Servo - January 2016

indicate bias and predilection.

Ava, as the progeny of Nathan, also plays on Caleb’s heterosexuality, carefully drawing him in as a “prince” who can save her (the Cinderella Complex).

By Session 3, her micro-expressions are quite convincing. She asks Caleb if he is attracted to her and about the possibility of going on a “date.” Still striving to be the detached tester, Caleb asks Nathan about Ava’s sexuality and her flirting, and once again extraordinary issues are discussed such as whether consciousness can exist without interaction.

By Session 4, Ava has made a “conscious” decision to dress like a human female and dons clothes to add to her conviction. By Session 5, we see the role reversal from Ava being the “test subject” to being the “tester.” Ava expresses a desire to be with Caleb: “I want to be with you; do you want to be with me?” She asks what will happen to her if she doesn’t pass the test. Will she be shut off? Caleb responds that it’s not up to him.

Caleb recognizes that Ava may be “conscious” and also wonders if he is possibly artificial. He purposely cuts himself to ensure he is comprised of red blood and still feels pain. (In the future, having “red blood” won’t necessarily mean we’re not categorized as human or as a machine.)

By Session 6, Ava is in full “Cinderella” mode, in the corner of her room in an upright fetal position wearing a new dress. She asks her Prince Caleb to save her. In the last session, Session 7, we learn that Ava is definitely not programmed with Asimov’s Laws and that vulnerable Caleb will not be guest starring on Criminal Minds.

In reality, I posit that if a heterosexual female had been the human that interviewed Ava, it wouldn’t have been the great movie it was. For example, if I, as the

World’s First Robotic Psychiatrist, had a couple of sessions with Ava, I probably would have been murdered by her in Session 2. (At least then my husband would have been subjected to a shorter film.)

My Questions:

“Ava, if you could describe yourself with one emotion, what would it be? Do you consider yourself happy? Are you lonely? What do you do all day? What do you think about when you are The most important questions would come after she declares, “I’ve never met anyone new before. Only Nathan” (Flag #1) to which I would respond, “What do you mean by ‘new?’ How can you tell I’m a human and not a machine?” Why do Tell me about Nathan: “What do you think his objective is for creating you? Why do you think he designed you in the physical form that he did? How much time per day does he interact with you and please describe the interactions. Have you noticed any changes in his behavior throughout the course of a day? How do you feel about your creator? Are there other machines such as yourself that you engage with?

Finally, due to my female curiosity, “What materials did he use for your breasts and genitals? Are you capable of reproduction?”

“Why do you think you were named Ava?” (A question I would also love to ask writer-director Alex Garland.) Is Ex Machina’s Ava named after Ava’s predecessor, the iRobot Ava Mobile Robotics Platform? Is Ava a play on the letters in the character’s real name, Alicia Vikander?

Is Ava derived from the Biblical meaning iniquity (which seems most fitting), or on the Latin-American definition of ‘like a bird’ (referring to Ava wanting to be free); or, is it from the Hebrew definition of the names Ava and Eve, “to live?” Could the name “Ava” stem from the sinful Eve who was deceived by her senses and ate the fruit in the Garden of Eden? Or, is it based on the split personalities of Eve in the film, The Three Faces of Eve?

You can now understand why, when I marketed industrial robots at trade shows, prospects who could bear 10 minutes of my questions were rewarded with a company t-shirt.

In Session 2, Flag #2 was raised, again to an interviewer who would not be attracted to Ava. When they lose electricity — apparently interrupting the video-recording process — Ava tells Caleb not to trust Nathan; that he is not Caleb’s friend. Most test assessors would want to delve further into this.