Hollywood legend Arnold Schwarzenegger claimed that the future artificial intelligence technology that was predicted in the iconic "Terminator" franchise has "become a reality."
During a Los Angeles event honoring the 75-year-old Austrian-born actor and his limited edition photo book, Schwarzenegger remarked on the similarities between today’s real-world AI technology and the AI portrayed in the 80s action epic he starred in.
"Now over the course of decades, it has become a reality," Schwarzenegger claimed. He also added praise for "Terminator" filmmaker James Cameron for predicting the future.
The film franchise, which has been spawning big budget sequels since the first movie premiered in 1984, is set during a human conflict with self-aware robots that have decided to exterminate humanity.
Though that future hasn’t quite dawned, Schwarzenegger insisted during the event that AI seems to have reached points close to what Cameron envisioned in the science fiction film.
Bringing up the film and AI, he claimed, "Today, everyone is frightened of it, of where this is gonna go. And in this movie, in ‘Terminator,’ we talk about the machines becoming self-aware and they take over."
Leading tech and science experts have raised the concerns over AI that Schwarzenegger mentioned. SpaceX CEO and Twitter owner Elon Musk recently claimed, "Arguably, we are on the event horizon of the black hole that is artificial superintelligence."
Although Musk claimed he doesn’t believe "AI's going to try to destroy all of humanity," he claimed it could "put us under strict controls." Referencing Schwarzenegger and Cameron’s film, he added there is a "non-zero chance of [AI] going full ‘Terminator’" in the future.
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During Schwarzenegger’s speech he marveled at how far the tech has come since ’84, saying, "At that time we (had) scratched the surface of AI, artificial intelligence. Think about that."
"Now over the course of decades, it has become a reality. So it's not any more fantasy or kind of futuristic. It is here today. And so this is the extraordinary writing of Jim Cameron," he said praising the filmmaker.
The actor continued to sing the praises of Cameron, whose filmmaking career has resulted in box office successes like "Terminator," "Aliens," "Titanic," and the "Avatar" franchise.
He said, "He's just such an extraordinary writer and he's such an unbelievable director, this is again, one of those things that I wish I could take credit for this movie."
In addition to being known for his successful films, Cameron has become known for pushing the boundaries of film technology and is also an avid deep-sea explorer. The media recently sought Cameron’s expertise in reports covering the recent tragedy of the OceanGate Titan submersible implosion.
Schwarzenegger continued, mentioning how his starring role in the film was only one small part of the genius put together by Cameron. He said, "I can only take credit of the character that I played and the way I played it. But I mean, he has created this character. He has written it so well, he's written the movie so well, and that's why he is, you know, the number one director in the world."
