Skeptiko – Science at the Tipping Point

Skeptiko – Science at the Tipping Point


Movies: Is Ex Machina ignoring the hard problem of consciousness? |300|

January 06, 2016

According to the movie Ex Machina, strong AI and the Singularity are just around the corner, but consciousness science suggests otherwise.

photo by: Alex Garland

Here's the second installment of our Skeptiko at the Movies series. This time me and the guys from the Gimerica podcast (Darren Grimes, Graham Dunlop and Red Pill Junkie) to join me to talk about, Ex Machina, where a young programmer is selected to participate in a groundbreaking experiment in artificial intelligence by evaluating the human qualities of a breathtaking female A.I.

The big question is whether we know enough about consciousness (or maybe too much) to realistically evaluate this possibility. This was a fun one to discuss. There's no transcript/excerpts for this show, just fun banter for those of us interested in a deeper look at some interesting movies.

Click here for forum discussion

Click here for Grimerica podcast