Lucas7yoshi shared a fun little Easter egg in Grand Theft Auto Online.
He tweeted this out yesterday:
The new GTA Online update contains a 2001: A Space Odyssey reference.
Whenever AI assistant says a generic “Can’t do that” line, it has a 1/50 chance to say a rare line:
“This conversation can serve no purpose anymore”
which is said by HAL in the film.
He also shares clips of the line being said by the AI. Funnily enough, OG changes the line completely to this:
Nah, we ain’t need to do that sis/homie
A Small Intro To Stanley Kubrick And 2001: A Space Odyssey
Stanley Kubrick is, of course, one of the most important directors of the 20th century. He has an eclectic body of work that has seen commercial and critical success, and influenced generations of movie makers after him.
2001: A Space Odyssey is not a film from 2001, but one that was released much earlier, all the way back in 1968.
When Kubrick decided to make a science fiction film, he wanted to get away from the pulpy depictions of science fiction, filled with flying saucers, mad scientists, and giant monsters.
He decided to break precedent and create a realistic depiction of what space travel could really be like in the future. To this end, he co-wrote the film with science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke, and worked with artists and designers to conceive its forward looking futuristic tech aesthetic.
In an ironic turn, 2001: A Space Odyssey did not predict the future of science and space exploration, as much as it helped inspire it. And one of the most memorable parts of the movie isn’t strictly about space exploration itself.
What Is This Reference?
The film features an unusual character: HAL 9000, the onboard computer for the American spacecraft Discovery One.
HAL begins to show signs of erroneous decision making, and the crew makes the decision to shut HAL down if he provably makes a mistake next time. When HAL realizes this, he conspires to kill the crew.
The lines “I’m sorry I can’t do that” and “This conversation can serve no purpose anymore” comes from the moment astronaut Dave Bowman learns about HAL’s murderous plans. After this scene, Dave successfully defeats HAL and saves his own life.
Your AI Concierge Won’t Be Doing That, Though
Thankfully, this is just a joke that Rockstar added in so that the players who are old enough to remember this film can get a chuckle out of it. There’s no outward indication that Rockstar has any plans for a future update where you have to fight your AI in your mansion. What a funny idea it would be if they actually went through with that.
You can hear the leaked audio clips of the AIs saying this line below.
