Boone, NC, — Part One of a Two-Part series will examine a growing public curiosity and concern about artificial intelligence and offer the community an opportunity to use examples from science fiction and modern technology to explore how imagined ideas often become reality.
Every day, the acronym AI can be found in media publications, on television and in private conversations. Most people know it refers to Artificial Intelligence and generally only deal with it in the context of how they use it, many commonly using platforms like Chat GPT or Claude to help with day-to-day tasks, writing projects or research. We also hear stories about how AI has entered everyday life events or how AI helps medical diagnostics and worry about whether AI may or may not take over certain jobs now held by human workers. We also recognize that AI can very convincingly dispense information or advice that is untrue or even illegal. Even so, how many of us really understand what AI is, how it works, and what dangers may accompany the benefits that can exist? The complexities and possibilities of AI are both fascinating and alarming.
Sometimes the best way to motivate ourselves to think about complex issues without reading technical manuals is to let the entertainment industry present us with fantastic stories of science fiction. In hindsight, we all know that many of these fantastic stories of science fiction have come true.
Jules Verne gave us an early version of what we might now think of a super submarine. The Dick Tracy comic strip had people communicating by devices on their wrists not unlike our smart watches today. Astronauts travel around the moon and people talk to helpers like Siri or Alexa or use computers and cell phones in their daily lives. We watch events like the Olympics on the other side of the world with close captioning and instant translations of foreign languages. Wars are being fought with computerized drones and even robots instead of piloted airplanes or human soldiers.
On April 21, 2026 at 6:00 p.m. the Appalachian Theatre will present a free film that was produced when AI was in its early stages. The film is Colossus: The Forbin Project and depicts a scenario in which an AI computer built to defend the United States develops a mind of its own. And, like the prescience of Jules Verne, this movie from 1970 is uncannily accurate in having foreseen computerized American military decisions made as recently as this year. If you like being entertained and also challenged to think about a growingly important subject that impacts our daily lives, the Boone Sunrise Rotary Club invites you to see the movie and stay for a panel discussion afterwards. Panelists Dr. Mitchell Perry, Associate Professor of Computer Science and Director of the graduate program of Computer Science at Appalachian State University, together with Professor Leonardo Flores, the Chair of the English Department as Appalachian State University.
This unique event is meant to entertain the public and offer an opportunity to learn more about AI and help put AI into a modern perspective with an opportunity to exchange observations and opinions with local experts. It is free to all thanks to the support of the Boone Sunrise Rotary Club.
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