David is the name of the robotic boy in Steven Spielberg’s 2001 film A.I. Artificial Intelligence.
David is a highly advanced artificial child programmed to love. He is adopted by Monica and Henry Swinton after their biological son Martin becomes ill. When Martin recovers, David’s position in the family changes, beginning a journey shaped by David’s desire to become a real human boy and gain his mother’s love.
Haley Joel Osment plays David, while Jude Law plays the companion robot Gigolo Joe. The film was originally developed by Stanley Kubrick, who worked on the project for years before his death in 1999. Spielberg then directed the screenplay and completed the production, making A.I. a collaboration between two major filmmakers’ creative legacies.
The story draws on themes from “Supertoys Last All Summer Long,” a short story by Brian Aldiss. David is not simply a conventional android sidekick: the film’s central question is whether programmed love can be emotionally real. A.I. was released in 2001.