Sci-Fi stands for science fiction, i.e. for stories and thought games about what science could be capable of – and what consequences progress could have. Some of these visions involve epic global conflicts or cyberpunk dystopias. But it is precisely the more subtle representatives of the genre that have the ability to really get under your skin.
One of these subtle, seductive and creepy films is Alex Garland’s sci-fi manifesto Ex Machina, which you have been able to stream with a subscription on Amazon Prime since the weekend. Even ten years after its release, the film still feels realistic and its scenarios not just possible, but probable at. Maybe more than ever.
In Ex Machina, Star Wars star Domhnall Gleeson becomes part of a disturbing AI experiment
For programmer Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson), a little dream comes true when he is invited by his boss Nathan (Oscar Isaac) to his private residence. Nathan, a tech mogul and visionary, introduces Caleb to his current project: a real artificial intelligenceembedded in a human-looking body.
Caleb is fascinated by Nathan’s creation (Alicia Vikander), who has the sonorous name Ava, which is very reminiscent of the first woman in the Bible. But he soon realizes that he isn’t just here to marvel at the technical progress. He is that human test subject, where Ava’s authenticity is to be tested. And the possibilities of manipulating the human counterpart.
Universal
Ex Machina
As Caleb’s fascination develops into something much more, Ava also seems to move away from her original tasks. Suddenly the boundaries between creator and creation, man and machine are no longer clearly defined – but they are The confusion also harbors deadly dangers. The sci-fi mind game becomes a full-blown thriller.
Ex Machina on Amazon Prime is incredibly directly linked to real developments
Ex Machina is now ten years old and even then its vision of the future was already effective (in every sense of the word). scary realistic. But since the rapid spread of AI generators for texts and images last year, the topic of artificial intelligence has become particularly explosive.
The possibility of replacing human-made things with AI-made things is currently changing a lot of things. Even in the film sector Screenwriters and actors fought in 2023 months of strikes among other things, about preserving their jobs and against the displacement of human art by AI content.
It is precisely these events that make Ex Machina seem so realistic today. But not just that Tension between humans and AI and the ever-blurring boundaries between the two are ever-present themes in the film. It’s also about responsibility.
AI may have started out as a tool in Ex Machina’s universe just as it does in ours. But the tool has become its own being, and now it is becoming morally gray. From here on out there are people Creators with parental responsibility, towards fellow human beings and our creation. We may need to start thinking today about our role in our own future.
If you want to explore our technological future in a goosebump-inducing way, you can now stream Ex Machina with a subscription on Amazon Prime.
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