10 Most Evil A.I. In Video Game History

5. GLaDOS - Portal

glados portal 2
Valve

I almost didn’t include GLaDOS here because she’s so darn charming despite being undeniably full-on evil that it felt cruel to jam her in between the big bads of Terminator and Fallout 3, but it would be equally unsuitable to leave her out.

For the uninitiated, GLaDOS or Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating System is a smart-talking, torture-loving, sadistic AI that runs the now decidedly empty Aperture Science facility. She leads you through each of Portal’s chambers, mostly making fun of you, getting annoyed at your successes and ultimately trying to stop you from escaping the facility so she can continue to toy with you.

She also serves up some cake-related gaslighting which is kind of the worst part of all.

Still, we can’t be too mad at her even if she is out-and-out evil. She was dealt a pretty rough hand and her dialogue and delivery is just delightful. Even if most of what she has to say to Chell are insults.

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Contributor
Contributor

Jess has been a journalist and content creator in the games industry for over 15 years and has been WhatCulture's resident Australian import and sorry cop since 2020, upping the quotient of swearing and apologising in WhatCulture Gaming's annual blooper videos considerably. She previously worked at GameSpot for 10 years, most notably hosting GameSpot News in addition to E3 live shows, and PAX panels. She regularly livestreams a variety of games on her 'jessmcdonell' YouTube and Twitch channels and hosts the 'Do It On The Day' podcast. She has won awards for her news and feature work in gaming as well as an accolade for her comedic writing (likely an admin error). She can be found on X at @jessmcdonell and Instagram at @jessicamcdonell sharing her current videogame fixations, industry insights, and videos of her cat, Karma.