Ex Machina

Work Title: Ex Machina
Medium: Film
Episode Title:
Year: 2015
Writer(s): Alex Garland
"Original" Writer: Yes Own work?: No
Summary:

A young computer programmer Caleb is selected to participate in an experiment about testing the Turing test with an AI called Ava. Ava is an independent social robotic with the ability to think, reflect, memorize, and learn. During the Turing test, Caleb finds that he is somehow attracted to Ava and decides to save her from her creator, Nathan. Actually, Nathan's true experiment is to see whether Ava can use all kinds of skills, including emotion, pretense, talking, and decision making to escape. At the end, Nathan's AI Kyoto and Ava killed Nathan. Ava escapes from the lab, while Caleb is locked in the lab.

  • Self-Written?: 1
  • Source Name:
  • Source URL:
Era/Year of Portrayal: present_day
Distinctive characteristics of the world in portrayal:

The characters stay in a remote rural area, where Nathan locks his AIs in his lab.

Technology

  • Name of portrayed presence-evoking technology: Ava, Kyoto (human-like robotics)
  • Description of the technology: Ava and Kyoto are both human-like robotics. Kyoto looks like human and behaves like human.
    When Ava does not wear clothes, she has her human-like head. But she does not have skins. She has transparent body with electronic parts in her body. When Ava puts on clothes, artificial skin, and hair, she looks like human.
    Kyoto can dance, make sex, and serve dinner. But she cannot talk.
    Ava can talk and has the ability to think. When Ava walks, there will be the sound from electronic system. They all behave like real humans.
    Ava needs to charge itself and she finds that she can make a power cut if she converges the electricity.



  • Nature of task or activity: The user, Caleb, is asked to test if Ava can pass the Turing test. But the real task is to see if Ava can escape by making Caleb believe her.
  • Performance of the Technology: Ava behaves very well in the beginning. She responds to Caleb's questions. She can think. However, toward the end of the film, she makes Caleb believes her and successfully escapes from the control of her creator.
    Kyoto is submissive. But in the end, she kills her creator, Nathan.
  • Description of creator(s): Male from 30 to 50. He is the creator of the searching engine, bluebook. He has beard and wears glasses. He likes to drink a lot.
  • Major goal(s) of creator(s): The creator does not talk about his goal. He just wants to invent the robots that can pass the Turing test.
  • Description of users of technology: Caleb is a young male programmer. He is about 20 to 30. Compared with Nathan, he looks calm and rational.
  • Type(s) of presence experience in the portrayal: social_presence
  • Description of presence experience: Caleb tests the Turing test by talking to Ava. He tests if Ava has the ability to think. He also tests if Ava is stimulating or truly responding. He concludes that Ava passes the test. Ava's behaviors, movements, talking, and mind are hard to distinguish from normal people.
  • User awareness of technology during experience: Caleb is not aware that Kyoto is a robot. But he knows Ava is an AI from the beginning.
  • Valence of experience: He enjoys talking with Ava and is somehow attracted to Ava. But later, when he finds that Ava cheats and escapes, he is shocked and frustrated.
  • Specific responses: Caleb enjoys talking with Ava. He also believes Ava's words. He gets surprised when Ava puts on clothes. When he finds that Ava cheats and escapes, he is surprised and helpless. He experiences physiological arousal, involvement, etc.
Long-term consequences:

The story has a dark ending. Kyoto kills her creator, Nathan. Ava escapes from control by making Caleb believe her. Caleb is locked in the lab in the end of the film.

Other:

Coder name: Kun Xu
Coder email: kun.xu@temple.edu
Coder affiliation: Temple University