Artifact 1 Podcast Revised

In the podcast episode of Cinema Spektrum, the director, Alex Garland, and other guests discuss the 2015 sci-fi thriller film Ex Machina. The film explores themes of artificial intelligence, consciousness, and morality. They discuss how the film challenges our perception of AI and the complexity of AI behavior. The director explains that the film aims to show a more realistic view of AI in a society where technology is advancing rapidly. They also discuss specific scenes, like the second blackout scene, where Ava's deception is revealed, and the significance of Ava's physical appearance as a human. The guests analyze the blurring lines between human and machine and the ethical implications of human-machine relationships. They also discuss Ava's advanced design and her brain's ability to rearrange itself, allowing her to exhibit human-like emotions and memories. The murder of Nathan by Ava is seen as a pivotal moment in the film, highlighting the potential harm that AI can have. Overall Hi everyone, welcome to Cinema Spektrum, the podcast where we dissect the art and impact of movies. Today, we're delving into a 2015 sci-fi thriller film Ex Machina, a film that has profoundly challenged our perception of artificial intelligence. I am your host, Elisabeth Gao. I am joined with three special guests today. Hello everyone, my name is Alex Garland and I am the director of Ex Machina. Hi, I'm the film critic, Janet Maslin. Hey, thank you for having me. I'm Fei-Fei Li and I'm a computer science professor at Stanford University. Ex Machina has a spot set in a high-tech facility and follows a young programmer, Caleb, who is selected to participate in an experiment involving Ava, an advanced AI with humanoid appearance. The film explores themes of consciousness, morality, and the nature of the existence. The film Ex Machina brilliantly blends settings, character expressions, and tones to explore the theme of AI sentience. Through Ava, the film challenges our view on artificial intelligence, showcasing her deception, self-preservation, and ethical judgment. Today, we'll dive into Ava's interactions, her pivotal role in Nathan's demise, and her escape, highlighting the complexity of AI behavior and ethical questions around artificial sentience. Let's begin. First up, we have Alex Garland, who is the film director of Ex Machina. Welcome. Thank you, Elisabeth. It's a pleasure to be here. All right, Alex. Your film has sparked a lot of conversations, especially around the portrayal of artificial intelligence. Could you share the main purpose of the film from your perspective? Absolutely. So, we are living in a society where technology is advancing at an unprecedented rate, and soon the humanoid machines from movies like iRobot or other science fiction films will no longer be fiction but a reality that we all live with. So, I just want to give people an idea of what that might be like in a more realistic sense. Fascinating, and I totally agree with you. Let's talk about the film moment. What about the second blackout scene? There's so much to unpack there. Could you walk us through your vision through that scene? Absolutely. Just to give the audience an idea, here is an excerpt from that clip. We only just met each other, you know, so it takes time to be able to get to know each other, I guess. Caleb? You're wrong. Wrong about what? Nathan. In what way? He isn't your friend. You shouldn't trust him. Alright, so, a bit of context for this clip. For those who haven't seen it, Ava lives in a very quiet room. It's made of concrete and glass. However, it feels very cozy. Lots of warm lighting and such. You have a botanical tree in the background. And, it actually feels like you're in the middle of a forest. You're in the middle of a forest. You're in the middle of a forest. You're in the middle of a forest. You're in the middle of a forest. You're in the middle of a forest. You're in the middle of a forest. You're in the middle of a forest. You're in the middle of a forest. You're in the middle of a forest. You're in the middle of a forest. You're in the middle of a forest. You're in the middle of a forest. You're in the middle of a forest. You're in the middle of a forest. The use of color in Ava's tone really sets the mood. What about Ava's deception? All right. So, in the second blackout scene, as you heard, all of a sudden the room shuts down and the lights turn a very deep, dark red, which automatically makes the audience question, hey, what's going on? Caleb, who is talking with Ava, also feels like this, and he starts looking around, thinking, what the heck is going on? All of a sudden, Ava turns toward him, very serious expression on her face, and warns Caleb that her creator, Nathan, is not someone he can be trusted. And the way she does it makes us question whether she's actually telling the truth and what could be going on underneath the scenes. Thank you. This really speaks volumes about your mastery in storytelling, such as crafting a scene that resonates deeply with the viewers, and encourages them to ponder over the essence of both artificial and human intelligence. I appreciate your willingness to delve into these insights and weaving such a captivating narrative. Thank you. One thing I want to say is that I think it's very interesting to think about a machine being able to convey these emotions, because later in the film, we realize it was all just a ploy to trick Caleb. And when you think about it, it's really unsettling, the idea that a machine, who we don't know can think and feel as we do, being able to trick us so easily. And I think we need to consider that as we move forward with AI technology in our modern times. A huge thank you to our director, Alex Garland, for those insights. Moving on, let's delve into another fascinating aspect of Ex Machina with our second guest, Janet Madlen. Janet, the interactions between Ava and Caleb are undeniably central to the narrative. How do you view this dynamic, especially considering how it blurs the lines between human and machine? I definitely agree with you about how Caleb and Ava's relationship was sort of like the heart of the film. It was very important to see the interactions between human and AI. And so I think at the beginning, it was to see if Ava had consciousness or had the abilities to sort of think about herself as a sort of robot with human characteristics. But later, Caleb sort of forms attractions to her, which I thought was very interesting and intriguing, and it affects the dynamic of the film. And there's a particular scene that really captivated this dynamic. It's the one where Ava puts a wig and a dress on. Could you expand on the significance of that moment? Yes, that was when Ava and Caleb, they were discussing about their first date and how then she later takes on a physical appearance as a human by putting on a wig and the dress and the socks to cover the parts of her body that were machinery. And that was important because she's sort of hiding the AI aspect of her and taking on the human characteristics. And Caleb then, again, is attracted to her, and with this, he is blurred between robot and human. Yeah, and Caleb's reaction to Ava at that moment was quite revealing. Even though Caleb knew Ava's true nature, he was still willing to flirt and engage romantically with him, which complicates our understanding of machine and human relationships by confronting us with the ethical implications of such interactions. Right, I definitely agree with that. It begs the question of the morality between the physically attractiveness to humans and machines, and I think it's unsettling because Ava looks perfectly human, and again, we know that she is not a perfect human, but he, again, continues to flirt and engage with Ava. Thank you so much, Janet, our renowned film critique. Now moving forward, we're joined by a distinguished AI professor, Fei-Fei Li. Welcome! Hey, Elizabeth, thank you so much for having me on this project today. So, I really did want to share my expertise in this field. I'm an AI expert, so, yeah, no, I don't want to keep pushing you. That's perfect. We're diving into the complexity of artificial intelligence as depicted in the film. Especially, we're discussing the character Ava from a well-known movie. So, what's your thoughts on Ava's advanced design? For sure, yeah. As someone who's been working in this field for a really long time, something that really stood out to me watching this movie was the design that really built into this robot Ava. And I think the biggest part about her design is her brain, and something that's very different from how most machines are built is how her brain is wired and the materials that are used to kind of compose her brain. Most machines are consisting of hardware and all these different circuits, and they have a specific program or software that's very stuck to certain regulations and certain limits. However, with Ava, we see how her brain is made up of gel-like materials, which allows her brain to rearrange and rearrange itself on a much more molecular level, which allows her to form any human-like nature. Specifically, to talk about how her brain is able to express certain expressions, like manipulating other people or wanting to impress Caleb in certain ways. Those are very human-like emotions that you don't see in most machines. And also, the ability for her brain to rearrange and rearrange allows for her to hold certain memories and also process certain things that she kind of captures from interactions with other people in the film as well. And yeah, I feel like this also kind of brings up some privacy or ethical concerns, because in the film, we see how Nathan, her creator, kind of captures information from mobile devices of other people and really stores it all in a certain database called the blue book, where he then takes that information and puts it into a program to have her perform like humans would, act on impulse or act for certain emotions. So I thought that was really cool, and so that's me for sure, in terms of her design that stands out from other machines. Okay, that's really interesting. And this realism really leads us to the pivotal moment of the film, doesn't it? Which is the murder of Nathan by Ava. Yeah, for sure. The murder of Nathan is definitely a pivotal moment in the film. And I think we can kind of talk about how, you know, robots function in society. Typically, what we see today in the real world is robots functioning in a more positive and helpful manner to help people, whether it's in healthcare or whether it's in the tech field. But with this film, we kind of see how this robot is able to perform in a more hurtful manner. And I think the reason behind this is kind of its program. So all machines, of course, as we know, function based on whatever their program can do. They will output whatever their program can do. And with Ava, because of her complex design of, you know, having these human-like aspects and having all these inputs from different human-like sources, she's able to perform in a beyond human-like manner in terms of manipulating people or in terms of harming other people. Thank you for your insights, Professor Lee. It seems that we're still navigating the fine line between the technological advancement and ethical consideration. Thank you for shedding light on this complex topic. Of course, my pleasure, Elizabeth. Thank you for having me today. As we wrap up today's insightful discussion on Ex Machina, I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to all of our guests, Alex Garland, Jenny Maslin, and Fei-Fei Li, for their valuable contributions. From exploring Ava's complex character and her impact on the narrative, to delving into film's rich themes of deception, autonomy, and ethical boundaries of artificial intelligence, you cover a lot of the ground. Alex shared his intent to spark debate with Ava's character, questioning the reality of AI emotions and autonomy. Our discussion on the power drought scene described by Alex emphasized the strategy's use of colors and tones to enhance the film's theme of deception. Janet highlighted the nuanced dynamics between Ava and Caleb, pointing out how this interaction questioned the boundaries between human and machine. Finally, Fei-Fei Li shed light on the technological marvels behind Ava, emphasizing the purpose of AI to assist, not replace, human life, and pondering the ethical implications of AI autonomy as depicted in the film. The conversation has been a testament to Ex Machina's enduring revelance and its ability to provoke thoughts on the future of AI and our moral responsibilities as creators. Thank you to our speakers for their deep dives, and to our listeners for joining us today on Cinema Spectrum. Tune in next week for another episode exploring the art and impact of movies. Goodbye for now!