Ex MachinaAt each step in history, mankind has created that which satisfies a need, tools to advance and ascend higher into the upper echelon of achievement, leave our mark on the world. And yet at some point, we must ask ourselves what responsibility to we bear for the results of our labor, what purpose do we serve as our tools serve us? Is it enough that our legacy is one of mere survival, or worse, mere satisfaction? Or can our legacy be one of realizing our true potential to be stewards of our world, and not simply the tyrants of it. Or on the other hand, are we so conceited that we feel an obsession to endow our creations with anthropomorphic characteristics, likenesses of ourselves to feel some sense of permanence. Look upon my works, ye mighty, and despair.
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Ex Machina is a chamber piece about a young computer programmer named Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson) who works at BlueBook--a fictitious equivalent of Google--and "wins" an invitation to spend a week with the eccentric creator and owner of the company, Nathan (Oscar Isaac). Nathan is something of a recluse, keeping himself secreted away in his micro-nation of solitude in the northwest, accessible only by helicopter, and even then at a distance from the compound. His "home" is lavish and yet also appearing to be a kind of mountain retreat, like Frank Lloyd Wright's "Falling Water", made more opulent. One might describe Caleb's invitation and fortune to be like that of Charlie Bucket in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Both stories feature a (relatively) innocent person who wins passage to the strange home of a larger-than-life semi-mentor-like figure, where the unusual is the status quo, and the proprietor flaunts his creations to garner awestruck approval from his audience. And Nathan is a larger than life figure, not just because he is a multi-billionare; his personality is domineering, big, and he asserts himself in ways which make it difficult for the more mild-mannered Caleb to feel any genuine friendship. Nathan appears to want to party, rather than discuss the groundbreaking work which he is doing with Caleb, much to Caleb's dismay, who is actually impressed by Nathan's pedigree of work, not his "dudebro" attitude. Nathan is a narcissist, and also a megalomaniac; when Caleb attempts to offer genuine insight into the "Turing Test" which Nathan invites him to participate in with the woman-like artificial intelligence he has created named Ava (Alicia Vikander), Nathan swats down anything that would challenge his own body of work, forcing answers from Caleb which are superficial. It is easy to dislike Nathan--he's unlikable--but small moments reveal him to be a character far more insecure than even Caleb, whose very creation of artificial intelligence hints at a deep-seated loneliness within him, one which he tries to fill by either creating friends, or tricking people in to liking him--by picking contest winners from his own staff pool, and pretending to be some kind of jock which he thinks people will like rather than the genius programmer he is. At one point, after Nathan and Caleb have started to bond to an extend over drink, Nathan seems to let his mask slip, and expose his vulnerability, his inner self which, like Caleb, leans toward quoting cryptic passages to underscore the gravity of their monumental work; and yet, this only lasts until Nathan finds himself slipping out of control, then the facade reemerges. Nathan fails to realize that even "instant pals" aren't instant or made.
Ava is the enigma at the core of Ex Machina--a robot whom Nathan claims is an actual artificial intelligence, a being who can not just simulate emotions, but feel them and has a genuine soul. Here is one of the greatest questions in science fiction, and also of religion: What is God? Is God a creator of life? Then, so too is Nathan, for he creates Ava--albeit not quite in his image, but the image he desires from Ava. And Ava has been given the form of an attractive woman, but why? Nathan defends her form on the basis that the qualities that are a part of social structure include sexuality--he and Caleb share a thought-provoking discussion on the merits here. But their discussion is devoid of context, a kind of hyper-intellectualized version of two guys talking about sex with women. Here is one of the other strong themes of Ex Machina--male entitlement and perception of women, further exaggerated with the presence of a woman who is not, in fact, a woman. Both Nathan and Caleb see Ava as they want to see her--perhaps more so with Caleb--because they have preconceived and conditioned expectations of women; as Nathan talks with Caleb on the subject, we are conditioned--programmed--to feel and think the ways we do by our nurture and our nature. Agree or disagree, it does validate how men and women treat one another differently, based on their expectations, and not necessarily understanding, of the opposite sex. Nathan has invited Caleb to take the "Turing Test" to see if he can discover whether Ava is actually a true "A.I.", and not just a rather remarkable simulation of one, by engaging her in conversations; but this too is designed around the idea that these men can understand what a woman is really like. Caleb and Nathan talk about how the Turing Test is like those used with the simulated chess machines, designed to play chess better than a person. Yes, they can beat a human at the game, but are they really more intelligent, or just programmed to achieve their objective better than their opponent? Is Ava nothing more than a sophisticated chess machine, and her objective is to be human? If so, is this free will, or just the illusion of free will? Considering our own behavior is suggested to be programmed from our experiences, is that line so clearly defined in us? The special effects of Ex Machina are noteworthy, not only because they portray Ava with a convincingly robotic body, but that her face clearly resembles a mask, like the masks Nathan keeps in his hall. Literally, Ava wears a mask, but as a robot, why should she feel the need to wear a mask, as a mask is designed to conceal, and she would only feel the need to conceal if she felt it would help her achieve her objectives. But then again, as we wear metaphorical masks in our own society, this behavior also suggests a level of humanity in Ava not so simply defined by a mere test.
Recommended for: Fans of a philosophical and psychological science fiction thriller, which explores the many varied interpretations of the uncanny valley and what it is to be human. Also, the kind of "Steve Jobs/Bill Gates" undertones between Nathan and Caleb are humorous.
Ava is the enigma at the core of Ex Machina--a robot whom Nathan claims is an actual artificial intelligence, a being who can not just simulate emotions, but feel them and has a genuine soul. Here is one of the greatest questions in science fiction, and also of religion: What is God? Is God a creator of life? Then, so too is Nathan, for he creates Ava--albeit not quite in his image, but the image he desires from Ava. And Ava has been given the form of an attractive woman, but why? Nathan defends her form on the basis that the qualities that are a part of social structure include sexuality--he and Caleb share a thought-provoking discussion on the merits here. But their discussion is devoid of context, a kind of hyper-intellectualized version of two guys talking about sex with women. Here is one of the other strong themes of Ex Machina--male entitlement and perception of women, further exaggerated with the presence of a woman who is not, in fact, a woman. Both Nathan and Caleb see Ava as they want to see her--perhaps more so with Caleb--because they have preconceived and conditioned expectations of women; as Nathan talks with Caleb on the subject, we are conditioned--programmed--to feel and think the ways we do by our nurture and our nature. Agree or disagree, it does validate how men and women treat one another differently, based on their expectations, and not necessarily understanding, of the opposite sex. Nathan has invited Caleb to take the "Turing Test" to see if he can discover whether Ava is actually a true "A.I.", and not just a rather remarkable simulation of one, by engaging her in conversations; but this too is designed around the idea that these men can understand what a woman is really like. Caleb and Nathan talk about how the Turing Test is like those used with the simulated chess machines, designed to play chess better than a person. Yes, they can beat a human at the game, but are they really more intelligent, or just programmed to achieve their objective better than their opponent? Is Ava nothing more than a sophisticated chess machine, and her objective is to be human? If so, is this free will, or just the illusion of free will? Considering our own behavior is suggested to be programmed from our experiences, is that line so clearly defined in us? The special effects of Ex Machina are noteworthy, not only because they portray Ava with a convincingly robotic body, but that her face clearly resembles a mask, like the masks Nathan keeps in his hall. Literally, Ava wears a mask, but as a robot, why should she feel the need to wear a mask, as a mask is designed to conceal, and she would only feel the need to conceal if she felt it would help her achieve her objectives. But then again, as we wear metaphorical masks in our own society, this behavior also suggests a level of humanity in Ava not so simply defined by a mere test.
Recommended for: Fans of a philosophical and psychological science fiction thriller, which explores the many varied interpretations of the uncanny valley and what it is to be human. Also, the kind of "Steve Jobs/Bill Gates" undertones between Nathan and Caleb are humorous.