Ex Machina

The film Ex Machina gives us a contemporary look into the fears of artificial intelligence and the assessment of what it means to be human. In the film a computer programmer, Caleb, has “won” a lottery to go to the private compound of the creator of “Bluebook” (The film’s Google, and company Caleb works for) for a special job. Throughout the film Ava, the A.I., is tested through a series of conversations with Caleb, to see if she is truly a pure form of artificial intelligence. Ava is clearly a robot in the way she looks, with metallic arms, legs, and also a metallic head. However, she comes off as the character that is most human in the film. She has emotions, she feels mistrust for her creator, and she is able to use sensuality and personal connection with another human to get what she wants. After a conversation with Ava, Caleb purposely slices open his hand to see his blood to confirm that he was human. This examination of artificial intelligence, in turn, holds a mirror up to humanity and forces us to reestablish what it means to be human. Is it the blood that runs through our veins or the ability to have original thought? Is it a soul? What is a soul? All of these questions are raised by the concept of artificial intelligence. In popular culture, the artificial intelligence is malevolent towards humans, this film being no exception, with the A.I. generally doing what they feel is best for themselves, despite what other humans might think or feel. In this way, wouldn’t this make the A.I. a psychopath, due to its lack of empathy and therefore not a “regular” A.I. as it was intended to be? In today’s age, two people at the forefront of science and technology, Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking, have both expressed their immense fears of artificial intelligence and what it could mean for the human race. This film is what I imagine their nightmares might be like.