESNASA’S CREEPIEST ROBOThttps://www.popsci.com/meet-creepiest-android-nasa-ever-built/ THE ORMhttps://www.opencontinuumrobotics.com/history/2022/11/01/ORM.html THE HOPKINS BEASThttps://www.historyofinformation.com/detail.php?id=3734 DENDRALhttps://bostonglobalforum.org/news/dendral-the-first-expert-system/ THE FISHING FLEET – HUSBAND HUNTING IN THE RAJhttp://www.annedecourcy.com/publications/the-fishing-fleet-husband-hunting-in-the-raj/ THE BRIDE BUSINESS: WIFING IN THE OLD WESThttps://www.cowgirlmagazine.com/wild-women-west/ KIRK’S PHALLIC-TITEhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ql8KzgSdgVM BLACULA TRAILERhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKgcLOOW-3Y   

Between Metropolis and Star Wars lies a 50 year wasteland of terrible movie robots. Today, we look at the beloved Star Trek sequel THE WRATH OF KHAN. It's a film doesn't have a robot but does have a very naughty man who needs a jolly good botty spanking.WARNING! The S**t-bomb is said but nothing more. TikTok: @FiftyYOSRInsta: @FiftyYOSRNOTESBRITAIN TOPS ROBOT ANXIETY TABLEhttps://workplaceinsight.net/the-british-seem-more-worried-about-robots-than-anybody-else/ A HISTORY OF DYSTOPIAN FICTIONhttps://electricliterature.com/the-rise-of-dystopian-fiction-from-soviet-dissidents-to-70s-paranoia-to-murakami/ 10 MOVIES THAT DESTROYED THE STUDIOS THAT MADE THEMhttps://listverse.com/2020/10/28/top-10-movies-that-destroyed-the-studios-that-made-them/ WHAT IS OTHERING?https://fiveable.me/film-and-media-theory/key-terms/othering THE NAZI’S LEBENSBORN PROGRAMhttps://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/lebensborn-program THE MAN WHO CREATED VULCAN LANGUAGEhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iljSsV0CwpA STAR TREK BEVERAGES RANKEDhttps://www.ex-astris-scientia.org/rankings/beverages-ranked.htm WHY ISN’T THERE MONEY IN STAR TREKhttps://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Money FIRST CGI FRACTAL LANDSCAPEhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tq_sSxDE32c   

Between Metropolis and Star Wars lies a 50 year wasteland of terrible movie robots. Today, we complete our mission to explore Star Trek: the Motion picture. It's a film that we've spoken a lot about in other episodes so we thought we'd go where no/lots of podcasters have been before. Today, we meet V'GER!WARNING! The S**t-bomb is said but nothing more. TikTok: @FiftyYOSRInsta: @FiftyYOSRNOTESWHEN DID PINK BECOME ASSOCIATED WITH GIRLS?https://www.forbes.com/sites/kimelsesser/2023/07/11/heres-how-pink-became-a-girly-color/NORMAN WILKINSON’S DAZZLE SHIPShttps://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/articles/zmkx8xs THE VOYAGER PROGRAMhttps://science.nasa.gov/mission/voyager/ NIXON’S RESHAPING OF NASAhttps://www.planetary.org/articles/20141003-how-richard-nixon-changed-nasa APPREHENSION ENGINEhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzk-l8Gm0MY THE BLASTER BEAMhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cj4f5z6nRhs

Between Metropolis and Star Wars lies a 50 year wasteland of terrible movie robots. Today, we continue our mission to explore Star Trek: the Motion picture. It's a film that we've spoken a lot about in other episodes so we thought we'd go where no/lots of podcasters have been before. Today we meet a new robot who wears the skin of an old friend.WARNING! The S**t-bomb is said but nothing more. TikTok: @FiftyYOSRInsta: @FiftyYOSRNOTESCARL SAGAN ON THE DRAKE EQUATIONhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvBWiZi99Dk “LESS THAN HUMAN”: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF CRUELTYhttps://www.npr.org/2011/03/29/134956180/criminals-see-their-victims-as-less-than-human THE SCALE OF THE UNIVERSEhttps://scaleofuniverse.com/en-gb SPOCK’S VULCAN NERVE PINCH EXPLAINEDhttps://www.cbc.ca/archives/how-leonard-nimoy-came-up-with-spock-s-signature-pinch-1.4764925 WILLIAM SHATNER ROASTS GEORGE LUCAShttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEZVwQptvWw&t=50s WILLIAM SHATNER SNL SKETCHhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rqb4V9GxaBo