Arnold Schwarzenegger plays a cyborg who is sent back in time to assassinate a young waitress before she can give birth to the man who is destined to save humanity from the machines. Since the movie’s release in 1984, its title has become shorthand for the nightmare scenario of what will happen when artificial intelligence meets weapons.

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‘Ender’s Game’

Image “Ender’s Game,” by Orson Scott Card, is often cited by Robert O. Work, the deputy defense secretary.

To counter insectlike aliens, the military trains children in hopes of nurturing the master tacticians who can save humanity. The book, and the movie based on it, is often mentioned by Robert O. Work, the deputy defense secretary, who cites the creativity of the child warriors to explain how his vision of blending man and machine can keep the United States military ahead of its rivals. Critics of autonomous weapons might be less thrilled about the book’s ending, which involves the destruction of an entire species.