🤖 Film Blog 🤖
Bo Wen Lin
Maryam Bani-Otero
Maryam Bani-Otero
Angela Engson
Daniel Henriques Da Silva
April 2, 2018
Director and Screen-writer
Alex Garland
Alex Garland
Running Time
108 minutes
108 minutes
Lead Actors
Domhnall Gleeson as Caleb
Alicia Vikander as Ava
Oscar Isaac as Nathan
Movie Review
Let's start off with a recap of the movie. Caleb Smith (Domhnall Gleeson) is a programmer at Nathan Bateman (Oscar Isaac)’s company: The Bluebook search engine company. He is chosen to spend one week at Nathan’s estate and eventually learns that his purpose there is to conduct a Turing Test to measure the consciousness of an AI robot, Ava (Alicia Vikander), over multiple daily sessions. As the days pass, Caleb and Ava develop a unique bond. Ava eventually tells him about Nathan’s untrustworthiness. Caleb believes her and plots an escape plan for Ava when he discovers Nathan’s videos of other female robots being re-programmed (killed).
Caleb tries to execute his plan on the last day, but Nathan discovers Caleb's scheme thanks to his battery-dependent camera. Nathan then confirms that Ava passed he test, not in the ways Caleb expects but because she was able to manipulate Caleb to help her escape, When Nathan goes to check on her, he gets murdered by Kyoko, his humanoid servant and sex slave. Ava then abandons Caleb and locks Caleb in a room to remain in forever, left to die, as she escapes the estate.
Let's start off with a recap of the movie. Caleb Smith (Domhnall Gleeson) is a programmer at Nathan Bateman (Oscar Isaac)’s company: The Bluebook search engine company. He is chosen to spend one week at Nathan’s estate and eventually learns that his purpose there is to conduct a Turing Test to measure the consciousness of an AI robot, Ava (Alicia Vikander), over multiple daily sessions. As the days pass, Caleb and Ava develop a unique bond. Ava eventually tells him about Nathan’s untrustworthiness. Caleb believes her and plots an escape plan for Ava when he discovers Nathan’s videos of other female robots being re-programmed (killed).
Caleb tries to execute his plan on the last day, but Nathan discovers Caleb's scheme thanks to his battery-dependent camera. Nathan then confirms that Ava passed he test, not in the ways Caleb expects but because she was able to manipulate Caleb to help her escape, When Nathan goes to check on her, he gets murdered by Kyoko, his humanoid servant and sex slave. Ava then abandons Caleb and locks Caleb in a room to remain in forever, left to die, as she escapes the estate.
Overall, this movie has a lot of cinematic techniques that are pretty cleverly used!
Editing
Starting off with editing, cross-cutting is used effectively. For example, at the end of the movie there is is a peaceful scene of Ava enjoying the sunlight, nature and the exterior of the estate whilst the film cross-cuts to Caleb who is in extreme distress, locked inside the red-lit room and using a stool to violently destroy the door in an attempt to save himself. These two drastically different scenes simultaneously happening are presented in such a way to accentuate the turn of events, from a robot trapped and under the will of her human creator, to a human (Caleb) trapped until he dies by a robot. The juxtaposition and ironic turn dramatizes the emotional impact of Caleb’s despair and Eva’s lack of empathy and her carelessness.
Long takes are used whenever Caleb and Nathan converse to evoke realism and “bonding” between the two characters.
Editing
Starting off with editing, cross-cutting is used effectively. For example, at the end of the movie there is is a peaceful scene of Ava enjoying the sunlight, nature and the exterior of the estate whilst the film cross-cuts to Caleb who is in extreme distress, locked inside the red-lit room and using a stool to violently destroy the door in an attempt to save himself. These two drastically different scenes simultaneously happening are presented in such a way to accentuate the turn of events, from a robot trapped and under the will of her human creator, to a human (Caleb) trapped until he dies by a robot. The juxtaposition and ironic turn dramatizes the emotional impact of Caleb’s despair and Eva’s lack of empathy and her carelessness.
Long takes are used whenever Caleb and Nathan converse to evoke realism and “bonding” between the two characters.
| Kyoko's revelation |
Framing
There is a close-up when Kyoko removes her human skin layer and exposes the robotic, mechanical, insides of her face to Caleb. This is used to direct the viewer’s attention to what Kyoko reveals and to emphasize the creepiness of a robot who Caleb and the audience thought was a human.
There is a close-up when Kyoko removes her human skin layer and exposes the robotic, mechanical, insides of her face to Caleb. This is used to direct the viewer’s attention to what Kyoko reveals and to emphasize the creepiness of a robot who Caleb and the audience thought was a human.
A long shot is used towards the end of the movie when Ava wears a human-like layer of skin and a white lace dress and is exploring the entrance of the house, walking up the stairs of the estate. This demonstrates her surroundings and shows the robot appreciating it in amazement. This shot is made in a third-person point of view to really show Ava in awe from being somewhere beyond her confined room and beyond the claustrophobic hallways.
A low camera angle is used when Ava is on top of Nathan to choke him, to make her look more powerful and in control of the fight.
The hallways of the estate are all high-key lit to evoke a sense of purity and maybe even an allusion to God in reference to Nathan.
Garland may have chosen the hallways specifically for this lighting because hallways are long and without any windows to be found, almost like a maze that makes one feel entrapped, like a prisoner never getting out, especially due to the fact that unlike most hallways that give access to most rooms, this one only gives access to a small, select, few. It emphasizes a claustrophobic sensation and the use of high-key lighting develops some kind of symbolically a godly maze in which Nathan was similar to God and the Ava and Caleb (in Caleb's case, notably towards the end of the movie), similar to mice in a lab running around in attempt to escape.
Not only so, but bedrooms such as Caleb's were all with warm undertones in contrast to the hallways' cold tones. It seems like the coldly, harshly high-key lit hallways are a reminder of frosty, cold and vivid-less technology ,as opposed to the cozy ,softly lit rooms (also high-key) with hints of nature (boulders) and a bed to rest ,which potentially symbolizes life and humans. This, juxtaposed with the cold undertones of the high-key lit hallways heightens Ava and Caleb's desire to escape.
The hallways of the estate are all high-key lit to evoke a sense of purity and maybe even an allusion to God in reference to Nathan.
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| Ava’s first encounter to other robot masks |
Not only so, but bedrooms such as Caleb's were all with warm undertones in contrast to the hallways' cold tones. It seems like the coldly, harshly high-key lit hallways are a reminder of frosty, cold and vivid-less technology ,as opposed to the cozy ,softly lit rooms (also high-key) with hints of nature (boulders) and a bed to rest ,which potentially symbolizes life and humans. This, juxtaposed with the cold undertones of the high-key lit hallways heightens Ava and Caleb's desire to escape.
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| Ava’s first appearance |
There is a play on shadows/light in Ava’s first appearance in the movie in which we only see her dark silhouette in contrast to the bright window with plants.
This emphasizes the mysteriousness of the silhouette and contrast of robot/technology versus nature (or life). Moreover, the choice of what’s dark and whatnot develops a metaphorical sense (good and evil) that may allow the audience to foreshadow Ava’s betrayal.
This emphasizes the mysteriousness of the silhouette and contrast of robot/technology versus nature (or life). Moreover, the choice of what’s dark and whatnot develops a metaphorical sense (good and evil) that may allow the audience to foreshadow Ava’s betrayal.
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| Ava stabbing Nathan in order to exert revenge and escape |
When it comes to sounds, there is the use of non-diegetic noise when there is a creepy robot background music when Kyoko and Ava stab Nathan. It adds an effect of sinister feeling of suspense and amplifies the audience's feeling of being betrayed.
The creepy robot music is perfectly timed: it is exactly when Ava reveals her evil side and how manipulative she has been throughout the whole movie with Caleb.
The creepy robot music is perfectly timed: it is exactly when Ava reveals her evil side and how manipulative she has been throughout the whole movie with Caleb.
Internal diegetic would be,when Caleb is alone in the bathroom and cuts his forearm and stares into the mirror, the crescendo of buzzing noise to show that Caleb is close to becoming insane.
There is a special effect at the beginning of the movie, when Caleb is at work coding and receives an email. The special effect is the glitchy, computer effect on Caleb and his surroundings. The audience later learns that Nathan would hack everyone’s phone/camera to collect data on facial features and therefore, the computer effects on Caleb are most likely the device’s face recognition. This adds a creepy, Big Brother-like sense.
Another effect would be when Caleb has cut his wrist and stares at into the mirror (us) and there is a layering as we see him rub the blood on it and we see the blood and Caleb. This tells us that perhaps the mirror is one sided and there is a camera behind it, which is then proven by Nathan saying he saw a footage of this event.
Ex Machina raises many unanswered questions and tackles some pretty heavy topics about our future and our humanity. One of the issues brought to light in this film is the issue of humans having relationships with artificial intelligence. Caleb begins to really like Ava, to the point that he was even planning to risk his own safety to escape with her. He watches her through his screen when she takes off her dress and even fantasizes about kissing her when he’s taking a shower. Many people worry that AI robots will soon replace human relationships, destroy our ability to relate to one another, and drive human beings further away from each other through moral-deskilling. A robot like Ava ,that seems to think and act just as a human does, can easily replace a potential lover or a friend and this is a very controversial issue. Should robots be designed for interactive purposes? Will we have social problems between ourselves in the future because of this?
Ex Machina raises many unanswered questions and tackles some pretty heavy topics about our future and our humanity. One of the issues brought to light in this film is the issue of humans having relationships with artificial intelligence. Caleb begins to really like Ava, to the point that he was even planning to risk his own safety to escape with her. He watches her through his screen when she takes off her dress and even fantasizes about kissing her when he’s taking a shower. Many people worry that AI robots will soon replace human relationships, destroy our ability to relate to one another, and drive human beings further away from each other through moral-deskilling. A robot like Ava ,that seems to think and act just as a human does, can easily replace a potential lover or a friend and this is a very controversial issue. Should robots be designed for interactive purposes? Will we have social problems between ourselves in the future because of this?
Another issue that this film addresses is the rapidly growing progress in technology and the rise of artificial intelligence. In the last fifty years or so, technological advances have been rapidly occurring one after the other. The film ends with Nathan losing the control he thought he had over Ava, his own creation. Many people such as Elon Musk say that artificial intelligence will end up destroying humanity rather than being beneficial. This issue is stressed in this film when Ava and Nathan’s roles become reversed. Ava kills him to get closer to her goal of escaping and she ends up overpowering him in the end.
Ex Machina also raises the question of personhood in a robot. When AI robots become more integrated in our society, people will have to decide if they are to be treated like a person or maybe more or less than one. Will they be faced with the same responsibilities, the same punishments, the same rewards...? Think about it, in the film, Ava kills Nathan and abandons Caleb without a single thought of the consequences that may follow. Chances are that people will look for both of these missing people and most likely find out what had occurred. Since Ava is practically indistinguishable from humans, will she face the same punishments for murder? Will it be even worse than that of a human’s?
✪ Word Count: 1324 ✪
Overall Comments
Obviously, like all films, Ex Machina has its strengths and weaknesses. One of the aspects of the film that certainly stuck to us was how Garland blended highly advanced technology in the house with the surrounding nature beautifully to show an underlying message. Having the house be very modern and up to date with its décor while simultaneously having nature integrated into its features such as a massive boulder as the wall was intriguing. Early in the film, this can potentially suggest that nature and technology can co-exist without the destruction of one. However, with the given ending, this interior design meant to symbolize Utopian ideas to further highlight the fact that nature and technology cannot truly co-exist in such harmony.
Let's not forget the many other clever cinematic techniques used by Garland that obtain so much more meaning when you watch the movie a second time. The hallways full of symbolism and much more that were mentioned in the earlier section have undoubtedly impacted us. However, these techniques are not the only things that develop a higher meaning when recollecting the story. For instance, when Nathan destroys Ava's drawing, we might ask oneself "Is this out of cruelty? What did Ava draw? Was is something worth ripping?", but looking back, it is so clear that Nathan tore her drawing simply to stir up Ava's hatred towards him and give her a motive to escape the place.
The one weakness of the film was that the camera shots were all mainly mid-shots, which is attributed to the fact that most of the film was shot indoors. Although not a massive weakness it did make us feel bored by having a dull viewing experience. We also consider Oscar Isaac's weak acting towards such an important moment of the movie to be a distracting weakness. It didn't really look like it was painful but rather a simple shock. To be honest, his face and his swearing almost made it funny. It was a scene where the actor really should have stressed his pain visually to show intense physical and emotional pain from being killed by his own creation.
Let's not forget the many other clever cinematic techniques used by Garland that obtain so much more meaning when you watch the movie a second time. The hallways full of symbolism and much more that were mentioned in the earlier section have undoubtedly impacted us. However, these techniques are not the only things that develop a higher meaning when recollecting the story. For instance, when Nathan destroys Ava's drawing, we might ask oneself "Is this out of cruelty? What did Ava draw? Was is something worth ripping?", but looking back, it is so clear that Nathan tore her drawing simply to stir up Ava's hatred towards him and give her a motive to escape the place.
The one weakness of the film was that the camera shots were all mainly mid-shots, which is attributed to the fact that most of the film was shot indoors. Although not a massive weakness it did make us feel bored by having a dull viewing experience. We also consider Oscar Isaac's weak acting towards such an important moment of the movie to be a distracting weakness. It didn't really look like it was painful but rather a simple shock. To be honest, his face and his swearing almost made it funny. It was a scene where the actor really should have stressed his pain visually to show intense physical and emotional pain from being killed by his own creation.
Our rating?
⭐⭐⭐☆☆
⭐⭐⭐☆☆
Connections to KIS
So, how does this connect to our course?
Well, one of the first things that popped up in our minds was consciousness. Consciousness potentially may be immaterial, which leads us to ask, how do we test it?
How is Caleb expected to decide if this AI truly does have consciousness through conversations?
It is as Caleb says, it is “like trying to test a chess computer by only playing chest”; it's much easier to verbally express that one has consciousness than really proving it through actions. When Nathan reveals to Caleb that he knows about their escape plot, Nathan suggests that Ava is conscious when he says the following: “To escape, she would have to use imagination, sexuality, self-awareness, empathy, manipulation- and she did. If that isn’t AI, what the **** is?” Ava made Caleb develop feelings for her (we can notice his emotional attachment through, first of all siding with her against Nathan, secondly, often clicking the remote to check on what she is doing, etc.) and plotted the escape because she had a desire to explore the world outside her room, outside the estate. She was aware she was being trapped and she was not willing to accept her fate of being used experimentally, confined and of potentially facing her death (being reprogrammed). These capacities fit a definition of consciousness that goes along the lines of “ the quality or state of being aware especially of something within oneself ”. (Merriem Webster Dictionnary)
Well, one of the first things that popped up in our minds was consciousness. Consciousness potentially may be immaterial, which leads us to ask, how do we test it?
How is Caleb expected to decide if this AI truly does have consciousness through conversations?
It is as Caleb says, it is “like trying to test a chess computer by only playing chest”; it's much easier to verbally express that one has consciousness than really proving it through actions. When Nathan reveals to Caleb that he knows about their escape plot, Nathan suggests that Ava is conscious when he says the following: “To escape, she would have to use imagination, sexuality, self-awareness, empathy, manipulation- and she did. If that isn’t AI, what the **** is?” Ava made Caleb develop feelings for her (we can notice his emotional attachment through, first of all siding with her against Nathan, secondly, often clicking the remote to check on what she is doing, etc.) and plotted the escape because she had a desire to explore the world outside her room, outside the estate. She was aware she was being trapped and she was not willing to accept her fate of being used experimentally, confined and of potentially facing her death (being reprogrammed). These capacities fit a definition of consciousness that goes along the lines of “ the quality or state of being aware especially of something within oneself ”. (Merriem Webster Dictionnary)
Another key concept that connects the film to the course would be the sex robots. Nathan created all his humanoid robots with a sexual aspect to them. Notably, Ava has female genitals in which pleasure sensors are attached. This is very similar to the sex robots seen in class, as in the video “Rise of the Sex Robots, ” where Matt McMullen designed a robot that senses the rhythm and is able to have a robot orgasm “or a robogasm”. (Rise of the Sex Robots) Kyoko is also a sex robot, as she can be ordered to remove her clothes (in the scene when Nathan talks to her and asks for Nathan’s whereabouts) and was also found naked on the bed in an erotic pose. In addition to this, Kyoko and the other nameless robots all have a layer of human-like skin with realistic nipples and posteriors. These features would seem rather useless for robots with no sexual purpose. They would most likely wear clothes when communicating (or just wear their robot “outfits” as Ava does). This also connects to the objectification of women.
Also, a third concept worthy of mention is the social interactions between humans and robots, more specifically assigning intrinsic moral value, that is applying rules about what's morally wrong and right when it comes how humans treat a social robot based on the idea that robots should be granted moral consideration. The audience is faced with some difficult questions regarding the treatment of Nathan's robots. Throughout the film, Nathan treats his humanoids practically like slaves. In a scene towards the end of the movie, Caleb witnesses through a surveillance camera, the destruction of Ava's drawing. We later learn that Nathan didn’t just tear up her drawing for the sake of being cruel, he did it to further stir Ava's hatred and desire to escape. At the end of the film, the audience is faced with the fact that Ava will stop at nothing to break free of Nathan’s claws to obtain freedom. This makes the audience wonder if robots like Ava really deserve to live possessing the same quality of freewill humans own. Should humans treat them ethically like they would to their own or like objects created for the sole purpose of satisfying our materialistic needs? Since we humans haven’t yet reached AI robots possessing a degree of artificial intelligence similar to humans, there is simply no way to foresee how we would treat them. Is it morally acceptable for Nathan to keep the robot Ava confined in a room as part of his experimental test or wrong?
Questions for Readers...
1. One of the main themes of Ex-Machina is deception, as two of the main characters both used deception on Caleb (the protagonist) to satisfy their own personal needs. Nathan used and deceived Caleb to test Ava’s ingenuity and Ava used Caleb as a mean for her escape. In the end, Ava was able to usefully escape from her cell and in a later scene, she was seen in human society. Since she wouldn’t be able to deceive all the humans around her permanently, what do you think would happen if we discovered that somebody we knew is a self-conscious AI? What do you think we (humans) would do with someone like Ava?
2. The AI robots in the movie Ex Machina all had something similar to the self-consciousness of humans, meaning that they are conscious not only of the world around them but also of themselves their activities, their bodies, and their mental lives. This leads us to an important question, does Nathan or any other human have the right to mistreat such beings? It is important to note that many other animals who possess consciousness are mistreated by humans and is considered as normal, so what makes it different about AI robots?
3. One of the major holes left by the movie is related to what Nathan had in store for Caleb. We know that Nathan tricked Caleb into thinking that he was simply doing a Turing test for Ava, because the CEO had already reached that goal with his earlier prototypes. His true goal was to test if Ava had the ingenuity to manipulate somebody for her to escape. Obviously, his plan did not turn out the way it was supposed to and led to Nathan’s tragic death. The real question is, if Nathan’s plan really worked out what would he done with Caleb?
Read More
It has been announced that sex robots of the future will completely change the game in the self-pleasure field. Sex humanoids of the future will be more and more human-like-- so realistic that they might make it to the other side of the uncanny valley. These bots, similarly to Ava, will have an astonishing human-like look and feel to them. They will also be able to perform social interaction with humans in very realistic ways. They will be able to cracks jokes and sweet talk with you.
Similarly to Ava, the robot Robby Pepper, an AI designed to fulfill the role of a concierge, is also able to perform intricate interactions with humans. This little machine can greet tourists and shake their hands to make them feel welcomed at the hotel. The little AI is also capable of learning, by interacting with different tourist that come from different places, he can improve his vocabulary and way of speech.
Works Cited
Garland, Alex. Ex Machina. Netflix, 2015, Netflix.com. (March 9, 2018)
Kleeman, Jenny, et al. The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 27 Apr. 2017,
www.theguardian.com/technology/video/2017/apr/27/rise-of-the-sex-robots-video (March 13, 2018)
Yenisey, Zeynep. “This Ultra-Realistic New Sex Robot Not Only Has a Personality, She's Also Customizable.” Maxim, 12 Jan. 2018,
www.maxim.com/gear/new-customizable-sex-doll-2018-1. (March 30, 2018)
“Elon Musk Continues to Warn of AI Threat, Claiming It Will Become an ‘Immortal Dictator.’” SmartCompany, 15 Apr. 2018,
www.smartcompany.com.au/startupsmart/news-analysis/elon-musk-ai-threat-immortal-dictator/. (March 30, 2018)
“Ex Machina (2014).” IMDb, IMDb.com, www.imdb.com/title/tt0470752/ (March 10, 2018)
“Consciousness.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/consciousness. (March 13, 2018)
“Italy's Robot Concierge a Novelty on the Way to Better AI.” Phys.org - News and Articles on Science and Technology,
phys.org/news/2018-04-italy-robot-concierge-novelty-ai.html. (March 30, 2018)
Kleeman, Jenny, et al. The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 27 Apr. 2017,
www.theguardian.com/technology/video/2017/apr/27/rise-of-the-sex-robots-video (March 13, 2018)
Yenisey, Zeynep. “This Ultra-Realistic New Sex Robot Not Only Has a Personality, She's Also Customizable.” Maxim, 12 Jan. 2018,
www.maxim.com/gear/new-customizable-sex-doll-2018-1. (March 30, 2018)
“Elon Musk Continues to Warn of AI Threat, Claiming It Will Become an ‘Immortal Dictator.’” SmartCompany, 15 Apr. 2018,
www.smartcompany.com.au/startupsmart/news-analysis/elon-musk-ai-threat-immortal-dictator/. (March 30, 2018)
“Ex Machina (2014).” IMDb, IMDb.com, www.imdb.com/title/tt0470752/ (March 10, 2018)
“Consciousness.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/consciousness. (March 13, 2018)
“Italy's Robot Concierge a Novelty on the Way to Better AI.” Phys.org - News and Articles on Science and Technology,
phys.org/news/2018-04-italy-robot-concierge-novelty-ai.html. (March 30, 2018)
Hey!
ReplyDeleteI found you analysis of the movie interesting, because it was so different from ours You picked up details that we did not think about, which I think is great!
As for your second question: "does Nathan or any other human have the right to mistreat such beings?" I do not agree with Nathan's behavior. At the moment someone has a sense of consciousness, self-awareness, whether it is an animal, a human, or even a conscious AI, they should all be treated with respect and consideration. I understand that they do not get the same importance in terms of our anthropocentric hierarchy, and that their rights and responsibilities may differ from one species to the next. However, a being who is able to reason at different levels, as much about himself, others or his environment, should be treated with respect and kindness. In fact, the suffering of a human, an animal or a robot should never bring satisfaction, pleasure, or fulfillment.
Even if Nathan's goal is to create the more sophisticated prototype, his habit of de-programming the preceding AI to build a more performing one is not justified and unethical. In fact, if you commit yourself to build a conscious being, your are also committed to demonstrate respect toward the being in question. Clearly, Nathan missed that concept when he created all of his AI.
But then, another question can be raised: What do you do with the preceding AI that are not as performing? If they have consciousness and are aware of their environment, would they oppose themselves to Nathan's practices or they would encourage him? How do we treat them in society? What place do they have according to humans?
I think that these are pretty ambiguous questions to ask and depends, not only on individual values, but also upon the values shared as a society.
Hey there guys,
ReplyDeleteI did the project on Blade Runner, but after I read the plot summary for your movie, I wish I had been given the opportunity to do the project on your film! It sounds so cool! My movie was pretty boring at times (if not all the time), but this one seems more action packed and just overall a lot more captivating. As I already mentioned, my movie was the Original Blade Runner, so you can imagine how terrible the special effects were, however, just by the look of the images that you guys chose to represent your movie in your blog, as well as the trailer, the movie seems very futuristic and modern, which I think I would enjoy very much. Anyway, your blog looks great! Well done you guys!! I can tell you worked hard.
Hey guys, I really enjoyed reading through your blog. You guys had really great points and ideas throughout. To answer question number two, I would just like to start off by saying in no circumstance, human or non human is it okay to hurt an animal or a robot (A.I machine) or anything of that matter. I will start off by explaining my reason and the answer to your first question one out of two that was asked. In your first question you guys asked “does Nathan or any other human have the right to mistreat such beings?”. I assume that you guys are referring to such beings as anything that might have a consciousness. In my personal opinion it is not okay to mistreat anyone, or anything, even an object. I stand by my beliefs that everything should be treated fairly and with respect. It is seen a lot in our culture that animals, kids, wives, husbands and many individuals are not being treated correctly. In this movie Ex Machina we saw that Nathan often mistreat the A.I machines he created whether it might be Ava or Kyoko. Nathan often tended to mistreat Kyoko by using her for sexual purposes. This is personally really scary to think about, but this is sadly what is happening everyday to people around the world. People that must suffer in silence because of being mistreated and the abuse that they get everyday. I could not honestly answer what makes it different from an A.I. than a human. After many different articles I have read for this class and discussions, and after watching this movie, this huge discussion and question arises about, does an A.I machine/ robot really possess a consciousness. It is the main question that revolves around the movie, Ex Machina. To answer your second question I do not know what makes it different, because like I previously stated nothing should be mistreated but I guess that people may argue that since an A.I machine may not possess consciousness that their is nothing wrong when mistreating a machine as they do not understand or feel what is truthfully happening. All this reminds me of is when Nathan mistreated the A.I machines, and uses them for his personal needs. Basically to answer the question that is being asked no it is not okay to mistreat anyone, whether you are Nathan or the most powerful person in the world, no one should ever be mistreated. As for an A.I machine I personally do not see the difference in my point of view it is ethically and morally wrong no matter if you have a consciousness or not, because the fact that the person who is doing it in the first place actually possess consciousness makes in completely wrong.
ReplyDeleteVictoria Alexander
Personally, I believe that, no, such behaviour and mistreatment is unjustified. It would be immoral and wrong to mistreat such advanced robots. The argument against this would state that it doesn’t matter since they’re merely robots. That they are simply tools for people. In a way, there is truth to that since robots, for the most part, have been created to facilitate human needs. However, in this case, the creation of robots such as Ava is much greater than simple, utilitarian purposes; they are much more capable than doing a few tasks. They evolve past the notion of being a tool and become their own beings. They become borderline human and contain some sort of consciousness, ability to reason, self-awareness and ability to feel emotions. Robots with such capabilities are physically and internally some of the closest things out there are to people. These qualities are what define most living creatures. This is also what justifies not hurting animals of any sort. If someone were to to counter this by stating that they aren’t exactly human and that they’re are created by machines therefore mistreatment is justified then that’s simply discriminatory. This ignores all the facts that truly make people human and unique as a species: our ability to reason, possession of consciousness, the self-aware self, emotions and means of communication. In favour of one nitpick, they reject the most important facts; ergo, mistreatment of these humane robots is unjustified. Lastly, ask yourself this: is it moral to create “living” beings simply to be used?
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, is it okay to make AI with human capabilities such as consciousness? In the words of Caleb, this would not be part of the history of man but in the history of Gods. Are we ready for this; will we ever be ready for this?
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ReplyDeleteFirstly i want to say great job on the blog everyone! I enjoyed everything about the blog especially the course connections and the review of the film. I haven't watched this movie yet but after reading your blog I think I'll give it a shot! One connection that I noticed right away from this movie and the movie that out group did (Altered States) is that at times it could be creepy. Probably more so in this movie since it was made more recent than Altered states, but there are parts that make people feel uneasy from what I heard at least. I like the three questions at the end, I feel that I can picture what happened to the movie even though I haven't seen it yet and maybe come up with answers to those questions. Lastly I want to mention the issue of "rapidly growing progress in technology and the rise of artificial intelligence" Personally I don't think that in the near future we will have robots or A.I. running around destroying humans like in the terminator but, I can see how some people could think that way. It wasn't long ago when we didn't have the capabilities that we have today. We've become very advanced in a short amount of time. Still, I'm sure we will be okay for a while before someone makes Skynet 2.0. Lastly good job again everyone!!
ReplyDeleteHey guys! Coming from someone who did her blog on Her, this movie is the complete opposite of what I've been working on for the past month! Although I must admit to never seeing this movie, it seems to come back to what people normally think of when robots are brought up. Everyone tends to jump to the worst-case scenario and not consider what benefits we could get out of artificial intelligence. I have to say that Her definitely romanticized it way too much, but movies like Ex Machina are also a little extreme. I am not saying that robots would not fight for their rights, but I am saying that we would have to create them with a certain level of consciousness for them to do so. At that point, if they do come back against, it was our doing in the first place!
ReplyDeleteFurthermore, I can't wrap my head around giving artificial intelligence more rights than many humans may have throughout the world. Even though this may be something that we have to think about in the future, right now there are more pressing situations happening on our own planet. I am not saying this to put down the movie, but simply that I think that we could make more of a fuss over what is happening right now.
I'm going to stop here before I end up rambling for too long! I do have to point out how much I liked your blog and that your film techniques were probably things that I would have never thought of having such an effect on the viewer! Thanks for your insightful analysis and wishing you the best end of semester. May the odds be ever in your favor!
Good job,I liked the fluidity in your paragraphs!
ReplyDeleteNot long ago, I had the chance to watch this movie for my English class and I was quite deceive myself by the ending of the movie. It is true that Ex-Machina is about deception: Caleb deceiving Nathan, Nathan deceiving Caleb, Ava deceiving Caleb, Kyoko deceiving Caleb and the worst of the worst Ava deceiving Nathan. I was so into the movie that I even believe in some possible love between Nathan and Ava but at the end she ended up betraying him and leaving him behind. How cold and cruel we would think. However, I do believe that Ava did love Nathan because at the end, when she leaves, she kills Caleb but couldn’t kill Nathan. I think that she will always keep Nathan somewhere in her memory and that Nathan will do the same. So, if you ask me, what do I think would happen if I discovered that somebody I knew is a self-conscious AI, I’d say that life will just go on. If one of my siblings were to mysteriously be an A.I, I admit it will be surprising and unbelievable but I wouldn’t be deceived. I mean, we were raised together and we have memories - good or bad- together, we love each other. Now, some might argue that the love that the A.I expressed might have been fake love. I totally agree with that, It might have been fruit of a really good programming but I would still like it to stay with me and continue living as we were because in my head, I can’t change the fact that A.I or not it’s a siblings. In those case, I would say that what matters the most is closeness, the closer you were to the android in disguise, the more willing you will be to forgive and continue on living with it. And To answer the second part of this question, “What do I think human would do with someone like ava?” I would say that it depends on the person, A lot of people won’t be ale to do any wrong to her because she looks so much like a real human. She represents the uncanny Valley at its greatest, where it is definitely accepted as a “she”. However, human kills human so if she ended up being killed, it would be as a human and not as a robot.
Firstly, I would like to start off by saying that I greatly enjoyed you're blog! It was very interesting and detailed and allowed me to understand the main concept of the movie very clearly. Even though this movie is not one that I had any interest in watching, your blog gave me the will to do so and I congratulate you on that.
ReplyDeleteThe concepts related to the class were very well described and allowed me to tap in to the material we've talked about during our class discussions. Having done my movie blog on the movie “Her", some of the questions raised throughout the blog such as the future of relationships between a human and an artificial intelligence system is a topic that I've had the chance to reflect a lot about. This future of technology, notably of love is something that raises many ethical questions. For example, : In future terms, will it be possible for humans to build relationships with technological devices? What I noticed was that I was able to make many connections between “Ex Machina" and “Her” on these ethical questions as I wrote about many of them in my blog as well. Both movies are related to concepts such as personhood, the self, the rise in technological devices and the implications of this on society as a hole.
Furthermore, I like that both films’ take on artificial intelligence are very much contradicted and allow viewers to see both negative and positive sides to artificial intelligence. The ability for machines to feel, think and act like a human is an unsettling though to many. People see this rising phenomenon as something that is alarming and brings about many debates. Yet, I feel that unlike societies portrayal of human interactions with a machine, the movie “Ex Machina” seems to take this approach in the opposite direction and does not portray the conventional responses people normally have which is to say that the growing amount of these machines will only bring about more social anxieties instead of benefiting individuals in the long run. I feel this movie is an attempt to show the bright side of the growth of artificial intelligence.
Ava, has a longing just like Samantha to build a relationship with a human. In both movies, the artificial intelligence systems become more human over time. They become conscious beings who can think and make decisions all on their own and I wonder if when more of these systems begin to surface in the future if they will get more rights than humans. I would side against this but all we can do is wait to see what the world holds for this future with growing artificial intelligence systems.
Personally, I do not agree with Nathan's behavior. If we get to the point that we have a machine with self-consciousness, self-awareness, humans or non-human beings, then they should be treated as a conscious being. It is clear that they do not have the same importance in our society and that they have varied abilities and qualities that may differ from ours, but that does not mean that they should be mistreated. They should be treated fairly and kindly and with respect, just the same way we would treat someone who is awaits existence. However, the real problem is determining if we reached that point or not. The question is, is a machine necessarily conscious if it can convince us it is conscious?
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