I think the point of the movie was that all of mankind exists just so that some dude will be able to have an acid trip near Jupiter in the future.
lmfao

HAL represents man outbuilding himself, and exhausting the use for technology.
I thought it was man outbuilding himself, and exhausting the use for man =P

but what do i know? I've only seen it once. I think i'll have to see it a few more times to fully appreciate it.

It seems like alot of the purpose of all kubricks movies is to get people to think about deep topics without giving them alot of direction so they can come to their own conclusions.