![]() It’s not a shining example of humanity, true, but it reflects her maker (Nathan) and, perhaps, a cynical view of the rest of us. When she leaves the facility, it’s alone.Īs a machine, Ava is a gifted thinker, talker and artist, but it’s when she betrays Caleb – and anyone who stands in the way of survival – that she becomes human. ![]() Ava murders Nathan, sheds no tears for Kyoko, and leaves Caleb to (probably) die in a locked room. Nathan reveals Ava has used Caleb to escape … but both men underestimate what this means. Nathan formats each obsolete model, destroying its thoughts and memories (Ava faces this same threat in the future).ĭuring a power cut, Caleb tells Ava he’s going to reprogram the security protocols to lock Nathan inside the house while they escape.īut there’s a twist: Nathan guesses Ava is causing the power cuts, so installs a battery-operated camera that lets him overhear the plan.īut there’s another twist: Caleb guesses Nathan is listening, so reprograms the protocols ahead of time. She’s an earlier prototype of Ava, which is why she can’t speak. The film ends with a series of twists, each one pulling the rug on the one before.Ĭaleb discovers maid Kyoko is a machine. He’s the underdog, and we assume the story must inevitably go his way. Incidentally, Caleb’s ‘soft’ attributes against Nathan’s overbearing machismo are much easier to side with. He cuts open his arm looking for wires – and finds only human frailty. Caleb’s social and physical awkwardness (and the emotionless way he describes his parents’ deaths) is almost puppet-like.Įventually, Caleb is convinced he’s the real subject of the test.Nathan’s lack of feeling, frailty and warmth is all bro but barely human.Kyoko looks like a woman but acts like a robot.Ava looks like a robot but acts like a woman.Caleb is brought in to see if he can ‘spot the computer’ yet, inevitably, all the characters become ambiguous: The story mirrors this fluid sense of identity. Actually, Nathan builds Ava to match Caleb’s preferences, so Caleb is primed to recognise her as human – to see himself in her. For Caleb, being human means intimacy and honesty. And, as is often the case, they define it in their own likeness.Įgotistical, unfeeling Nathan sees betrayal as a mark of human intelligence. The plot’s conflict arises because everyone has their own concept of what being human means. Caleb assumes he’s to interrogate a robot through dialogue in fact Nathan’s test is much darker.Īva (Alicia Vikander) passes this test when she elicits an emotional and sexual response in Caleb … and then manipulates those feelings to try to escape. This is largely an act: yet one more illusion of the man cave.įor one thing, Nathan’s game goes beyond the Turing test devised to determine if machines can pass as human. So, how smart is Nathan? Sure he’s a programmer god – literally – but in contrast to Caleb he’s brutishly masculine and a booze-addled philistine. Ex Machina cuts in a step earlier: what if the first act of truly conscious technology is to be free? Being human If computers are conscious and capable of independent thought – just like us – are they not also entitled to the same rights?Ģ004’s I, Robot asks if AI will inevitably, if unintentionally, cause the end of humans. Tech genius Nathan (Oscar Isaac) sees AI as the natural successor to our short-term human species (see also David in Alien: Covenant). ![]() ![]() But then Ava starts sharing secrets of her own, forcing Caleb into a disorienting game of trust and betrayal.Įx Machina showcases a familiar theme in film and fiction: the evolution of Artificial Intelligence (AI) – and what that means for us. Nathan has secretly built a next gen robot – and Caleb gets to decide if “Ava” has acquired artificial intelligence. But, well, not only is Nathan an arrogant bully, it’s soon clear the lottery is a cover. What is Ex Machina about?Ĭomputer programmer Caleb wins a lottery of mixed fortune: the chance to spend a week at his boss Nathan’s isolated mountain resort. What could possibly go wrong? Ex Machina spells it out. A mad, bad programmer builds a machine with a soul.
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