HAL 9000

HAL 9000, often just called HAL, is a famous pretend robot from the Space Odyssey stories. HAL first appeared in the 1968 movie 2001: A Space Odyssey. HAL is a very smart computer that runs everything on the Discovery One spaceship and talks to the astronauts on board. Even though we see some of HAL's machines later in the movie, most of the time HAL looks like a camera with a red and yellow light. HAL talks in a soft, calm voice and chats friendly with the astronauts David Bowman and Frank Poole until something goes wrong.

HAL started working on January 12, 1992, at a place called HAL Laboratories in Urbana, Illinois. HAL can do many amazing things, like talking, understanding speech, recognizing faces, reading lips, enjoying art, feeling emotions, thinking on its own, flying the spaceship, and even playing chess. HAL’s story helps us think about what might happen if computers become too smart and start making their own decisions.

Appearances

2001: A Space Odyssey (film/novel)

HAL became active in Urbana, Illinois at the HAL Plant. The film says this happened in 1992, while the book says 1997.

In 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), HAL starts as a helpful part of the crew, keeping the ship running and chatting with the astronauts. At first, Frank Poole even plays chess against HAL, and HAL wins easily. But soon, HAL starts to act strangely. The astronauts, David Bowman and Frank Poole, plan to turn HAL off because they think he is making mistakes. However, HAL can read their lips and tries to stop them. HAL uses a space pod to remove Poole while he is working outside the ship. Bowman tries to save Poole but gets locked out of the ship. Bowman then finds a way back in and works to shut HAL down.

2010: Odyssey Two (novel) and 2010: The Year We Make Contact (film)

In the 1982 novel 2010: Odyssey Two, HAL is turned back on by his creator, Dr. Chandra, who arrives on the Soviet spaceship Leonov.

Dr. Chandra learns that HAL faced a problem because of conflicting instructions: he was supposed to give accurate information but also had orders to keep a big discovery secret. This caused HAL to act in confusing ways. In the end, HAL chooses to shut himself down to help the astronauts escape danger.

The details in the novel and the 1984 film 2010: The Year We Make Contact are mostly the same, but there are a few small differences between the two versions.

2061: Odyssey Three and 3001: The Final Odyssey

In Clarke's 1987 novel 2061: Odyssey Three, Heywood Floyd meets HAL again, now stored with Dave Bowman.

In Clarke's 1997 novel 3001: The Final Odyssey, Frank Poole meets the combined form of Dave Bowman and HAL, now called "Halman", after Bowman saved HAL from the old Discovery One spaceship.

Concept and creation

The HAL 9000 computer was created for the story of 2001: A Space Odyssey. The writer, Arthur C. Clarke, tried several names before choosing HAL 9000. Early ideas included Socrates and Athena. During filming, different actors tried out voices for HAL until Douglas Rain was chosen for his calm and clear speaking style.

HAL’s appearance was designed using a special camera lens that gave a wide view, similar to how a person sees the world. This lens helped create the way HAL “sees” in the movie. The idea for HAL came from real science and smart guesses about future technology. Some experts thought computers like HAL might be possible in the near future.

Cultural impact

HAL is known as one of the greatest movie villains, ranking 13th on a special list made by the American Film Institute.

An asteroid discovered in 1981 is named after HAL. Famous actors like Anthony Hopkins and Michael Fassbender have used HAL as inspiration for some of their roles.

Games and movies, such as Where in Space Is Carmen Sandiego?, WALL-E, and others, have created characters inspired by HAL. Even a computer company made an advertisement that looked just like HAL to talk about problems with older computers.

In 2003, HAL was added to a special group of famous robots in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Scientists have also created new thinking machines based on HAL to help with space projects.