It’s hard to overstate the scale and permanence of the mark left on the cinematic landscape by 2001: A Space Odyssey. Directed by Stanley Kubrick, the stunning wide-screen science-fiction epic was released in 1968 to the astonishment of mid-century cinemagoers. Whilst critical reviews at the same were decidedly split down the middle, there was one thing people could all agree on: they had never seen something quite like it projected on a theatre screen before.

Cited by Christopher Nolan as "pure cinema", Kubrick’s space drama was a ground-breaking depiction of the future that gradually dissolved into a kaleidoscopic and cerebral exploration of the origins of man, the implication of alien life and the intangible nature of reality itself. It was also utterly revolutionary in its depictions of interstellar travel, the physical experience of space flight and the advancements in human technology, particularly concerning computing and Artificial Intelligence.

As time went on and humankind actually did reach the stars and travel through space, it became almost spooky how accurate Kubrick and his team’s depictions of the future were. Despite the extensive research that went into 2001 and the countless hours of conversation the director held with experts in every related scientific field, it nonetheless felt like the filmmakers had a preternatural ability to predict the future. In light of the recent breakthroughs and concerns regarding artificial intelligence, Kubrick’s predictions are all the more prescient.

A year after the film’s release, Kubrick sat down with journalist and film critic Joseph Gelmis for a conversation on A Space Odyssey. When the subject turned to the character of HAL, the autonomous ship computer that develops sentience during one of the film’s chapters, Kubrick had some particularly insightful thoughts concerning people’s reactions to it.

"Of course, the computer is the central character of this segment of the story. If HAL had been a human being, it would have been obvious to everyone that he had the best part," Kubrick said, responding to criticism at the time that the computer was given more screen time and characterisation than his human co-stars. "He was the most interesting character; he took all the initiatives, and all the problems related to and were caused by him."

Furthermore, the director divulged his own thoughts regarding HAL and the future of computers just like it. "One of the things we were trying to convey in this part of the film is the reality of a world populated – as ours soon will be – by machine entities who have as much, or more, intelligence as human beings," the director explained, adding: "And who have the same emotional potentialities in their personalities as human beings. We wanted to stimulate people to think what it would be like to share a planet with such creatures."

As we approach a critical moment now, where the intersection of technology and philosophy is becoming evermore topical, and concerns about AI-fuelled unemployment take on more and more gravity, Kubrick’s comments on computer intelligence seem increasingly astute. "In the specific case of HAL," the 2001 director clarified, "He had an acute emotional crisis because he could not accept evidence of his own fallibility. Most advanced computer theorists believe that once you have a computer which is more intelligent than man and capable of learning by experience, it’s inevitable that it will develop an equivalent range of emotional reactions — fear, love, hate, envy, etc."

For those feeling optimistic about AI or taking solace in the impassive nature of the technology, Kubrick’s final statement may somewhat rattle their faith, as the director concludes that "Such a machine could eventually become as incomprehensible as a human being, and could, of course, have a nervous breakdown — as HAL did in the film."