Earlier this week, high-tech entrepreneur Elon Musk likened humanity’s involvement with artificial intelligence to summoning the demon. For him, without imposing regulations on the proliferating advancements in the field, AI would quickly become the biggest existential threat that the human race has ever faced. What happens when the line between man and machine is blurred?
It’s a concept that is fascinating and unnerving in equal measures, and one that underpins Alex Garland’s upcoming sci-fi film, Ex Machina, which recently debuted its international trailer.
In the film, a young coder named Caleb (Domhnall Glesson) stumbles upon the opportunity of a lifetime when he wins a competition to spend a weekend with his reclusive boss (Oscar Isaac) at his lavish home. While there, the CEO introduces him to an experiment he has been working out to create an artificial intelligence that is housed in the body of a beautiful woman — a world’s first.
That sentient being — known as Ava — will be played by Alicia Vikander, who quickly causes all sorts of problems when her innate primal instincts take over and she does everything in her power to remain alive.
With Alex Garland behind the lens, Ex Machina is quickly becoming one of our most-anticipated films. The screenwriter-turned-director has penned the scripts for numerous sci-fi big hitters in the last few years, including Danny Boyle’s Sunshine and 28 Days Later. He also worked on the script for 2012’s beloved Dredd reboot.
Now, Garland is tackling the synthesis of man and machine in his latest outing, and all things point to Ex Machina being one to watch out for.
Star Wars: Episode VII cohorts Domhnall Gleeson and Oscar Isaac will be joined by Alicia Vikander’s cybernetic AI for Ex Machina, which is due to hit theaters on January 23rd and April 10th in the United Kingdom and North America, respectively.
