The topic of artificial intelligence seems to be as prevalent as ever on the cinematic scene. While the upcoming Avengers Age of Ultron looks to showcase that aspect in a big-budget popcorn capacity, sci-fi thriller, Ex Machina is already dissecting the topic in a poignant fashion in its early-release showings. Now, a brand new trailer focuses on the film’s disturbing philosophical predicaments. Take a look:
Continuing to garner attention for this artfully claustrophobic exploration of A.I. implications, this latest trailer for Ex Machina distinguishes itself in its presentation of the foreboding immediacy of the film’s premise. The pulsation of the musical score is paralleled with several real-life quotes from tech industry giants, including the co-founders of Google, whose own sector of search engines very much plays a key role. The focus is firm on the unsettling evolution of the film’s A.I. character, Ava (Alicia Vikander), whose consciousness was algorithmically bolstered from the vast phalanx of information available on the Internet by way of search engines and social media.
Likewise, Ex Machina has already proven to be a captivating, quasi-erotic, terrifying tour-de-force that takes every metaphysical certainty one might have about the meaning of life, leaving it in a colossal quandary. The film stars Domhnall Gleeson as Caleb, a search engine programmer who finds himself granted the privilege to join the research of Nathan (Oscar Isaac), an eccentric owner of a tech company who has been secretly developing the A.I., Ava, in his bunker facility. However, Ava’s apparent faux-feminine wiles start to surface, which proves more effective as her synthetic body becomes built ever more attractive. Her seduction of Caleb carries mysterious motives that could very well drive a wedge between the two, yielding potentially potent implications for mankind.
Ex Machina also marks the directorial debut of Alex Garland, the screenwriter behind celebrated genre gems like 28 Days Later, Sunshine and Dredd. The message behind this new trailer make it abundantly clear that this stuff COULD actually happen; especially as it becomes clear that the wealth of data on the Internet provides not just a quantitative corralling of information, but a qualitative insight into the way humans think and feel, which could easily translate into a form apprehensible to any artificial intelligence to self-sustain its own cognitive and individuated growth. Playing to that fear, the clip ends with a haunting quote from Bill Gates stating, "I don’t understand why some people are not concerned."
Besides its immense implications, the film will also feature two individuals in Gleeson and Isaac who are likely set for stardom when their key roles in this December’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens become apparent. Ex Machina has only been available for viewing in a handful of locations in the U.S. However, more will have a chance to experience this pulse-pounding picture when it is widely released this weekend on April 24.
