The main reason why Demolition Man remains a worthy home viewing candidate to me is the innovative design of the film’s autonomous police cars, which can switch between fully autonomous mode and manual driver mode in an instant. All of them deliver entertaining, clever, committed performances even through intentionally goofy dialogue during almost sitcom-like interactions. It’s not without flaws, but among its many endearing qualities are impressively constructed retro-futuristic sets and an undeniably stacked cast that includes Sylvester Stallone, Wesley Snipes, Sandra Bullock, Benjamin Bratt, Dennis Leary, and Rob Schneider, to name a few. The hit 1993 sci-fi action movie Demolition Man doesn’t get enough credit for its foresight, especially when it comes to autonomous vehicle technology.ĭon’t get me wrong: this rambunctious, at times laugh-out-loud funny film was certainly a big success in its day, debuting at number one at the box office on its opening weekend, and it has maintained a passionate fan base ever since. Not necessarily the most capable robots or flashiest driverless cars, but the ones that connected most deeply with us and remain parked in our brains forever.

In a new series, Ground Truth explores iconic technology throughout pop culture history that left an indelible impression about the future of automation and what self-driving could become.

Police cars in action