The latest installment of the "Mission: Impossible" film series introduces a malevolent AI known as the Entity, joining the ranks of other fictional AI villains like Skynet from the Terminator movies and HAL 9000 from "2001: A Space Odyssey. " In the movie, there is a race between the protagonist and antagonist to gain control over this all-powerful, uncontrollable AI before it unleashes undefined devastation on the world. While the movie offers thrilling action sequences and stunts, it prompted me to question the plausibility of the Entity and how it compares to other AI antagonists in popular culture. To explore these inquiries, I interviewed Alex Hanna, the research director at the Distributed AI Research Institute and co-host of the "Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000" podcast. Our conversation is condensed and edited below. Although discussing the AI villains in movies may appear frivolous, it is crucial to recognize that fiction has influenced our perception of real AI, with examples ranging from "Frankenstein" and Isaac Asimov's robot novels to Iron Man comics. This article contains minor spoilers for "Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning, Part One, " but reading it will not spoil the movie for you, as the plot is not the central focus. Q: Does the Entity accurately depict the capabilities of AI in reality?Q: Why is the Entity implausible?The notion that the Entity can effortlessly hack into any electronic system, observe and comprehend all events in the world, and derive knowledge from them is quite ludicrous. Present AI technologies cannot achieve this level of autonomous operation. The Entity exhibits remarkable foresight, predicting future actions down to the second and strategizing with human-like ingenuity, which is simply not feasible. Another implausible aspect of the Entity is its intent, similar to the robots depicted in Isaac Asimov's stories; it seeks self-preservation. However, my colleague, Emily M. Bender, argues that these machines lack genuine understanding, as comprehension is exclusive to sentient beings. Q: Are there more realistic AI technologies portrayed in the movie?Yes, facial recognition is portrayed as so commonplace in the movie that it is not even considered as AI. It is used by various intelligence agencies, the Italian police, and the protagonist's team. These depictions align with how facial recognition is often represented in popular media, where the software possesses an almost supernatural ability to identify terrorists. However, the real-world implementation of this technology frequently encounters errors. Additionally, in one scene, a character named Benji Dunn finds himself in a self-driving car and reluctantly moves to the passenger seat while wearing his seatbelt, indicating his lack of trust in the AI. This scene acknowledges the existing skepticism surrounding this particular AI technology, showcasing thoughtful storytelling. Q: Can you think of any accurate depictions of AI in popular media?The perpetual issue is that technology and computing are often depicted as magical in popular media. Even in the "Mission: Impossible" movie, the notion is that once the protagonists obtain a key to the Entity's source code, they can control it. However, this is a misinterpretation. Having access to the actual source code of an AI would not provide all the necessary information.

Replicating its decision-making would also require the model weights within a neural network, as well as understanding the accessible data. Q: Do you enjoy any entertainment related to technology?I appreciate the character Data from "Star Trek" because he strives to be more human, aiming to improve his relationships with his crew members. This differs from his evil twin, Lore, whose desire is to kill humans and amass power. Although "Hackers" may not be realistic, I enjoy it for its eclectic group of individuals attempting to bring down a massive corporation, not to mention the presence of a young Jonny Lee Miller and Angelina Jolie. Q: Why do fictional depictions of AI matter?Representations of AI in fiction can shape our perception of real-world AI, potentially endowing these actual systems with excessive agency and power. However, real-world AI is much more limited, quietly destroying lives through less publicized means, such as flawed facial recognition software and predictive policing algorithms. Q: Do you believe that fears of AI triggering human extinction among some technologists are influenced by fictional killer machines?I do not possess a definitive answer. Concerns about uncontrollable artificial entities have existed for a long time, with Frankenstein's monster serving as a cautionary tale about human arrogance. Q: If you were writing a fictional AI villain for a movie, what would it be?I would explore the use of AI systems as tools wielded by employers to exploit and oppress workers. These depictions would resemble movies focused on labor issues rather than "Mission: Impossible. " However, I would still be intrigued by such a narrative. Furthermore, Android phone users will soon receive notifications if someone is attempting to stalk them using Apple's AirTags location-tracking devices. While Bluetooth trackers like AirTags can be useful for keeping track of belongings, they have also been misused by stalkers to surreptitiously monitor their targets. Up until now, Android phones lacked built-in notifications for unknown AirTags, which Apple's iPhones already had. However, Google recently announced that most Android phones will receive automatic updates over the next few weeks, incorporating anti-stalker notifications for AirTags. These notifications will not work for other Bluetooth tracker brands. Once users have the updated Android software, they can tap on the phone notifications for more details and guidance on how to address the situation. The feature can be accessed by going to Settings → Safety & emergency → Unknown tracker alerts and tapping the "Scan Now" button. Please note that this feature may not be available for all Android phone models at the time of this writing. Google and Apple are also collaborating on a separate technology that can detect major Bluetooth tracker brands such as AirTags, Tile, Chipolo, and eufy Security. Ultimately, this technology allows users to take control of their personal tech and better understand its usage, which is the primary goal of Help Desk. Sign up for The Tech Friend newsletter to receive candid advice on using technology responsibly and effectively.