1 . AI is just now starting to go mainstream, but these classic films about AI have been exploring the future of artificial intelligence for decades.

In Ex Machina, a computer programmer is selected by the genius CEO of the company he works for to take part in an experiment involving the Turing test (图灵测试)with an impressive AI robot named Ava, convincingly played by a real actress.

No list on films featuring AI would be complete without A. I. Artificial Intelligence where a young AI boy with human-like feelings is left out by his human mother. As is so often the way, the questions posed by the story make the film way ahead of its time. What responsibility would humanity hold for an artificial intelligence that is advanced enough to actually experience feelings and emotional turmoil (混乱)？

As humans and robots struggle to survive together, and sometimes against each other, on Earth and in space, the future of both hangs in the balance. Here human men and women confront robots gone mad, telepathic robots, robot politicians, and vast robotic intelligence that may already secretly control the world. And both are asking the same questions: What is human? And is humanity out of date?

When an inventor in a Welsh village develops an AI being that looks like a mature professor who acts nothing like it, the result is quite possibly the funniest film of the decade so far. This is a film that is the perfect antidote to the apocalyptic threats surrounding modern life in the 21st century.

2 . Saisri Akondi was visiting a friend in Manipal just before the lockdown. Trapped by the travel ban, the researcher found herself frustrated at not being able to help during a national emergency. Back home, her colleagues at the National Chemical Laboratory worked on innovative methods to deal with the pandemic (流行病). She wanted to contribute in her own way. Soon, she spotted the opportunity.

On the evening of 11 May, she came across 50 migrants being questioned by the police. Akondi learned that they were railway construction workers, abandoned by their employer after the lockdown and were making their way to Mahabubabad, 680 kilometres away. “I instantly thought of helping them, noticing there were 10 children and a pregnant lady among them,” recalled Akondi.

Her first task was to register the group on a government portal (入口) to help them get movement passes within the state. Then, she arranged for food and convinced the railway authorities to let the migrants stay at the Udupi station until their transport was arranged. Akondi next turned her attention to the women, arranging for vitamins for her. She continued to make frequent posts to the social media handles of the Telangana chief minister’s office, seeking attention and help. There was no response for days, but she did not give up.

Her relentless efforts paid off, The Telangana government paid for the migrants’ travel back. On 19 May, the happy migrants were saying a tearful goodbye to Akondi and on 20 May, they reached their homes.

Akondi continued to help other stranded migrants reach their homes. Even as the world came to a standstill, this large-hearted woman became the ant that moved mountains.