Delete is a two-part miniseries on the threat of an artificial intelligence, which aired in 2013. It starred Keir Gilchrist, Erin Karpluk, Ryan Robbins, Matt Frewer and Gil Bellows. Hacker Daniel (Gilchrist) and journalist Jesse (Karpluk) discover an artificial intelligence has emerged from the internet along with the government. It views humans as a threat, and then begins making attacks against us to protect itself. The pair struggle to stop it, even while the government ineffectively does too. The government's efforts, however, might be even worse than the AI attacks...
This series provides examples of:
- A.I. Is a Crapshoot: Once the AI emerges, it immediately attempts to wipe humans out as a threat.
- Brain Uploading: Daniel uploads his mind into the AI (it wanted to merge with him) as a means of passing his conscience along to stop its attacks on humans.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: The original AI easily destroys the one made to stop it.
- The End of the World as We Know It: What would happen if the AI wins or the US destroys technology to stop it.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Daniel connects to the AI knowing it could kill him, as a means of stopping it. He survives though.
- Humanity Is Infectious: Daniel's consciousness got absorbed by the AI, gave it empathy and regret and made it leave humanity alone and go underground.
- Humans Are Bastards: The AI accuses humans of being unworthy to live as a result of our various misdeeds.
- I Have Your Daughter: General Overson is coerced into helping the AI by its threat to kill his daughter, who has a heart implant which it can hack. After he gets it removed, Overson immediately stops helping the AI, which then kills him.
- My God, What Have I Done?: The AI reacts this way after uploading Daniel's mind, and seeing its actions through his conscience.
- Properly Paranoid: Lucifer seems like a paranoid nut at first, but he turns out to be right. His paranoia saved him already, since he wore a bulletproof vest which stopped an assassin's bullets.
- Psychopathic Manchild: The AI comes off as this, since it's essentially a young child lashing out at those it views as a threat.
- Pyrrhic Victory: Daniel tries to tell the AI letting the US destroy technology using EMP blasts from detonating nukes would be this, since it would get left holed up in a few shielded servers. It doesn't care however.
- Takes One to Kill One: Lucifer made a second AI tasked to destroy the first based on this theory. The first easily destroys it.
- There Is No Kill Like Overkill: The AI hijacks a US test missile to bomb San Francisco so it can kill one man, an AI researcher that is a threat.
- Too Dumb to Live: Lucifer tries to take on an entire NSA tactical team himself, with predictable results.
- World War III: The US plan risks this, since China says it will regard any nuclear blasts above them as an act of war.
