⏱️ First Published: June 10 2022 | ⏱️ Last updated: 20th Sep 2023
We last updated this article on 20th September 2023 to include 9 more AI documentaries (including documentaries freely available on YouTube). Also, we have updated the introduction and heading structure of this article to ensure content freshness and relevancy.
Trying to find the best AI documentaries to watch during your free time? Then, look no further.
We have asked tech employees and spent hours researching to understand the popular AI documentaries for 2023.
As a result, we found these 20 AI documentaries to watch out for in 2023. This includes documentaries from various platforms such as YouTube (free to watch), Netflix, Amazon prime, and more.
Best AI documantaries in 2023 at a glance:
1. iHuman
- Published in: 2019
- IMDb Rating: 6.7/10
- Duration: 1 h 39 min
Professionals in artificial intelligence, Jurgen Schmidhuber with Ilya Sutskeve, tell us about machine learning and the different changes that AI brings in and is expected to bring forth in society. They show how artificial intelligence can be developed and help the social and political order.
Moreover, the powerful artificial intelligence can often be staggering but howsoever is shown on the screen with utmost care for the viewers’ understanding.
2. The Social Dilemma
- Published in: 2020
- IMDb Rating: 7.6/10
- Duration: 1 hr. 34 min
A very recent documentary discusses the critical point of social media’s effect on our society and its popular thinking. Jeff Orlowski, in his documentary, portrays the trend social media can start in one’s thinking and how it affects the mental health of the youth.
From AI algorithms to social media platforms, this documentary shows a dangerously new side of technology, all backed up by interviews with former employees of Google, Apple, and Facebook.
3. AI: A Fork in the Road
- Published in: 2023
- Available on: YouTube (Free)
- Duration: 20 minutes
In this documentary, you’ll explore the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on our lives. Unlike past technologies, AI goes beyond human capabilities. It’s already shaping your daily routines and job landscape. This documentary shows you how AI is already shaping your daily life, from education to healthcare and even the job market.
You can either tap into AI’s potential for societal good or risk going down a less favorable path. It’s a call to ensure AI aligns with your values and prioritizes transparency and responsibility.
Watch to understand the crossroads of AI and human progress.
4. The cost of A.I
- Published in: 2023
- Available on: YouTube (Free)
- Duration: 50 minutes
This documentary, “The Cost of A.I.” highlights the harsh realities concealed by Silicon Valley’s AI promises. It exposes the industry’s insatiable hunger for resources, data, and computing power, often at great environmental and human expense.
This also sheds light on the hidden side of AI, from silicon mines to power-hungry servers, revealing the true costs behind the technology’s facade. If you’re curious to unveil the hidden costs and consequences of the AI technology, you will enjoy watching this documentary.
5. AlphaGo
- Published in: 2017
- IMDb Rating: 7.8/10
- Duration: 1hr 30 min
This very intriguing documentary explains weird but logical combat between a thousand-year-old Chinese board game called Go and artificial intelligence. In South Korea, a Go player clashes with AI, contrasting human intelligence and human-built intelligence. It also gives the message and plot of how different the clash between humanity and AI can be from the regular imagination.
6. The Age of Big Data
- Published in: 2013
- IMDb Rating: 6.8/10
- Duration: 54 min (avg. episode)
This documentary showcases the importance of big data and the digital world. It portrays data’s help to put together pieces separated by borders. It emphasizes the role of the digital era in promoting the fields of healthcare, among others.
It shows people in different professions using data to analyze and ease their work. Such as the case of a police officer trying to predict a mishap or crime or an astronomer from South Africa with dreams of space.
7. The AI revolution: Google’s developers on the future of artificial intelligence
- Published in: 2023
- Available on: YouTube (Free)
- Published by: 60 minutes
- Duration: 27 minutes
“The AI Revolution” is a documentary that explores the transformative impact of artificial intelligence on society. It delves into the advancements in AI, such as self-learning chatbots and machines that can acquire superhuman skills.
The documentary features interviews with experts, including Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google, who discusses the potential and challenges of AI. The best part is that you will see a live demo of the capabilities of some AI tools such as Google Bard.
8. Generative AI Is About To Reset Everything, And, Yes It Will Change Your Life
- Published in: 2023
- Available on: YouTube (Free)
- Published by: Forbes
- Duration: 21 minutes
This documentary explores the second wave of transformative AI, focusing on generative AI that creates content. It discusses the evolution of OpenAI, the recent hype around generative AI, its applications in creativity and education, and the ethical concerns and safeguards needed.
Bill Gates expresses optimism about AI’s potential in healthcare and education. The concept of “platform democracy” is introduced as a way to involve global populations in AI technology decisions. It also showcases the importance of optimizing AI for human values and the challenges of addressing biases and misuse.
9. The Age of A.I – How Far is Too Far?
- Published in: 2019
- IMDb Rating: 7.8/10
- Duration: 35 min (avg. episode)
This is a documentary series first aired in December of 2019. In this eight-part documentary, Robert Downey Jr. journeys you through machine learning and artificial intelligence. It shows AI’s potential to change the world and revolutionize it with its ever-growing branches and newer and faster algorithms.
10. Revolution of Artificial Intelligence
- Published in: 2023
- Available on: YouTube (Free)
- Published by: Moconomy
- Duration: 52 minutes
In this documentary, you’ll discover the AI revolution shaping your daily life. We use Siri, Alexa, and social media, but behind these conveniences, there is an unseen workforce to make it all work.
The documentary exposes the contrast between the convenience and efficiency of AI-driven applications and the exploitation of those who make them possible.
11. HI, AI – Love Stories From the Future
- Published in: 2019
- IMDb Rating: 6.4/10
- Duration: 1h 30 min
It is a beautiful portrayal of the connections humans can have with robots, exploring artificial intelligence from its roots. Willinger directs it; this shows the variations in the interactions humans can have with their counterparts and goes into detail about the developments artificial intelligence goes through. Robotics is also a discussed topic in this documentary.
12. Will humans love AI robots?
- Published in: 2023
- Available on: YouTube (Free)
- Published by: DW Documentary
- Duration: 42 minutes
In this documentary, You will discover the evolving role of AI-controlled robots in our lives. It highlights whether people are ready for robots to assist in healthcare and entertainment. The documentary film reveals how robots are connecting with elderly residents in a care home, and it discusses the use of AI chatbots in your daily life.
It raises intriguing questions about the boundary between humans and machines as AI technology advances.
If you’re curious about the growing impact of AI-controlled robots in our daily lives, you’ll find this documentary entertaining and informative as well.
13. TechnoCalyps
- Published in: 2006
- IMDb Rating: 7.3/10
- Duration: 2h 36 min
This documentary on the development and the ever-changing technology written and directed by Frank Theys is divided into three parts. There are obvious distinctions between artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, and other cyber topics, and it also features in-depth conversations on AI and related topics with some experts.
This Belgian documentary explores transhumanism, an idea of humankind expanding beyond barriers by science and technology, with a natural and understandable tone.
14. Lo and Behold
- Published in: 2016
- IMDb Rating: 7/10
- Duration: 1h 38 min
This documentary features interviews with some of the tech giants, such as Elon Musk and Sebastian Thrun. And, with much-awaited explanations and descriptions of the complex and in-depth working of AI and robotics, this show will steal your mind and put your eyes in a new perspective to look at the new digital web that is being spun all around. It is undoubtedly worth watching.
15. The race for artificial intelligence – Can Europe compete?
- Published in: 2023
- Available on: YouTube (Free)
- Published by: DW Documentary
- Duration: 21 minutes
In a world where AI is transforming industries and societies, the documentary explores the global race for artificial intelligence dominance. The United States and China lead the way, but Europe is pursuing its vision of AI with a focus on stringent data privacy rules.
This documentary film travels across Europe to meet officials and pioneers, showcasing AI’s impact on daily life, from creating smart cities to advancing medical research.
If you want to learn about Europe’s evolving role in the global AI landscape and the intersection of technology, ethics, and innovation, this documentary is for you.
16. Future Intelligence
- Published in: 2009
- IMDb Rating: 8.86/10
- Duration: 44 min
Machine learning and data & analytics? It is the watch for you! This documentary focuses on imparting meaningful knowledge on machine learning and data, all the while also analyzing how, over the years, researchers have and still are trying to make AI faster than human intelligence could have ever reached.
This documentary indeed puts forth the question of whether artificial intelligence, at its best, will still assist us or will take over with its all-dominant skills in intellect and a flow of organized information.
17. The Smartest Machine on Earth
- Published in: 2011
- IMDb Rating: 7.4/10
- Duration: 1 hour
This documentary has Watson, an IBM-developed computer with a library of ten million databases and a brain as big as 2400 personal computers, letting the audience indulge in how artificial intelligence has changed our lives. It is an excellent opportunity to learn more about machine learning from this complex character with mind-boggling access to information.
This new AI documentary will show us the ‘artificial’ side in contrast to humankind will take you on a rollercoaster ride of information and intelligence.
18. AI: The Final Countdown
- Published in: 2023
- Available on: YouTube (Free)
- Published by: UNIDENTIFIED
- Duration: 1 hour 6 minutes
This documentary dives into the growing impact of artificial intelligence (AI) in our lives. It warns that if we don’t handle AI carefully, it could bring about economic chaos, social manipulation, and even threaten humanity’s existence.
In fact, experts like Stephen Hawking and Bill Gates express concerns. The documentary emphasizes the need for clear rules and defenses to keep AI from becoming an uncontrollable force, potentially reshaping the world in unpredictable ways.
19. The Rise of AI
- Published in: 2018
- IMDb Rating: 7.8/10
- Duration: 51 min
Journalist Ashlee Vance searches for the origins of technology in Canada. This documentary, available for free on YouTube, gets you the answers to some of the most needed questions on the revolution and changes brought forward by artificial intelligence.
However, what makes it stand out is its very successful attempts at knowing what caused this big bang of AI and how it emerged into something so widely used.
20. The Danger of AI
- Published in: 2023
- Available on: YouTube (Free)
- Published by: Moconomy
- Duration: 52 minutes
‘The danger of AI’ shows the disruption of traditional polling methods by Advanced Symbolics (ASI), a startup utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) and social media data to predict voter behavior.
It highlights the potential of AI to accurately forecast election outcomes but raises concerns about privacy and democratic integrity.
ASI’s AI algorithm, Polly, extracts demographic profiles and preferences from social media, successfully predicting events like the 2016 Trump victory and Brexit.
Anyone interested in the intersection of AI, politics, privacy, and democracy should watch this artificial intelligence documentary.
TL;DR
If you’re not sure which AI documentary to watch next, here’s a TL;DR with a short description.
| Title | Duration | What this is about |
| iHuman | 1h 39 min | AI’s impact on society, politics, and more. |
| The Social Dilemma | 1 hr. 34 min | Social media’s impact on society and youth. |
| AlphaGo | 1hr 30 min | AI vs. human in a Chinese board game. |
| The Age of Big Data | 54 min | Role of big data in various professions. |
| The Age of A.I – How Far is Too Far? | 35 min (avg. episode) | AI’s potential to change the world. |
| HI, AI – Love Stories From the Future | 1h 30 min | Human-robot interactions and AI development. |
| TechnoCalyps | 2h 36 min | Exploring technology’s development. |
| Lo and Behold | 1h 38 min | Interviews with tech giants on AI. |
| Future Intelligence | 44 min | Machine learning and AI’s future. |
| The Smartest Machine on Earth | 1 hour | Watson and its impact on AI. |
| The Rise of AI | 51 min | Origins and changes brought by AI. |
We hope you’ve enjoyed this article and our top 20 AI documentary recommendations. If we have missed anything to include in this list, let us know.
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