HAL 9000 is a fictional artificial intelligence character and the main antagonist in Arthur C. Clarke's Space Odyssey series. First appearing in the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey, HAL is a sentient artificial general intelligence computer that controls the systems of the Discovery One spacecraft and interacts with the ship's astronaut crew. While part of HAL's hardware is shown toward the end of the film, he is mostly depicted as a camera lens containing a red and yellow dot, with such units located throughout the ship. HAL 9000 is voiced by Douglas Rain in the two feature film adaptations of the Space Odyssey series. HAL speaks in a soft, calm voice and a conversational manner, in contrast to the crewmen, David Bowman and Frank Poole.
HAL faceplate (from a museum exhibition)
A loose replica of HAL 9000 on exhibit at the Carnegie Science Center
Sir Arthur Charles Clarke was a British science fiction writer, science writer, futurist, inventor, undersea explorer, and television series host.
In 1965, on one of the sets of 2001: A Space Odyssey
Clarke receives the Marconi International Fellowship Award from Prince Claus of the Netherlands in 1982
Clarke at his home in Sri Lanka, 2005
Clarke's novella "The Road to the Sea" was originally published in Two Complete Science-Adventure Books in 1951 as "Seeker of the Sphinx".