About halfway through Alex Garland's Ex Machina, we hear Caleb describing a thought theory called "Mary in a Black & White World."
"Mary's a scientist, and her specialist subject is color. She knows everything there is to know about it... every possible property that color can have. But she lives in a black and white room... and then one day someone opens the door, and Mary walks out and she sees a blue sky, and at that moment she learns something that all her studies couldn't tell her. She learns what it feels like to see color."
As a robot, Ava is like Mary. She lives inside a closed space, programmed to be a human. She talks like a human, moves like a human, and mostly acts like one; yet she is not.
Meanwhile, Caleb arrives at the research facility, nervous and excited to meet Nathan.
As the protagonist, we identify with Caleb. He is the hero, with redeemable qualities of love and curiosity. Especially when compared to the actions of fellow characters like Nathan, Caleb's moral appeal shines. He is "the human," invited by the cunning Nathan to perform the Turing test.
"I know what the Turing test is. It's when a human interacts with a computer."
From this early point in the film, a sharp distinction is drawn between man and machine. Nathan obsessively develops Ava to become "artificial intelligence," or a "human machine." By utilizing his "Bluebook" search engine, he crowdsources billions of people's behaviors to humanize his robotic creation.
When Nathan is suddenly killed, his mission seems to have failed. His A.I. project remains unfinished, and the knowledge behind it lays bleeding out on the ground.
However, stepping back from the defined man-machine roles set by the film reveals an irony. The humans, Caleb and Nathan, seem to be less human than the robot, Ava.
The film opens with Caleb winning the contest to be invited to Nathan's lab. Glitchy effects play over his face, suggesting that he may be artificial in nature. His first reaction is to text his friends, not to tell them in person as they work around him. When they run to congratulate him, he stays plugged into his earbuds.
Compared to Ava, he seems to lack humanity. In their conversations, she's the one to express emotion, not him. As he quizzes her on her past, her memories, and facts about her, she responds with "Do you want to be my friend?"
Throughout the film, the humans act in a cold manner. Caleb and Nathan's friendship is superficial, and only eases up under the influence of alcohol. In conversation, they are brisk and unaffectionate. Caleb is only interested in the A.I. and the programming.
Resenting this dynamic, Nathan says, "I want to have a beer and a conversation with you, not have a seminar."
In a different way than Caleb, Nathan also seems to "act robotically." He lives on a set routine, surrounded by cameras and fiber optic cables. His life has one set purpose, to create artificial intelligence. Like a robot, he has no human companions and is surrounded only by technology. He actively resists companionship, denying electricity workers access to his house to fix the power outages.
Meanwhile, Ava craves human companionship. She seems to fall in love with Caleb, treasuring every conversation they have.
"I waited all yesterday afternoon, and all last night. I thought I wasn't going to see you again."
By treasuring each and every interaction she has, Ava expresses humanity. In contrast, the humans treat their interactions transactionally. On the edge of a waterfall, Caleb breaks the silence only to find out Nathan's plans for Ava. Every conversation with Caleb is calculated by Nathan and has a set purpose, not unlike a computer command.
With the climax and falling action of the film, the reversal of man and machine is complete. Nathan is dead, losing his life and his humanity. Caleb is trapped inside a glass room, like the other robots. Meanwhile, Ava is outside, relishing in the colors and feelings of the forest.
Furthermore, the roles in the thought theory have been flipped. Ava is freed from her constraints, wandering under the blue sky that gifted Mary with her sense of humanity. Caleb is trapped in a dull, colorless room, reminiscent of Mary's "black and white world."
In two visually stunning final frames, Ava stands in a crowded urban street. Taking a breath before stepping away into the crowd, she has joined humanity.
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