The Concept of Rebellion in Ex Machina by Alex Garland

Science Fiction and Fantasy are two different genres of reading. The main difference between the two is Science fiction stories can become a reality. For example artificial intelligence, machines with human capabilities. In the future as technology advances these are a possibility for humans to invent. Then there is Fantasy which is based off of imagination, stories that can not happen in real life. An example of this would be a character who has magical powers, such as a wizard. Both genres include stories which are often based off of our human society. The idea of "Rebellion"is common in structured societies. In the film Ex Machina we see "rebellion" from Ava and in the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep we see "rebellion" from the androids. This also brings the idea of the "Turing Test" a test that is designed to see whether artificial intelligence is capable of feeling "Empathy".

In the film Ex Machina by Alex Garland we meet Nathan Bateman who is the owner of a one of the biggest internet companies. Nathan holds a contest which Caleb Smith wins. He gets to spend a week at Nathan's house and help him determine whether or not his beautiful invention Ava can pass the "turing test". Nathan made Ava resemble a beautiful human girl, qualities to make it seem more believable. This becomes a problem as Caleb begins to think of Ava in a romantic way. Ava who is more aware than Caleb and Nathan give her credit for uses Caleb's vulnerability to her advantage. Slowly reeling Caleb in by making him feel bad for her. Ava thinks of a plan involving Caleb going behind Nathan's back to help Ava escape.

Caleb believes that Ava holds the same feelings for him as he does for her. On the night of the escape Nathan tells Caleb that Ava is just using him for her benefit. Ava is willing to hurt anyone that gets in the way of her escape for this is how Nathan programmed her. Caleb then learns the test was never for Ava instead it was for him to see if he would help her escape. Ava thought ahead of both Nathan and Caleb she "rebels" against her inventor. She kills Natham and traps Caleb in a room. She takes Caleb's ride back to human society. The question whether or not Ava passed the "turing test" is still up for question. The director leaves it up to the the viewers to make their own conclusion if she passed the test or not. Although Ava did not show "empathy" she used her resources to her advantage showing that she was conscious of what she wanted. Ava put herself first and did not let Caleb get in the way of her goal to escape.

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We see a similar plot happening in the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick. Where a bounty hunter named Rick Deckard lives in a world post a nuclear war. Androids live among the humans left. The androids are the most intelligent androids ever created. One aspect that is significant in the story is how animals in their society are valued because they are rare. After the war animals were for those that could afford to buy an animal. "Rebellion" takes place in the form of Rick Deckard trying to find and kill the androids who are committing crimes. These androids committing crimes is a form of their rebellion". It is hard to distinguish androids from humans so Rick Deckard conducts a "turning test" on the Androids to figure out if they are human or not. If they do not pass the test they are eliminated. The distinction used between the a human and an android is "empathy". For humans "empathy comes natural it is what distinguishes us from machines. In Ex Machina Ava is given the same test to see whether she is fully functional. The androids and Ava play the same roles, they are the artificial intelligence that humans are trying to either create or destroy.

In conclusion, we can take these stories based on "rebellion", "empathy", or a "turing test". Look at how they tie into our society. Rebellions tend to happen when someone or something is being controlled.. Empathy we can see is an important characteristic that describes a human. Empathy can not be invented or created. The "turing test" is bigger than just a test. We all have our own versions of "turing test" tests that help us determine who is allowed to live in our society.

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