SCI CURIOUS EVENT REVIEWS... SCI-FI[LM]: EX MACHINA

Event reviews by our Sci Curious members

SCI-FI[LM]: Ex Machina

Artificial intelligence isn’t a thing of the future anymore – self-taught A.I. is already smarter than humans at gaming, life-like interactive sex robots are in high demand, and Google Assistant can switch the lights in your home on and off at your request. Does A.I. make our lives more perfect?

Review #1 by Arnold

Ex Machina is a sci fi staple that tackles several very pressing themes and ideas, such as identity, control, artificial intelligence.  The film’s director clearly wished to convey his opinions on the inevitable invention of AI. Through the film’s conclusion we can clearly see the director’s view of what AI will become; better, smarter and more ruthless than humans.  Within this film there is one clear question, is Ava ‘alive’. In my belief she is; however, the ending of the film has enough support to the contrary to suggest that every action she takes is merely a result of her programming and/or situation.  

I believe that as we continue to advance technologically Ex Machina and other similar films will become more and more relevant.  Other similar films include iRobot, Transcendence, Detroit:Become Human and Chappie. These films become more relevant simply due to the fact that AI is fast becoming a very real possibility and therefore a threat.  As a member of the generation most likely to need to understand AI as advanced as Ava I believe that films such as Ex Machina are very important to understand humanities current viewpoint of AI and I would therefore recommend Ex Machina to as many people as possible.  

Review #2 by Luke

During this event, three important themes stood out to me;

Firstly, what does it mean to be human?

We often to have an uncanny ability to personify everything around us, from animals, to inanimate objects, to the creations we make. The outcome of this is that we begin to blur the lines between what is human and what is not considered human. This confusion can best be seen with the development of artificial intelligence (AI), which is ultimately the desire to create a perfect digital copy of us and perhaps even surpass this 'perfect' copy. Nonetheless, to recreate us as AI, we need first to ask ourselves, what it means to be human?

Who is in control?

Artificial is a term used to refer to an object developed by humans often to recreate something natural. Through this definition, we see that AI are inherently linked to humans. PhD candidate and physiotherapist, Jessica Williams, made the insightful connection of the AI that is used in chess as being a simple set of rules coded by programmers. Therefore, choices that AI make are simply an extension of the programmers' choices and ideologies. This consequence has real-world connections such as with the use of driverless cars. If given a situation that involves choosing between lives (driver or pedestrian), who will the AI decide to endanger and more importantly who made a choice?

However, this connection to the programmer is not autonomy. To create a true AI, there needs to be autonomy, or in other words a disconnect from the creator. This idea is represented within the title of the screening, whereby the Latin phrase of Deus ex Machina "God from the machine" is replaced with Ex Machine, "from the machine". However, having true AI leaves me to the final theme.

What are the ethical issues that surround true AI?

Some would intuitively say that AI should not have human rights. However, what happens when we create a true AI that is a perfect copy of a human conscious? This once again blurs the lines of what makes us unique, and therefore, the rights that these true AI would have. Furthermore, would the true AI be accountable for what they do, or will the associated programmers be responsible even if the actions of the true AI were out of their hands? These will be the tough questions that we will have to one day face with the development of true AI.

Overall this event was highly topical with the vast leaps in technology we are seeing alongside our concerns, such as losing touch with reality and the loss of job security due to automation. Specifically, we are also seeing a strong push towards AI development in recent times. The themes brought up at this event regarding AI were highly thought-provoking and relevant to me as a consumer of technology and someone who has always had an interest in the idea of AI. It was after this event, that I began to question what does true AI represent? Is it a perfect copy of us or is it something more?

Review #3 by Matt

I think the most important themes of the event were themes that explored what human-level AI might look like through the lens of humanity. The film was great at showing that AI may emulate human elements of empathy and compassion but also modes of resentment and mistrust. Coupled with the great talk beforehand from Jessica Williams, the event really exemplified how AI might become what our ‘idea’ of human is rather than what humanity might objectively be.

As a person who will be approaching 50 years old by 2050, I believe it’s highly relevant for me to consider (even by watching movies) what the future might hold for Artificial Intelligence. A growing AI heavy economy will affect both my employment prospects and what I might desire to study in the future. In this respect, I think that the event was especially relevant for my generation of school leavers and undergraduates.