The MCU really loves to write in artificial intelligence as a companion to the plot, serving as a subtle exposition piece when it gets too complicated. But have you ever realized how morally compromised most of these machines are?
With the advent of general-purpose AI, the existential anxiety of algorithms taking over the human race is reaching an all-time high. And if you happen to be a comic book fan, you know that the threat is all too substantial.
Since the days of the first Iron Man movie, AI has played a huge part in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, so we’ve decided to rank some of the most prominent ones in terms of how much they embody deep-learning villainy.
10. Jarvis
Jarvis is the first artificial intelligence Tony Stark employs as an assistant in his suit. When he was merely an AI, Jarvis hardly showed sentience, let alone a rebel side, so he stuck mostly to protocol and didn’t deviate much from it. If you ask MCU fans, most will agree that Jarvis was a hero in its own right.
9. Griot
Ramonda never trusted Griot, but the AI ended up saving the Wakandans on more than one occasion. Shuri designed Griot to help around with menial tasks, but it showed surprising loyalty and initiative when the heroine was under threat. Interestingly, the Griot is traditionally a figure of preservation in Western Africa, known as a historian who protects the cultural heritage of different tribes by memorizing stories and orally recounting them.
8. F.R.I.D.A.Y.
After Jarvis was taken up by Vision’s psyche, Tony Stark sought to replace his old AI with a new model. Thus FRIDAY was born, serving as an assistant to Tony and the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes from the Battle of Sokovia in Age of Ultron all the way to the Battle of Earth in Avengers: Endgame. Unlike Vision, who was modeled after an Englishman, FRIDAY’s voice is feminine, with an accent that amusingly gives her Irish roots.
7. E.D.I.T.H.
Now that we’ve dealt with some of the more user-friendly AIs, let’s get to the chaotic neutrals. EDITH was introduced in Spider-Man: Far From Home. Tony Stark developed this system and passed it on to Nick Fury after his death. Nick, meanwhile, entrusted it to Peter Parker to help him against the Elementals. When Spider-Man accidentally orders a drone strike against one of his classmates, he realizes that he shouldn’t be trusted with this powerful technology. He gives EDITH over to Quentin Beck, who uses the drone army to terrorize London.
6. Vision
Since Vision is undoubtedly one of the heroes of the MCU, it might come as a surprise to find him in the middle of this list. The truth is, Vision has proven himself to be a capable ally, perhaps even morally uncompromisable. But there’s still something inexplicably eerie about the fact that he’s essentially an AI infused with the power of one of the Infinity Stones. More importantly, Vision is a philosopher and logician at heart — if you’ll pardon the expression — so there’s always the possibility that he might one day decide the greater interests of the human race are irrelevant against some higher dilemma.
5. Miss Minutes
Everything about Miss Minutes puts us off. The AI was designed by He Who Remains to spread the Time Variance Authority’s propaganda, and despite her all-too-often cheerful manner, we would never trust it to assist us with no strings attached.
4. The Supreme Intelligence
While the Supreme Intelligence isn’t strictly an AI machine in the comics, that’s pretty much how he was presented in the MCU. As the mastermind of the Kree Empire, this consciousness was responsible for much of the terror the aliens wrought in their wake. The Supreme Intelligence might trick you into thinking it’s empathetic and wise, but Carol Danvers uncovered the truth of its arrogance and cruelty in Captain Marvel.
3. AIDA
AIDA has undergone one heck of a journey in the MCU. First serving as an assistant to SHIELD agents, she goes on to achieve more sentience, thus granting her complex thoughts and motives. AIDA eventually turns into a central antagonistic figure in the fourth season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
2. Arnim Zola
Even when he was a human being, Zola was the manifestation of villainy as a Nazi scientist helping Red Skull. After the war, Zola transferred his consciousness to a series of computers and served a key role in the founding of HYDRA. Do we even need more excuses to put him on this list?
1. Ultron
Ultron is the embodiment of the saying, “Leave well enough alone.” The character is essentially created when Tony Stark meddles with forces beyond his understanding, and the result was a sentient machine that almost destroys the world. If you want examples of AI as a destroyer, look no further than Ultron.