ElonMusk is no Luddite. And yet, the man behind the Tesla electric car and SpaceXhas come to fear the prospect of Artificial Intelligence, referring to AIresearch as “summoning the demon.” Stephen Hawking agrees, warning that AIcould spell the end of humanity.
2015’sbest film to date, Ex Machina, is all about AI. Out now on Blu-ray and DVD, ExMachina is also a thriller in which the protagonist, Caleb (Domhnall Glesson),doesn’t know who to believe, the android Ava (Alicia Vikander) or her inventor(and his boss), Nathan (Oscar Isaac)
Calebis a bright if nerdy young programmer at one of the world’s most powerfulhigh-tech firms. He is given a dream opportunity when chosen among allemployees for a one-week session with the firm’s Steve Jobs, itsfounder-genius, Nathan. Helicoptered to the remote fastness of Nathan’shalf-subterranean house, Caleb is told he will help administer the Turing testto determine whether the firm’s latest prototype possesses artificial intelligence.He is startled to see that the prototype is an android in the form of a woman,Ava. For Caleb, the surprises keep coming.
Thedirectorial debut by Britain’s Alex Garland, Ex Machina draws visually from the cold, hard surfaces of StanleyKubrick. Ava’s special effects are apt and unflashy. A lovely face withquestioning eyes surmounts a shapely body composed from a flesh-like patina aswell as exposed fiber optics. The well-told story touches on the anxiety thatthe human race is near the end. As Nathan tells Caleb, artificial intelligenceis a matter of when, not if. Homo sapiens 2.0 will look back upon us as we lookat the Neanderthals.
Caleb is star struck by the reclusive Nathan, whose casually affable manner isa thin cover for a sharp mind and world-conquering ambition. “You’re freakedout,” Nathan says, reassuringly. “Can we get past that?” Minor key notes aresounded early on by the optical recognition door card Caleb is given, whichadmits him to some of Nathan’s rooms but not others. Caleb hesitates a momentbefore signing a non-disclosure agreement granting Nathan unlimited access tohis data. And then there are those cameras, electric eyes that follow himeverywhere.
Ava seems determined to get to know her new human friend, who behaves like anawkward boy dreaming of his first date. And hovering overhead is Nathan, actinglike a challenging professor in a demanding graduate seminar. “Answer me this,”says Nathan, demanding a clear articulation of Caleb’s response to anintelligent and seemingly self-aware computer with a beautiful face. “How doyou feel about her?” Clearly, Calebis falling for Ava.
Some turns in Ex Machina’s twistingplot can be anticipated from a distance; others will be unexpected until theyoccur. In advancing the story, Ex Machinatouches lightly but profoundly on linguistics, neuroscience, philosophy andaesthetics. As Nathan puts it, a worldwide search engine isn’t just a map ofwhat people are thinking about but provides a map of how people think—a model he uses in engineering artificialintelligence. There can be no consciousness without interaction, he adds,acknowledging a level of mystery in how humans are “programmed” by nature andnurture. In the end, Nathan, pleased to consider himself a godlike creator, andomniscient through technology, will also be surprised by the mystery of hiscreation’s mind.
