Recently a computer managed to pass the legendary Turing test by fooling quite a lot of people that they were chatting with a thirteen year old boy. A computer passes the test when it shows intelligent behaviour making it impossible to distinguish it from a human.
The development in this field of computing is going fast and it isn’t hard to imagine that within the next 15 years a lot of progress will be made. It might not yet mean that people will become replaceable, but if an intelligent computer is similar to a human there is certainly some competition. Could that eventually lead to situations made popular by movies like The Matrix or The Terminator? The machine is a science fiction movie which gives its own vision on artificial intelligence and asks the viewer what it is that makes us human.
Vincent (Toby Stephens) is a scientist who is working on a highly secure army base, trying to improve people in various ways. He is experimenting with implants on former soldier, which, as the opening of the movie makes clear, can result in a very dangerous situation. He is looking for an expert in the field of artificial intelligence to improve his project and find that in the form of Ava (Caity Lotz). The two start working together and succeed in developing a machine which is intelligent and self-aware.
The movie succeeds in a short period of time to paint an interesting, dark world. You understand why Vincent is doing his work despite the fact it might not be all ethically sound. He is however a product of the situation he is in and has a drive to reach a goal he has set for himself. Despite the small budget the movie looks good (it is mostly set in a badly lit futuristic army base) and quickly touches upon various question concerning artificial intelligence and being self-aware. I do wish those points were explored further, but they did make me think about them.
If we are already succeeding in fooling people into thinking they are talking to a thirteen year old then it seem not that far-fetched to predict that the science fiction of this movie will become a reality during our lifetime, including the consequences that might have for our society, both people and machines.
Wahoo!! Glad you saw this one Nostra. I’ve become obsessed w/ Toby Stephens after seeing this one, tho I’ve always liked him in the past. Glad you appreciate this one, and I totally agree w/ your last paragraph there. I wish this film didn’t go full-on action at the end tho, I think the more reflective/slower moments are the highlights for me, esp all the interactions between Vincent and The Machine. Overall it’s a tremendous effort in a shoestring budget, crazy to think they made this for ONLY about $1 mil!!
You and your British actors! Yeah, I liked the concepts it brought forward and the action wouldn’t have been necessary although you know me, action sequences always make me happy. Didn’t know it was made for such a low budget…just shows how far you can get with a great concept and story.
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