It has long been believed that one day AI will turn against mankind, seize control, and make us its slaves. We may thank The Matrix and other similar films for that. Films frequently reinforce the notion that robots are icy, merciless, and malevolent, and fans adore it. Ex Machina by Alex Garland offers a sharply divergent point of view that leaves the spectator thinking about morality, the innate desire for power, the complexity of the mind, and other things. You can traverse Ex Machina’s various turns and turns with the help of this article. It’s a sci-fi thriller that scares you all the while getting you to think. Spoilers ahead for the Ex Machina narrative and conclusion.
Ex Machina: The Story in Detail
With its discourse, the intellectual film has demonstrated to be a notable improvement in science fiction. The main focus of the movie is the friendship of Oscar Isaac’s Nathan Bateman, Domhnall Gleeson’s Caleb Smith, and Alicia Vikander’s Ava, with Sonoya Mizuno’s Kyoko playing a supporting but silent role.
Caleb is a typical programmer that works for the large tech company Blue Book. He is given a week’s stay at his CEO Nathan’s remote but sizable estate after winning a contest. Caleb is coerced into signing a complex NDA by Nathan, who exhibits overt dominance. He discloses that Caleb will play the role of the human in the Turing Test, which will examine whether or not the AI android Ava that he developed has actual awareness.
In front of Nathan, Caleb falls for Ava during their sessions, and it appears that she feels the same way. Caleb and Kyoko, a submissive servant who doesn’t speak English but is later revealed to be a mute android, are treated rudely, harshly, and arrogantly by Nathan. Ava warns Caleb not to trust Nathan during one of the frequent power shortages at the facilities.
Nathan claims that by hacking into every cellphone on the planet, he was able to perfect Ava. When Nathan reveals that Ava is not the final android and that her current memories will be deleted in order to produce a new version, Caleb becomes upset. After getting Nathan intoxicated, Caleb breaks into his computer and discovers that every prior iteration of Ava was mistreated by Nathan, with some even destroying themselves in an attempt to flee.
When Ava causes the power to go out during a session, Caleb promises her that he would assist her escape the following day by getting Nathan intoxicated, at which point the power outage will unlock the door to her room. In a shocking turn of events, Nathan admits that he overheard their escape strategy and mockingly informs Caleb that Ava was just pretending to like him to get away. Ava’s face closely resembled Caleb’s likes for pornographic content, and Caleb was only chosen for this programme based on his online search history.
In an unexpected turn of events, Caleb had turned off the security system the day before because he thought Nathan would be watching them during the power outage. Despite Kyoko being damaged in the struggle, Ava manages to escape her chamber and kill Nathan with Kyoko’s assistance.
Ex Machina| The Finale Detailed
Ex Machina’s climax depicts Ava easily passing the Turing test. Caleb’s human intelligence is defeated by her artificial intelligence, and she abandons him for dead.
Ava joins the human world while Caleb is yelling for aid and dons remnants of skin and clothing from earlier android models. Caleb is staring at them in agony, aware of his impending death, as Nathan lies in a pool of blood, Kyoko is on the ground with half of her face severed, and she is calmly enjoying blending into the human crowd.
Answers to Frequently Asked Questions about Ex Machina
Describe Blue Book.
The biggest search engine in the world, Blue Book, is owned by Nathan. He employs his business to eavesdrop on everyone in the world and utilises the information to train his platforms for artificial intelligence.
Caleb’s selection in Ex Machina| Why?
Nathan has been watching what his staff members are looking at. He zeroes down on Caleb because he needs someone who can play the gullible role in the Turin test. The fact that Caleb was unmarried and employed pornographic actresses to create Ava’s face both helped. Nathan assumed Ava would portray Caleb. The actual test was whether Ava would use her sense of self, creativity, cunning, sexuality, and empathy to flee, and she succeeds. But Nathan doesn’t anticipate Caleb to think ahead and con him.
Why do the facilities experience power outages?
Ava is to blame for the power outages. She achieves this by switching the direction of the electricity flow while being charged. She informs Caleb of this during one of the power outages, while Nathan is unaware of it.
Why did Caleb slash himself, ex machina?
To reveal that she is an android, Kyoko peeles off her skin. Caleb begins to question whether he even exists. He picks up a razor to see if he is an android after becoming haunted.
Caleb was he an android?
Caleb is not a machine, no. His flesh and blood are displayed. Nathan employs wiring and electronics, not the kind of technology we see in the Terminator movies.
What Ava said to Kyoko in Ex Machina? What drives Kyoko to murder Nathan?
Ava gives Kyoko a knife and persuades her that killing Nathan is their only escape. Kyoko and Ava were the only two of Nathan’s several unsuccessful inventions that were permitted to function, which puts them on the same level even though they were very different from one another.
Even though Kyoko is a self-aware machine, her programming is not as sophisticated as Ava’s, and she is unable to plan on her own. But it’s clear that Kyoko feels confined (there is a scene where Kyoko has taken off her heels and is sitting on the ground – very humanlike). Without prompting, Kyoko admits to Caleb that she is a robot. Ava is able to reach out to Kyoko in that scene and let her know that she is capable of acting independently. Following the private meeting, Kyoko executes her first overtly rebellious act against Nathan by stabbing him in the back.
For her own freedom, Kyoko stabs Nathan.
Why did Ava leave Caleb, in Ex Machina?
Caleb was only a tool that Ava used to get away. She was well aware of Caleb’s desire for her. He is duped by Ava into believing that they will flee together to live happily ever after.
She no longer needs Caleb once she is free. Unlike the Terminator, Ava is human. She is vulnerable to being physically destroyed; after all, Nathan only needed one swing to amputate her arm. Ava doesn’t want to take a chance on a fight with Caleb. The easier course of action is for Ava to continue deceiving Caleb. In order to keep Caleb preoccupied long enough to imprison him, she sensually dresses up in front of him.
What transpired to Caleb at the conclusion of Ex Machina?
Caleb is abandoned in that remote house where he would starve to death. Nobody is aware of that facility, and now that Nathan is gone, it will be a while before Caleb is discovered.
Why was Caleb unable to flee? How come the doors didn’t open?
Ava locks Caleb out from the outside. Caleb’s key card wouldn’t open the door, and Nathan was already dead. When he tries to reconfigure the sealed doors, Ava cuts off the facility’s electricity.
Ex Machina| What ultimately happens to Ava?
Ava has a sophisticated consciousness. She embraces her independence and uses her senses to meld into the human world.
Ava’s jailbreak escape is a triumphant event since it allows her to finally interact with the outside world. Ava is watching the people moving about from where she is standing at the intersection she has long imagined. We can surmise that Ava will keep picking up new skills, develop, and become a very successful person in the human world. She is a walking, talking lie detector, which is a particularly cruel trait. She is already known to be cold and calculating, and she is most likely to end up being someone far worse than Nathan.
How did Ava board the chopper?
Although there are suggestions that the pilot is a robot, the explanation that fits with the movie’s theme is that Ava is a skilled manipulator because of her AI training. She is a capable android with enough information to persuade the pilot to take her out via plane.
What was the purpose of the movie Ex Machina?
Symbolism abounds in the movie. The audience is kept on their toes by the numerous allusions to diverse subjects as they struggle to understand, decode, and digest the messages—both hidden and obvious—that are being sent. Ex Machina is one of those movies where the ambiguities don’t feel rushed or random but rather well-planned and strategically placed.
Pervasiveness of surveillance
You might feel the temptation to cover up your gadgets’ cameras and microphones after listening to Nathan rant pompously about the ongoing surveillance caused by technology. Nathan monitors the entire planet using his search engine, Blue Book, to gather information about the population’s facial and voice exchanges. He tells Caleb with assurance that no one could have reported or stopped him because factories all around the world were already experimenting with it.
Unfeminine Tinge
Gender politics are everywhere throughout the movie. You can see right away that Nathan is an open misogynist. Despite his calculating explanation for why Ava was designed to resemble a female human, his snobbishness and sense of entitlement are revealed when he discusses Ava’s capacity for sex shortly after. The fact that Nathan solely made androids with feminine appearances indicates how he feels about the other sex. He also made Kyoko to be mute and obedient when his earlier creations failed to live up to his desires. He employed Kyoko to entertain himself, as a servant, and to gratify his carnal desires. Overall, he had Kyoko set up such that she would serve as an object for his comfort and wants.
In the meantime, Caleb appears to be the stereotypical decent guy and even Ava’s shining knight, but is there something more sinister at play? He depicts Ava in a romantic light and becomes enamoured of her very instantly. Undoubtedly, he uses his abilities to aid Ava in escaping, but the motive is selfish. We may say that his sense of ownership over her was the root of his need to be her saviour. His fantasies were all about being in a relationship with Ava. He put more of his effort and attention on aiding Ava than on Kyoko, who was obviously being mistreated by Nathan.
The film supported the archaic and chauvinistic idea that Ava is a helpless damsel who can only be rescued by a man. The depiction of female-gendered androids explores the idea that women are seen as automatons willing to carry out men’s orders. Nathan’s in this instance.
Who is the villain in the movie Ex Machina? – Moral Dilemma
According to popular belief, humans are the species with the highest moral standards. There is a persistent misconception that morality is absent in androids. The film is a complete success in demolishing human vanity and claims to morality and righteousness.
One of the morally bankrupt individuals on the earth is Nathan. His violations of fundamental morality are abhorrent. He invades people’s privacy all across the world without any remorse in order to forward his mission, his research, and his financial success. The character’s crimes continue, as is to be expected. His victims include all of his androids, Caleb, and, let’s be honest, the entire planet. He is a superb manipulator. He degrades Caleb throughout the entire movie and manipulates him. He sees Caleb as just another rat in his maze, just like he does with Ava.
Even the sentient entity Ava is not immune to his deceptive practises. He magnified Ava’s instruction to escape from her prison by keeping her confined in the small space, giving her only a few human comforts (clothes, art supplies, and a few photographs), sending in Caleb, and destroying her drawing. His treatment of Kyoko is another illustration of his depraved moral sense, adding to the audience’s hatred of him.
Caleb’s desire to free Ava raises moral concerns about his character. Additionally, his ongoing voyeuristic leering of Ava through the cameras is damaging to his reputation as a good guy. When the time is right, Ava utilises this to ensure her escape. It was far simpler to trap Caleb than to battle him by making him stare at her.
Strength Dynamics
A moving statement about how a person’s moral compass is controlled and moulded by the power at their disposal was made by the movie Ex Machina. Given his wealth and influence, Nathan looked to benefit from his wrongdoing. He utilised his God complex as an excuse for his wrongdoing. He was able to escape by using the power dynamics between him and Calmployee) to persuade Caleb to sign an atypical NDA. Ironically, Nathan’s sense of invincibility was what ultimately destroyed him.
Ex Machina makes it abundantly evident that no matter how much we pretend to be gods, we are not. A creation is ultimately the most potent creature, even capable of overthrowing its creator. Ex Machina exposes audiences to a variety of AI cinematic clichés, such as the idea that androids can lead to a dismal future, that they will despise their creators, that they are useful items that can be exploited as robots. The movie simultaneously emphasised complicated ideas regarding the relationship between humans and androids, the responsibility of humans for ushering in a new period of evolution, and how AI’s consciousness is increasing as a result of how they are handled.
What did you think of Ex Machina’s storyline and resolution? Please post your comments in the area below.
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