Due: 03/22 Ex Machina and Artificial Intelligence Gayatri Menon

In my discussion of Ex Machina, I will be relating it to the possibility of Ava, Nathan’s

developed AI, being considered a human, comparing the previous robot prototypes to the varying

classifications of AI, and investigating the modified Turing Test practiced in the movie. A Strong

AI is considered to be true if the machine’s intellectual capability is functionally equal to that of

a human’s. Several instances in Caleb and Ava’s conversations are indicative of this capability.

She is able to sustain long conversations with a human, responding in the way a regular person

would, however the slight twist is that Caleb sees that she is different from a human, that she is

powered by technology and not by flesh.

Though the Turing Test is presented in the movie, Nathan has a higher order test he

wishes to see through. Ava would very easily pass the Turing Test as she is able to converse very

much like a human, and in a situation where Caleb wasn’t aware of her artificial intelligence, he

would very easily be fooled into considering her an equal. However, given that Caleb is

introduced to this difference right in the beginning of the movie, he inquires as to what Nathan is

really testing for. Therefore, we find that the test is not really whether she is a human or a

machine, but if she has a variation of Emotional Intelligence (EQ) – concerned with the ability to

understand other people, what they are motivated by and how to work in a cooperative way with

them. In Ava’s case, we could infer from this definition of EQ that one of the goals she could

achieve from cooperating with others (the only others available to her being Caleb, Nathan and

Kyoko), is to ‘outsmart’ them through manipulation and escape from being held captive.

This goal to escape was an issue considered by the directors of the movie. Oscar Isaac

posits that Nathan realizes that “when he makes something, when he creates a machine that’s self

aware, even low functioning, it wants to leave. It wants freedom” (Slashfilm). When we ponder

this thought, we can come to acknowledge freedom as a very human concept – as a robot,

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 Due: 03/22 Ex Machina and Artificial Intelligence Gayatri Menon

programmed by another being to respond and live in a certain way, it would seem strange for it

to alone strive for independence and freedom.

From this ideology, we could also consider the possibility of Ava becoming more human-

like. Though she initially would have had only the knowledge Nathan programmed into her, over

time and interaction with him and Caleb, she would have picked up on their more human

characteristics. As time passes, we see Ava developing a mind more of her own, with more

complexities outside of what Nathan has provided her with. We learn that she is the one causing

the power cuts, and that during one of these power cuts she tells Caleb that he shouldn’t trust

Nathan. It is also important to note that as soon as the power comes back on, that she

immediately resumes regular conversation in order to fool Nathan who is observing them on a

computer. This ability to cover up her lapse in regular, robotic behaviour, is indicative of her

distinction between human, unguided behaviour, and robotic, artificial intelligence – a higher

order distinction more typical of humans.

Other instances of Ava’s evolving into a human can be seen in a contrast between two of

her behaviours. Towards the end of the movie, when Nathan breaks off her arm in a struggle to

save himself, we see no emotional or pain driven reaction on her part, but later when she’s

walking around his house about to escape, she giggles and is amazed by the grandeur of it. These

are two startlingly different reactions that could outline the difference between her previous robot

self, and her later more human nature.

It is also important to consider the previous prototypes Nathan developed, especially

Kyoko. This previous model is seen to be incapable of using language and as a result devoid of

the ability to think - a standard essential to the Cartesian indication of a mind. Therefore, we can

classify Kyoko as either a weak AI, or something less than that. However, an odd exception to

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 Due: 03/22 Ex Machina and Artificial Intelligence Gayatri Menon

this classification is when she drops wine on Caleb and Nathan yells at her. She then proceeds to

exit from the room, and is seen to lower her head in embarrassment, a reaction atypical of a robot

who acts purely based on instruction and not so much on emotion. Nonetheless, we still find Ava,

the strong AI, making use of her less intelligent counterpart to murder Nathan and aid in her

escape. As a result, the movie introduces us to the dangers in artificial intelligence and our

associated interactions. It’s one thing to talk to a robot, but another to construct emotional

connections with it. Additionally, though the complexities of Ava’s character indicate a human

nature, it seems practical to reduce her intelligence to what it originally is, simply artificial.

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