2001: A Space Odyssey’s HAL 9000 might be from a film that was made in 1968 but somehow this quietly villainous artificial intelligence has endured as the benchmark for when humanity has taken technology too far.
It is either highly amusing then (or deeply troubling) to see that Master Replicas Group, a company that specialises in making film replicas, has built their very own version of HAL using Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant.
Featuring a beautifully accurate design, this wall-mounted interface looks and sounds every bit the softly spoken bringer of our destruction.
According to CNET the replica has been in the works for some time but Warner Bros. only just started consumer product licensing in 2016.
The replica uses an Amazon Fire HD 10 tablet as the main display which in turn provides the Alexa personal assistant.
Just like HAL you’ll be able to ask it a number of questions from the film and even have some disturbingly sinister conversations about airlocks and whether or not you’ll be able to get into the ship that you don’t actually own.
Now like most of Master Replicas Group’s products this is not a mass-produced product so if you want your very own bloodthirsty AI running your home you’ll have to sign up to the pre-orders which start next month.
The company has said that it is working with Amazon to try and deepen the experience bit it’s not yet clear whether this will materialise into anything constructive.
H/T - CNET