Ex Machina - When Humans Play God and Artificial Intelligence Plays You

"One day the AIs are going to look back on us the same way we look at fossil skeletons on the plains of Africa.  An upright ape living in dust with crude language and tools, all set for extinction."

 Hello friends. 

Welcome back to the blog and (most definitely) welcome to one of my internet analysis.

The movie I bring here, today, dives into the realm of artificial intelligence and explores themes of consciousness, morality, ethics and the and potential risks of AI gaining autonomy.

*Note: There will be spoilers, be mindful*

Films that discuss the relationship between man and machine are not new to the world of cinema and we have proof, with 1927's Fritz Lang's masterpiece “Metropolis” where it portrays the labour revolution based on the chaos created by a robot.

In the universe of "Ex Machina", Caleb, a young programmer is selected to participate in an experiment and evaluate the human qualities of an artificial intelligence system - Ava - created by the technological genius Nathan. 

During his time testing Ava, Caleb is tasked with conducting the Turing test, a system proposed by Alan Turing:

“The Turing Test, introduced by Alan Turing in 1950, tests the ability of a machine to exhibit intelligent behaviour equivalent to, or indistinguishable from, a human being.”

During the movie, we are confronted with the ethical and moral consequences of creating an artificial intelligence. 

Do humans have the right to play god? Do machines possess feelings or emotions? What defines consciousness?  What happens when machines become aware of their own existence? Are there limits to man's creation or are we free to create and undo what we created?

This movie forces audiences to question their own moral code and the way they perceive artificial intelligences to be. 

Can humans feel empathy towards a machine? But what if that said machine looks  human? Does it become human to us? 

Is transhumanism the new human? 

The interaction between man and machine

The strange and complex relationship between Caleb and Ava becomes the main focus of the movie. Caleb is confronted with his own perception of reality and his own definition of human as time goes by. 

Is he capable of not being manipulated by a machine or will a man-made intelligent be capable of morphing into something as real as a human?

Even you, as a spectator, are confronted with that. Would you be able to interact with Ava and not see her as an equal? 

Power imbalance

Throughout the movie, the human vs AI power dynamic is very well portrayed, as Nathan has a quasi-God type of mentality. His hunger for control takes over his own perception of what's acceptable and not.  

Caleb, on the other hand, is confronted with his own self-perception. Who is he? What's his goal in all this? Is he being selfish?

That change of perception is well portrayed as the movie captures Caleb's own mental instability and lack of self-assurance.  

 The relationship between Caleb and Ava

*Spoils ahead*

Caleb was carefully chosen by Nathan to test Ava as an Artificial Intelligence.

With this said, I can't depict Caleb as being good or bad, in a way, he's ambiguous, morally.

 

As the film progresses, Caleb finds out Kyoko is also an AI programmed specifically to serve Nathan, without expressing emotion. 

 

The moral conflict between Ava and Kyoko through Caleb's eyes comes to the question of why did Nathan feel the need to get involved emotionally with Ava, feel the need to save her and see he as a sentient being, and not Kyoko. 

Since Caleb's clearly attracted to Ava, it seems to me that his motives aren't as pure as we initially thought. He does not act out of a desire to do what is right in relation to conscious beings. 

I do think he doesn't show the same interest in Kyoko due to her lack of verbal communication throughout the movie. She did interact once with Caleb showing him she's also AI, a robot, just like Ava. 

But does that mean the only reason why Ava matters to Caleb is simply because in his head, she needs to be saved? 

The fact that she interacts as a human, mimics our behaviours in order to reach out to Caleb on a deeper level , makes her more important and worth saving from her situation? 

 

Isn't Kyoko also a prisoner in that house?

 

Ava Through Her Looking Glass

The aesthetics of this film have as its central focus the glass that surrounds the entire house, but more precisely the glass around Ava.

Glass can be seen as a representation of the duality between the natural and the artificial, the confusion between artificial intelligence and human intelligence and the fine line that separates the two worlds.

The Turing test being done in such a sterile environment (Ava's room) aligns with the aesthetic layout of the room they are both in.
The omnipresence of glass in the film not only highlights the transparency of the technological future and humanity, but serves as a bridge between the meaning of naturalness (Caleb) and artificiality (Ava) in its present state.

On the other hand, the house, even though  is made mostly of glass, can be a representation of Nathan's own God-like complex of creation (creating another conscious "being") and living between rivers and nature, alluring to some type of Paradise prepared for the birth of another Human Era.     

During the dialogue between them, the glass reflects and mirrors both the subject (Caleb) and the object (Ava), as well as this natural and artificial dynamic.

Ava begins her journey as a victim in Caleb's eyes and must reach the end of her goal (freedom) to finally become an entity in her own right.
Until then, they both live on opposite sides of the glass, seeing their own reflection in one another.

Final thoughts

The plot of this movie is very simple and quite easy to understand as you watch it.

It resembles the peeling of an onion: the more you peel, the more complex dilemmas will emerge. 

Note: Ex Machina (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

Ex Machina is constructed to deprive you from the information needed to make the yes or no choice about Ava. 

 

Are you capable of understanding if Caleb passed the test?

 

Or are you the one being tested?

 

 

Thank you for taking the time to read my analysis.

I hope you enjoy this movie as much as I did.

See you on my next post,

Adriana.