WhenA.I. Artificial Intelligencewas released in 2001, directorSteven Spielbergwas criticized for the way the film ended.Spielberg was at it again, they said, injecting schmaltz into a story that didn’t call for it. But the ending ofA.I.is not schmaltzy or even that uplifting.It’s emotionally devastating and tremendously bleak.A.I.had been in the works for decades under the stewardship of filmmakerStanley Kubrick, who kept delaying the project until technology could make the prospect of telling a story about a young human-like A.I. boy feasible.
Over those years, Kubrick kept his friend Steven Spielberg in the loop about the project’s development and creative evolution – something he hadn’t done withThe ShiningorFull Metal Jacket, which Spielberg found curious. Eventually, in the 1990s, Kubrick formallytold Spielberg he should direct the film instead, and Kubrick would produce it. Spielberg demurred as he focused on other projects, but after Kubrick’s sudden death in 1999, theE.T.director decided he needed to makeA.I.as a tribute to his friend. The ending ofA.I.reinforces that,especially when you take into account Kubrick’s original outline for the film.
What Is ‘AI: Artificial Intelligence’ About?
A.I.is presented almost like a fairy tale.Haley Joel Osment’s robot David is one of a kind –a robot boy who can love– and when his human mother abandons him, he sets out on a quest to “become a real boy” so that she will finally love him back.The similarities toPinocchioare no mistake, and yet it’s the framing of the entire story as a fairy tale that drills down just how emotionally unsettling the film’s finale is. David reaches the end of his quest not by accident, but by design. His maker, Professor Allen Hobby (William Hurt), gave David a nudge to venture to a partially submerged Manhattan where Hobby and his underlings are toiling away at creating an entire line of children robots with the capacity for love. David was the first of his kind, and when his mother Monica (Frances O’Connor) said the magic words to make David imprint on her – to unlock the power of love, so to speak –Hobby and his associates didn’t quite know just how significantly David would evolve and change.
David loved his mother, sure, but also felt rejection when she found herself unable to fully love him back. And that rejection instilled a desire for change in David, one for which he would go to the ends of the Earth if that meant he could finally be loved and accepted by his mother. But in Hobby’s office, David learns he’s not one of a kind. He’s one of many. He confronts (and straight-up murders) another activated David,and discovers a full line of boxed-up Davids and female Darlenes ready to be shipped out. He is not special. He is not unique. So what does David do? When asked to wait for Hobby’s associates who would give him “the next steps” on his journey, he leaps from the top of the building into the abyss below. Faced with the truth thatthere is no Blue Fairywho can turn him into a real boy and that he basically served as a placeholder for his mother’s real son,he puts an end to his quest and, in practice, his existence.
‘AI: Artificial Intelligence’ Brings the ‘Pinocchio’ Parallels Full Circle in Its Ending
But under the ocean, David happens upon a Blue Fairy statue at Coney Island, a part of aPinocchioexhibit that existed before the oceans gobbled up the pier. Could the Blue Fairy from Pinocchio – the one who inspired him to go looking for a real Blue Fairy to grant him his wish of becoming real – actually be right here before him? David and his soft-spoken toy companion Teddy take the vehicle Gigolo Joe (Jude Law) stole and submerge themselves deeper and deeperuntil they come to a final rest.
Speilberg decides to take thePinocchioparallels even further, asA.I.flashes forward 2,000 years into a future in which all organic life is extinct, and robots have evolved into a new form. These evolved Mecha – who have never before interacted with living beings – wake up David and Teddy, and desire to grant David his wish because they say, more than anything,they want David to be happy.The Mecha resurrect David’s mother from a lock of her hair,but the resurrection can only last for one day. Once she falls asleep, she will die all over again. And so begins what David has longed for this whole journey – a perfect day with just him and his mommy, playing and laughing and loving and being loved. As his mother falls asleep, she says to David that she loves him. That she “has always” loved him. At peace, David, too, closes his eyes and “goes to that place ‘where dreams are born.’”
‘AI’ Is, at Heart, a Story About a Son’s Love For His Mother
This ending can be read one of two ways. One, David gets a perfect reunion with his mother, during which she embraces him fully and tells him she loves him. Or two, David lives a perfect day with someone who is not his motherbut is instead an approximation of herand is maybe even told what he wants to hear as engineered by the Mecha who made her resurrection possible.The latter feels more plausible and fitting with the story. For the entirety of the film, Spielberg drills down the idea that humans see A.I. as a threat, and the heartbreaker is that some of these A.I. have come to love their human creators despite their hatred.
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That certainly describes David, a machine who wanted more than anything to be loved by a human mother. Is the love he receives at the end of the film less meaningful because it’s not real? Because the woman he sees as his mother is at best a clone and at worst a hallucination? It really depends on the viewer, butthe film can be seen as a fairy tale tragedy about humanity’s unwillingness to co-exist with those who are different,and the hubris of thinking you can create life and exert control over it.Ultimately,AIis a story of nature vs. nurture. David grows to truly love his mother, and his quest to be reunited with her is a testament to that love. When the Mecha resurrects his mother, David is finally able to find a measure of peace.
Steven Spielberg Stayed True to Stanley Kubrick’s Ending
The unique development history and collaboration between Spielberg and Kubrick when it comes toAIis unique,yet it inexplicably led to the belief that Spielberg altered Kubrick’s original vision. One of the biggest detractors wasBrian Aldiss, the writer of the short story “Supertoys Last All Summer Long.“AI’s first act is heavily inspired by “Supertoys,” with Aldisseven writing a continuation of the storyto keep interest in theAIadaptation alive. Yet, whenAIfinally premiered, Aldiss hadsome mixed thoughts on the ending:
“That is one of the ‘ifs’ of film history—at least the ending indicates Spielberg adding some sugar to Kubrick’s wine. The actual ending is overly sympathetic and moreover rather overtly engineered by a plot device that does not really bear credence. But it’s a brilliant piece of film and of course it’s a phenomenon because it contains the energies and talents of two brilliant filmmakers.”
AIscreenwriterIan Watsonhad a more charitable read, especially since he worked closely with Kubrick on the story treatment before his death.Watson maintained that” those scenes were exactly what I wrote for Stanley and exactly what he wanted, filmed faithfully by Spielberg.” Spielberg himselfdecided to set the record straightin an interview, revealing thatKubrick’s original treatmentwent 2,000 years into the future, much like what made it into the final 20 minutes ofAI. “This is where I was obligated to take the picture, and even if I didn’t feel such an obligation to defend [Kubrick’s] vision, that would have been my vision as well,” Spielberg said.
Steven Spielberg Has Tackled Some Dark Themes in His Work, and ‘AI’ Is No Exception
The other strange criticism ofAIis that Spielberg and Kubrick are incompatible due to Spielberg’s reputation for uplifting films and Kubrick’s going to some dark, dark places. While it’s true that films likeET: The Extra-TerrestialandSaving Private Ryanhave had some uplifting endings,Spielberg has tackled some dark subjects in his films before.Close Encounters of the Third Kindshows Roy Neary (Richard Dreyfuss) growing obsessed with making contact with aliens, to the point where his wife leaves him.Schindler’s Listis set in the thick of World War II and doesn’t shy away from the horrors of the Holocaust. Circling back toSaving Private Ryan,the D-Day landing that opens the filmremains one of the most harrowing action sequences ever put to film.
That continues inAI, as Spielberg starts exploring how even if they develop thoughts and feelingsmachines will be discarded if they’re considered obsolete. A key moment comes toward the middle of the film, where David finds himself in the clutches of the “Flesh Fair” —a traveling group that destroys obsolete Mecha. This is already a horrifying concept, but what makes it truly chilling is that there’s an audience who watches these and cheers for it. Then there’s the moment when David discovers that he’s a mass-manufactured machine;the fact that his first reaction is to commit suicide is a dark turn to take.
But Spielberg aims for the heartstrings early inAIwith the scene whereMonica abandons David in the forest. While this could be shown as a sort of mercy, the fact that she decided to leave him instead of trying to incorporate him into her family speaks to how this society views robots as little more than entertainment to be thrown away at the slightest malfunction. Even more devastating are Monica’s final words to David: " I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about the world." The fact that she says this after shattering his worldview with the fact that he’s not flesh and blood is a cruel twist of the knife — and shows thatSpielberg and Kubrick were on the same page all along.
A.I.: Artificial Intelligence
David, a robotic boy—the first of his kind programmed to love—is adopted as a test case by a Cybertronics employee and his wife. Though he gradually becomes their child, a series of unexpected circumstances make this life impossible for David.
AI: Artificial Intelligenceis available to stream on Paramount+ in the U.S.
