01-27-2015, 11:07 PM
This movie is available on Netflix, for the curious.
I can't summarize it much better than Wikipedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Machine_(film)
I found this to be a worthwhile look at the development of AI. The protagonist is a computer expert who is tasked with performing Turing tests on candidate AIs. He finds a candidate that is interesting because of the manner in which it flopped the test.
Due to evil wartime scheming, the AI project's director ends up killing the creator of the candidate AI and claiming the AI for government use. The AI is then given a body and accelerated development as, of course, a weapon of war. This, of course, ends in tears for the government bad guys.
The actress behind the AI, Caity Lotz (of "Death Valley," "The Pact," and "Arrow" semi-fame) is apparently a gymnast or ballerina, and God bless her for that. Her portrayal of the developing AI is interesting, and some of the dialogue she delivers hints at some real AI study by the writers. ("I did not realize 'clown' and 'human' were the same!") There's a very interesting scene where she tries dancing (clothing: feh), studies her reflection in a puddle, and otherwise puzzles through things that are convincingly AI learning experiences, at least by movie standards.
There are side plots involving an autistic daughter (well acted, I think); brain-damaged and injured soldiers used for computer implant and cybernetic testing who start showing transapient evolution; and, of course, evil scheming government types.
I don't think the movie holds together perfectly. The bad guys are a bit clichéd and the ending is a bit Matrix-like in that a superhuman badass kicks ass on a steady stream of soldiers before destroying the underground base. But for a movie with a $1 million budget and 90-minute run time, it's quite well done.
The upcoming big-budget Ex Machina seems to play to similar ideas: Turing tests, AIs sort of in need of rescues, brainy heroes, etc. Likewise, I can see some shades of "Her" in this.
I can't summarize it much better than Wikipedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Machine_(film)
I found this to be a worthwhile look at the development of AI. The protagonist is a computer expert who is tasked with performing Turing tests on candidate AIs. He finds a candidate that is interesting because of the manner in which it flopped the test.
Due to evil wartime scheming, the AI project's director ends up killing the creator of the candidate AI and claiming the AI for government use. The AI is then given a body and accelerated development as, of course, a weapon of war. This, of course, ends in tears for the government bad guys.
The actress behind the AI, Caity Lotz (of "Death Valley," "The Pact," and "Arrow" semi-fame) is apparently a gymnast or ballerina, and God bless her for that. Her portrayal of the developing AI is interesting, and some of the dialogue she delivers hints at some real AI study by the writers. ("I did not realize 'clown' and 'human' were the same!") There's a very interesting scene where she tries dancing (clothing: feh), studies her reflection in a puddle, and otherwise puzzles through things that are convincingly AI learning experiences, at least by movie standards.
There are side plots involving an autistic daughter (well acted, I think); brain-damaged and injured soldiers used for computer implant and cybernetic testing who start showing transapient evolution; and, of course, evil scheming government types.
I don't think the movie holds together perfectly. The bad guys are a bit clichéd and the ending is a bit Matrix-like in that a superhuman badass kicks ass on a steady stream of soldiers before destroying the underground base. But for a movie with a $1 million budget and 90-minute run time, it's quite well done.
The upcoming big-budget Ex Machina seems to play to similar ideas: Turing tests, AIs sort of in need of rescues, brainy heroes, etc. Likewise, I can see some shades of "Her" in this.
Mike Miller, Materials Engineer
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"Everbody's always in favor of saving Hitler's brain, but when you put it in the body of a great white shark, oh, suddenly you've gone too far." -- Professor Farnsworth, Futurama
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"Everbody's always in favor of saving Hitler's brain, but when you put it in the body of a great white shark, oh, suddenly you've gone too far." -- Professor Farnsworth, Futurama