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“Do they have free will and are they capable of existing outside of servitude?”
A
rtificial intelligence is a theme that we avid film watchers can never resist. There are many awful representations out there, but when cleverly portrayed and explored, it exposes deep philosophical questions that leave us with our head in our hands pondering the meaning of life. Futuristic settings, robotic creations and advanced technology have been popular themes of AI way back to the 1920’s. However, it is about so much more than that. It’s about what lies beneath the surface. Film producers have explored what happens when technology spirals out of control, the struggle that exists between master and creator and the identity crisis of an artificially manufactured human being. Recent films that probe into the portrayal of AI include I Robot, Blade Runner, Ghost in the Shell, Ex Machina, Rogue One and so much more. Written and directed by Alex Garland, Ex Machina is a film that explores concepts of responsibility, freedom and control in an almost beautiful way. The film follows the experience of Caleb Smith, a highly talented programmer who wins a competition and is invited to the luxurious home (or testing facility) of Nathan Bateman, a software expert who has manufactured a robot with artificial intelligence; Ava. Ava physically looks and acts like a human being capable of interaction and free thought. This is where the film really starts to expose the hard hitting questions of AI. Ex Machina blurs the boundaries between human and AI to the point where they are indistinguishable. It is one thing to create a robot that possesses the capabilities of human actions but Garland takes this even further when he gives Ava a human body and feminine clothing. The physically human side of Ava results in us seeing her as not being artificially manufactured but instead a living being with emotions and thoughts. We are drawn in to Ava, wanting to know more about her and her experiences. The strive for freedom is a popular exploratory theme of AI and plays a big part in Ex Machina. To question our existence and our path to freedom is a human concept. Ava’s questioning of her existence further blurs the boundaries between the real and the AI. The big question of why we exist is also featured in I, Robot, starring Will Smith and directed by Alex Proyas.
The film is set in the year 2036 and robots exist to serve humans. Proyas questions what it means to be a robot surrounded by a world of human control; do they have free will and are they capable of existing outside of servitude? Boundaries are again blurred when a robot named Sonny begins to question things that should only exist in a human mind; his own identity and reasons for coming into being. To witness a robot going through an identity crisis is something we have seen previously in Ex Machina. To have an identity is to have a consciousness and the capability of making your own decisions and actions. Identity is also connected with people’s backgrounds and upbringings and this is where Sonny encounters his problem; he has no upbringing. Only a lab full of equipment and testing that constitutes his memories. I think this is where I, Robot plays on our feelings of empathy; what must it mean to have no experiences that construct who we are? The relationship between master and creator can almost always be found in films that explore AI. What is interesting is that this relationship is more often than not portrayed as a power struggle with potentially catastrophic consequences. It has its roots in literature with the well-known Frankenstein and his monster. The theme raises questions of responsibility and what happens when the creator rejects all of this responsibility. Ex Machina and I, Robot seem to suggest that power is easily transferrable and obtained through artificial intelligence. If this intelligence is not properly guided and used correctly, the power relationships inevitably spiral out of control. Ex Machina and I Robot are two films out of many that question the possibilities of artificial intelligence and what can happen as a result of manufactured human beings. Perhaps this theme has become so popular in film because the further technology progresses, the closer to home the films become. Artificial intelligence has subtly yet increasingly invaded our everyday lives with video games, personal virtual assistants and smart home devices. These are essentially technological developments that exist to serve human life. Films take this further and ask what would happen if these robots are given a consciousness or the ability to think and act freely. Artificial intelligence becomes perhaps not so futuristic as we had thought; the setting for I, Robot is less than 20 years away after all.