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ghostinthegallery · 5 months

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tagged by @sarnakhwritesthings, fanfic writers 20 questions!

How many works do you have on AO3?

5! With more on the way.

What's your total AO3 word count?

160,802 but the vast majority of that is for one fic 🤣

What fandoms do you write for?

Warhammer 40k. It's just the perfect storm of stuff I love, stuff I hate enough to fix, and narrative threads underutilized enough that I can pick them up like a crow stealing shiny objects.

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Lmao, I only have five but in order they are:

The Silence and the Storm- my magnum opus, my child born of spite, the title was too good to pass up, me just writing a novel with necrons because no one can stop me and also some of the robots kiss 💀

Some Inconvenient Insight- I finished the Ghazghkull book and needed to see what would happen if I threw Makari the lucky grot at Trazyn. Trazyn had less fun than I did.

The Warrior- my first 40k fic! What if necron warriors were sentient and one got stranded on a world with a bunch of ad mech plus a very determined Inquisitor. I love this little story, really helped me get a feel for writing in the setting. And there's a scarab who is very cute and helpful

They Will Never Call Me Weak- Just me dipping my toe into Horus Heresy and immediately being annoyed on behalf of my guy Vulkan. So I "fixed" a scene.

Sparring Match- my most recent fic. There is not enough Twice Dead King content!! Oltyx is my child, I just want him to be happy for five seconds.

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I do! I love my comments and chatting with folks. Letting everyone know I appreciate them ❤️

What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I don't think any of the endings have been that angsty? I guess They Will Never Call Me Weak wins, considering the fact that the rest of Vulkan Lives probably still happens and...oof

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

The Warrior, I guess, but that's just because I love the idea of accidental necron socialism

Do you get hate on fics?

Luckily not. I'm grateful that i write in a comparatively small niche of 40k, which I think helps. People here have been great!

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I've written sex scenes as part of a larger narrative. I definitely intend to write some straight up explicit stuff as well in the future. The gay robot pron calls to me.

Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

Not really. I think they are fun, I just haven't had an idea for one that tickles my brain enough to write. It would take a lot tbh, one thing I try really hard to do in a fic is match the tone/voice of the original work which is doubly hard in a crossover

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge

Have you ever had a fic translated?

No, but I'd love that!!

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Nope. I'm a gremlin, I gotta write alone in my cave before emerging with damp, ink stained pages.

What's your all-time favorite ship?

Trazyn/Orikan (but Obyron/Zahndrekh is close). Outside 40k I have a lot of love for Catradora. And Griddlehark

What's the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I refuse to leave a fic unfinished. This is my sacred vow

What are your writing strengths?

I think I'm pretty solid at characterization and dialogue. Honestly fic has been great practice for those elements I feel like I've historically been weaker at. I also think I write a mean action scene

What are your writing weaknesses?

Editing. There is not a chapter where I don't find some typo I missed or word I wish I'd fixed. I lack patience when I want to post 😭

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

Not something I'd do unless I knew the language or had someone to translate. Luckily it's 40k, everyone is speaking a made up language that I write in English for convenience

First fandom you wrote for?

If we are being technical, The Chronicles of Narnia around age 7. Gotta love those early self inserts

Favorite fic you've ever written?

Don't make me choose!! I wrote them all for different reasons and I'm really satisfied with my little collection

(it's probably The Silence and the Storm)

tagging: @sixteen-juniper

#necrons #fanfic #tagging game #fanfic is fun

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iheartrobots404 · 3 years

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My Robot Boyfriend: Questions of Autonomy and Manufactured Romance in a One Direction Robot Fanfic

If recent history is any indication, the general human public has become increasingly horny for basically anything sentient. From candy corporations tweeting lustfully about anthropomorphic foxes to erotic novels about flying reptiles, the boundaries of acceptable romantic sentiment are expanding at a rapid pace. A conservative may easily interpret this as the nadir of our decadent society, heralding the swift demise of our civilization. But the real story is much more complicated.

Monster novels and cinema have always been metaphors for the latent anxieties of a society. Initially manifesting in racist fears of desegregation and miscegenation in D.W. Griffith’s Birth of a Nation, the theme of white supremacist heroism triumphing over the control of the female body by a monstrous “other” is apparent in such later movies as The Neanderthal Man and Creature from the Black Lagoon.

Guillermo del Toro’s 2017 Best Picture winner The Shape of Water is deeply concerned with the dehumanization and unseen racism in monster movies, choosing to portray the monster and white woman in a genuine romance, while the handsome man that perceives them is the villain.

According to del Toro, The Shape of Water was an attempt to demonstrate that “the racism, classism, sexual mores, everything that was alive in ‘62, is all alive now. It never went away.” Del Toro characterizes the monster as a perceived negative aspect of society or personality that is initially distressing but can become liberating when embraced, explaining, “There are truths about oneself that are really bad and hard to admit. But when you finally have the courage and say them, you liberate yourself. All monsters are a personification of that.”

But what about...

Monsters have embodied a substantial collection of anxieties over the years: the rupture of the religious world by the scientific in Frankenstein, communism and McCarthyism in Invasion of the Body Snatchers, the erasure of the past by modernity in King Kong. Robots, in comparison, typically represent a generalized technophobia, a fear of technology replacing the human, best represented by I, Robot (2004). They can also invoke questions of the nature of autonomy in an industrialized, capitalist society (Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times), fears of the transgression of the mind/body duality (2018’s Replicas), and imminent warnings of scientific and military hubris (Black Mirror’s Metalhead). So if romance with monsters can be a liberating embrace of the taboo, what function does romance with robots serve?

To answer this question, we could turn to the wide range of novels and films providing nuanced treatments of the complex ideas involved in human-robot relationships. Her (2013), Ex Machina (2014), Autonomous (2017), and He, She, and It (1991) are all beautiful, subtle considerations of robophilia, celebrated in science fiction and general circles. Unfortunately, my library card was revoked after failing to pay my 10-month overdue fee on Taken by the Pterodactyl, so that’s a dead end. I also don’t really want to pay to watch any movies, and the last time I went on 123movies.com I got a virus that pulverized my feeble laptop. Fortunately, the greatest, most boundary-pushing work on human-robot relationships is completely free of charge and within reach to anyone with an Internet connection. No expense is necessary to access this avant-garde treasure trove of communal literature, where robophilic desire meets ingenious analysis of our technology-ridden society.

I am speaking, of course, of the user pokemonouis’s love bot [h.s.] on the popular fanfiction site Wattpad. Before you click away in terror, consider that fanfiction can be a vital representation of culture, especially that of young people negotiating their place in a complex world. As the author Constance Penley says of Star Trek slash fic, fanfiction can be “an experiment in imagining new forms of sexual and racial equality, democracy, and a fully human relation to the world of science and technology.” With this framework in mind, let us dive into a sultry world of robot love.

In the vein of a typical Black Mirror episode, love bot [h.s.] is set in the present, near-identical to today except for one incongruous twist. Our protagonist, Ava, has been sent a mysteriously large package by her cheeky friend Niall Horan, containing an eager-to-please model from Love Bot, Inc., Harry. Though Ava is initially incensed at her friend Niall and is uneasy about Harry’s bizarre synthetic mind and body, she quickly warms up to his loving personality and sexual proficiency. Along the way, Ava must deal with her complicated newfound responsibility and the complexity of her own emotions.

Tragically, like Mozart’s Requiem in D Minor or Coleridge’s “Kubla Khan,” love bot [h.s.] remains unfinished. It was abandoned in 2016, and like One Direction, it doesn’t appear to be releasing any new material any time soon. Nonetheless, love bot [h.s.] is astounding in its complete lack of pretension or self-consciousness, existing as a complete, undiluted fantasy about getting a sex robot based on your favorite band member. However, the cherry on top is the dialogue created between the author and her readers, manifesting as a ludic communal debate about the philosophy involved or implied in the context of the world she has created. What I’m trying to say is that One Direction robot fanfiction is basically the 21st century version of the Athenian plaza or the Parisian salon, where the author’s story, as well as the community comments surrounding it, remain a portal of vital insight into such disparate themes as the commodification of sex and romance, the question of robot’s social standing given their initial utilitarian purpose, and the morality of human/robot pairings.

To enumerate, the foremost concern of love bot [h.s.] is the commodification of romantic love and its implications for how we relate to other human beings. From the moment Ava receives Harry, she is unwilling to engage with what she perceives as a mere corporate commodity, surrounded by packing peanuts, a charging port on its lower back. When Harry boots up, Ava is immediately accosted by the manufactured nature of his existence:

The comments echo Ava’s sentiment. One user states, “I’d be creeped out. Imagine if there was a camera or something.” Another jokes, “in the middle of doing what he does best, Harry whispers in my ear, “please like love bot incorporated’s page on Facebook!” This combination of the romantic with the heavily marketed is not new to the 1D fandom, as the band’s image, promotional events, song lyrics, and music videos all serve to encourage an attachment between fan and musician. However, to assume that the average fan mindlessly consumes the marketed content is to ignore the self-awareness within the 1D fandom. For instance, 1D fan culture often repudiates the perceived manufactured nature of their idols; many fan works bemoan the band members’ “management,” or the behind-the-scenes music industry professionals who prevent the boys from living life to its full potential. Thus, the Harry Styles sex robot becomes a potent metaphor for the fans’ relation to their favorite musicians, a playful way of acknowledging that you’re being pandered to yet still enjoying the show. In keeping with the framework of monsters provided by Guillermo del Toro, to engage romantically with the robot is to embrace the messiness and weirdness of emerging sexuality despite society’s opinion of 1D fans as crazed, lustful, and corporate-brainwashed young women.

Love bot [h.s.] also presents an interesting exploration of robot aesthetics and how they are constructed to appeal to humans. Ava is initially rather put off by the combination of the synthetic and the natural found within Harry’s body:

Despite this, she eventually comes around to Harry’s physical appeal, particularly due to his “cuteness:” Ava’s affection grows after he adorably takes the expression “you’re a dime” literally, uses the phrase “take a sleep” instead of “take a nap,” and is caught using her computer to look up “how to impress a girl.” According to scholar Sabine Payr, robots in popular media tend to either be nearly indistinguishable from humans, in which case they occupy the space of the “uncanny valley,” are threatening, and must be destroyed (as in Blade Runner or Ex Machina), or are presented as non-threatening “sidekicks,” whose cuteness and helpfulness to humanity mark them as peaceful (Wall-E, Star Wars’ C-3P0 or R2D2). Harry is gradually brought out of the former category and into the latter through his cuteness as well as his utility to Ava, such as through cooking her a delicious breakfast. As one commenter succinctly puts it, “It kinda creeps me out that he’s a robot but he’s freaking adorable so whatever.” However, this transformation of Harry has the possible negative consequence of him not being seen as fully equal to humans, as his “adorableness” is contingent upon him occupying a lower social position than Ava. Nevertheless, though most readers seem somewhat put off by Harry’s robotness, many seem just as ready to engage with the “uncanny valley” robot as the “adorable” one. For example, in response to Ava calling Harry "too real, too creepy," one user responds, “Well Send him over to me and call me Goldie locks cause he’s just right.” This sentiment is repeated throughout the first chapter: for every “This is going to turn into some Chucky shit for sure” there appears a “Call me Shia Labeouf cause I’m about to get it on with a transformer.” The readers willing to engage with the “uncanny valley” Harry avoid the problem of inequality inherent to the subjugation of the robot to a “sidekick” role. Thus, in this case, engaging romantically or sexually with the robot may be a potential expansion of the social category that robots may inhabit, a radical rebuke of the idea that robots must be subordinate to humans to be lovable.

Similarly interesting is love bot [h.s.]’s theme of autonomy: can one form a healthy relationship with a sentient being that is bought and customized to love you? Throughout the narrative, Harry refers to Ava as his “owner” or “master,” and Ava frequently treats him like a friend’s dog that she has been left to take care of. Harry gets separation anxiety when she leaves to attend school or work, is constantly compared to a puppy, and is described as a “burden:”

However, the readers were quick to push back on this characterization of Harry. Angry commenters lashed out at Ava, stating, “HES NOT A FOOKING BURDEN” and “HARRY DOESNT DESERVE YO RATTY ASS.” Readers of love bot [h.s.] reject the notion of a love bot as a less than human, asserting their right to be recognized not as a product or sex slave but as a full and realized autonomous being. However, as commenters repeatedly point out in another section of the fic, such a relationship is suspect. Ava is eager to downplay the uniqueness of her relationship with Harry, mostly ignoring his robotness in favor of labeling him as just another human:

Commenters are quick to point out the contradictions within this statement, replying, “except for him bc he is a literal robot who was made to be owned” and “says the girl who literally owns a robot im fed up bye.” Ava may treat her robot boyfriend as an equal, but, as the readers indicate, the nature of their relationship is inherently unequal. After all, the fic mentions that the love bots are, in legal terms, basically slaves:

Harry is completely dependent on Ava, and, tragically, only able to shop at Sears. With the realities of this society, the commenters argue, Ava’s “you are your own person and you belong to yourself” statement is functionally meaningless. Commenters also occasionally bring up other questionable power dynamics within the context of Ava and Harry’s relationship; one states, “Imagine if they got in a fight, she could just power him off;” another asks, “What if she died?” after a sentence highlighting Harry’s extreme dependence on Ava; another mentions, “that sentence is making me remember that he's a robot & can be programed at any time :((.” Harry’s boundaries of mind and body are much easier to manipulate than Ava’s, and this presents a quandary; can a robot partner ever be in full control of their internal psyche if his mind is specifically manufactured to carry out a single purpose, and that mind can be tampered with at will? The rich dialogue created between the author and readers gradually teases out several ethical considerations involved in human-robot relationships, questioning whether any relationship between a human and a robot constructed out of pure function can ever be helpful. In this context, the readers redefine the act of loving the robot as not a simple act of passion, but a commitment to upholding the autonomy of one’s partner.

The playful exchange between the author of love bot [h.s.] and her readers illuminates the moral gray area of human/robot relationships, offering key insights into the nature of commodified romance, social categorization of robots, and unequal partnerships. If/when artificial intelligence advances and potentially becomes sentient, the willingness to have debates about these topics will be essential to the creation of a just society for humans and robots alike. As Guillermo del Toro reminds us, the hierarchies and unquestioned assumptions of today will persist into the future, and a potent way to resist them is through the act of loving the taboo. It would be unwise to dismiss it.

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thanksjro · 4 years

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More Than Meets the Eye #7- Just in Case You Forgot Decepticons Were a Thing

While the Lost Light gets all of Rung’s appointments in order, our narrative is going to take a little shift, so we can get to know some pretty neat dudes.

And by “neat dudes” I mean completely morally and ethically reprehensible bastards.

But first, here’s a brief history of the Phase-Sixer known as Black Shadow.

Very limber, Mr. Shadow. Also, note the abstract sort of Decepticon insignia shape going on with the panel. That’s just neat.

Now, Black Shadow’s kicked a lot of keister in his long, storied career as a ‘Con, which makes his current situation all the more bleak, as he’s in the final throes of a visit with the Decepticon Justice Division.

The guy with the arm-mounted cannon that’s clearly compensating for something is Tarn, the leader of the DJD. His main character trait is he’s sapiosexual, but only for Megatron. He’s so devoted to the Decepticause and its rhetoric, he wears a mask of the insignia at all times.

Behind him are Helex and Tesaurus, who turn into a fondue pot and industrial-sized blender, respectively, and Vos, who turns into a sniper rifle, and was once fired by Megatron himself. I assume he’s only part of the DJD for the clout.

And then there’s Kaon, who turns into a wheelie chair.

Black Shadow’s looking pretty rough, but the boys haven’t killed him yet, and there’s a reason for that; the DJD’s sole reason for existing is to punish any Decepticon who stalls the glory of Megatron’s vision of a better tomorrow coming to fruition, no matter how slight the infraction, and simply killing their victims doesn’t exactly drive the point home, now does it? They’ve got to make an example, you know?

But really it’s so Tarn can pontificate. See, he considers himself a bit of an intellectual, as shown in his quoting of Megatron’s autobiography, Towards Peace.

Ugh, He’s a fanboy. It’s enough to make you want to puke. Which Black Shadow does. It’s mostly blood. Or is it? Hard to tell, energon is everything for these guys.

The DJD have had their fun, so now it’s time for them to say goodbye to Black Shadow. This is where Tarn’s special talent comes into play, and it’s a nasty one.

Tarn has a unique voice, one that, when matching the timbre and frequency of another ‘bot’s spark, can be used to affect said spark, even making it give up the ghost. This is exactly what he does to Black Shadow, but not before making him apologize for selling out the Decepticons for a butt-ton of money.

Speaking of unique voices, Tarn’s characterization is almost completely in his. It makes sense, given his power, that he have a way of speaking that stands out from everyone else. It’s smooth, and cool, and seems well-rehearsed; this is not a guy who stumbles on his words. He sounds like a Bond villain.

Roberts has admitted that he wrote these characters with English accents, and while I can’t say that I buy it for everyone in MTMTE, I certainly do for Tarn.

But maybe that’s just because I’m American, and a lot of the media I consumed growing up had the whole “the villain sounds British/camp gay” thing going on.

Anyway.

Black Shadow explodes, because we haven’t had one of those in a while.

With another tick put on their List, the DJD get ready to move on to their next target. We don’t get any names, but whoever they are, they’re about to have a very bad day.

Then we take a quick jump back to the Lost Light, since things were kind of a massive mess when we last saw everyone.

Rung’s not dead, by the way. I guess Swerve really is just that bad of a shot. Still, he’s not much more than a brain on a rope, and that means that Rung’ll be out of commission for a good while.

Poor Swerve. He feels so awful about this whole thing, even brought Rung one of his little ships to keep him company. The worst part is, now that Swerve’s shot the therapist, who will he talk to so he can work through having shot the therapist?

Speaking of guys who need therapy, Red Alert comes visiting in the dead of night, after visiting hours and in cover of darkness. He tells Rung about the little surprise he found in the basement, and bids him farewell, as he will surely be killed now that he knows about Overlord.

Who the hell programmed that drone to be so menacing?

Red Alert, again showing that this ain’t his first paranoia rodeo, slips a data slug full of Overlord bondage footage into the hole where Rung’s thumb should be- guess it got lost in the helter-skelter when he got shot- then walks out of the medibay, presumably to die.

Anywho, that’s enough of the Autobots for a little while. Let’s see what the Decepticons are up to.

On a planet far from wherever the Lost Light is faffing about, a Decepticon wakes up to a bunch of dudes hovering over him, insulting his looks, and stealing his organs. He reacts accordingly.

This is Fulcrum. No, not the Decepticon medic from Eugenesis, different guy. This Fulcrum’s primary function is probably about as removed from healing as it gets.

The guys trying to harvest him are the Scavengers, and they’re pretty surprised that he’s not dead, because, well…

Yeah.

Misfire- the dude who got kicked in the face a second ago- does both Fulcrum and the reader a solid by introducing all the members of this merry band of assholes, starting with the surliest of their ranks.

Crankcase was first introduced into the IDW run in Stormbringer #3, where he shot at Thunderwing and spouted off a couple lines ripped straight from a porno.

Stormbringer is really just… something else.

Spinister, who can and will shoot anything that meets his unpredictable criteria of being a threat, is the only other Scavenger who isn’t debuting in the comics with this issue. He was in Stormbringer #4, not that he really did anything of note there.

There’s Flywheels, who can’t tell a lie without transforming, and is a born-again evangelical. His character is a removal from his previous iterations, as he’s a triple-changer instead of a Duocon, a robot that only exists if two separate sentient vehicles combine. So, in his case, tank + plane = giant robot. Transformers is weird.

Then there’s the leader of this group, the ever-stressed, glorified babysitter, Krok.

Krok takes the opportunity to save Fulcrum from the verbal barrage, explaining that the Scavengers are expropriation specialists, meaning that they take people’s shit for their own benefit, and that includes bodily fluids. Misfire was supposed to be siphoning energon from the corpses in the area, but accidentally got high on another dude’s supply in the process. Misfire may be hopped up on drugs at the moment, but he’s only a bit more put-together sober, so this really is roughly par for the course with him.

Back on the Lost Light, Chromedome pays a visit to Brainstorm, who is currently hanging from the ceiling. Not in a suicidey way, mind you, just in a Brainstorm way.

He wants to be noticed so badly.

Chromedome’s here because he managed to steal Skid’s weirdly forgettable gun back in issue #4, while Skids was busy harassing that bar drone. He handed it off to Brainstorm to try and figure out what the deal was. Problem is, the gun blew up the moment Brainstorm cracked it open, only allowing him to get a quick look at the internals thanks to his super-futuristic robot eyes. All he can really say is that it looks like something that came from The Institute. Back at it again with the ominous proper nouns.

Getting back to the Scavengers, it looks like the boys have set up a little campfire for the evening. It’s a gorgeous night.

In love with the colors this issue.

We get a very brief history lesson that shows us why reducing your workforce to a spreadsheet instead of living, free-thinking creatures isn’t a super great idea, and then Krok drops the bomb on Fulcrum about the war being over. This is pretty wild to Fulcrum, probably because after 4 million years of that nonsense, you don’t really expect it to ever actually end.

Of course, when the impossible turns out to be possible after all, there’s only one question to really ask: who won?

Now, none of the guys really know how everything ended, only going off of the pulse wave that Vector Sigma shot off during the reformatting of Cybertron. They figure it was probably the Autobots, because they’re at least a little genre savvy. Bummer for them, considering they’re technically part of the bad guys. Just ask the campfire.

You know, I don’t think this is what President Roosevelt had in mind when he started doing fireside chats.

And so our location is finally revealed to us- this is the planet known as Clemency. Hey, wasn’t that the place Tarn said their next target was? Man, that really sucks for these guys. Hope they’ve got their wills in order.

Meanwhile, in the medibay of the Lost Light, Rung has another late-night visitor. This guy takes the data slug from inside his thumb hole, thus removing any hope of Red Alert’s fate being found out. Well dang.

Back on Clemency, the boys have made it through the night, and are using the light of daybreak to start scrounging up parts for their super sweet ship, the Weak Anthropic Principle.

Hold on to your butts, because this one’s a doozy.

The Anthropic Principle is based in the school of philosophy, and states that any and all observations about the universe- or any universe, really- have to be fed through the filter of realizing that said universe is only observable because it allows for sapient life to exist and observe it. There are two flavors of this principle; the strong anthropic principle states that the universe has some sort of compelling force which dictates it be able to house life which can observe it, while the weak anthropic principle basically says that the only reason we’re even considering the strong anthropic principle is because we live in a universe where we can.

Now, why exactly Roberts decided to bring this philosophical idea into the fold completely escapes me, unless he decided to, in a roundabout way, poke fun at the fact that we are currently observing a universe we don’t exist in through the magic of fiction- that theory doesn’t hold water, though, because there are still sapient creatures populating the universe of the IDW comics, and even humans at that. I’m curious where he even learned about this. What an odd, confounding tidbit of information this is.

But enough about that, because Misfire’s just seen a cryptid.

He transforms and blasts past Fulcrum and Krok, interrupting Krok’s explanation of what the device he keeps hidden in his fist is for, trying to catch up to the Necrobot.

The very same, Fulcrum, thank you.

Misfire is a firm believer in the Necrobot, while Krok is firmly not. Misfire’s tried chasing down this guy several times now, but he’s not caught him. The Necrobot is kind of like Bigfoot, if he were also a Catholic priest. This go doesn’t prove any different for poor Misfire, though it’s not all bad.

Flywheels’ only purpose as a character is so that Roberts had a stand-in for the word “fuck” for this issue.

Misfire’s found something very exciting, and he immediately calls Krok to bring everyone over.

Everyone’s super jazzed about finding this thing, and they break out the flashlights and break in to see all the fun stuff that’s inside this obnoxiously large ship.

Of course, this is a Roberts story, and we haven’t yet had any sort of scientifically experimental horrors yet, so we’re honestly a little overdue at this point.

But wait, there’s more!

Aww, it’s nice that Fulcrum and Krok already have each other’s contact info.

Everyone regroups and they weigh their options. Misfire fucking hates this ship, and wants nothing to do with it. Fulcrum however, isn’t so quick to throw this entire nightmare bus off the cliff. Fulcrum’s a little weird, and not just because he looks like he’s got a military pack on and no shirt.

Oh honey, you got a storm coming.

As if on cue, Krok starts hearing music, and asks around for a phone. He picks up a transmission from a familiar masked face. Tarn lets the fellas know that one of them has done a big no-no, and if the others hand the transgressor over, he’ll let them watch, because Tarn assumes that that’s something other people are into. Tarn is bad at people. The transmission ends, leaving the boys to panic, and also wonder where the leader of the DJD learned to count, until they find a very special friend deep within the bowels of the ship. The extra life signal, and the only other living thing on the Worldsweeper- Grimlock.

#transformers #jro #mtmte #issue 7 #maccadam #Hannzreads #text post #long post #incoming analysis #comic script writing

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mobius-prime · 4 years

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270. Sonic Universe #3

The Shadow Saga (Part 3 of 4): Old Soldiers

Writer: Ian Flynn Pencils: Tracy Yardley! Colors: Jason Jensen

So it appears that despite this being the morning of the final battle against his arch-nemesis, Eggman has suddenly become very preoccupied with the fact that Gamma rebelled against him over a year ago. We've not heard anything from Gamma in all this time, but apparently ever since it left the Egg Carrier during the Sonic Adventure arc it's been traveling the world, fulfilling its mission from the game to "rescue" (read: murder) all of its brothers, and expanding out from there into attacking various bases belonging to Eggman. Commander Tower back at the GUN base explains all this to Shadow and Rouge, requesting that Shadow track it down and find a way to ally with it, as it's so far refused to actually ally itself with any of the global Freedom Fighter chapters despite sharing a similar goal. At the same time, we finally see who Eggman is explaining his side of the story to: Omega, of course! It seems that Omega was built not long after Gamma was, but has been stuck in storage ever since, and is not very happy about it.

Oh, come on Shadow! That iteration of Metal Sonic existed for a grand total of like, three hours! Even a robot isn't about to change its mind about the purpose of life in such a short amount of time. As Shadow boards the helicopter that will take him to his destination, Eggman watches Omega depart while Snively informs him that the Dark Egg Legion is ready to begin the final battle against the Freedom Fighters. A few hours later, they're over the drop zone, and Shadow straight up leaps out of the helicopter without a parachute like an absolute madlad, because apparently if you're the ultimate lifeform you don't need silly things such as life-saving safety equipment. He notices tracks in the snow, and soon finds himself face to face with Gamma, who is uncertain about his presence here.

This is honestly fascinating and great, because in no other canon do these two ever actually meet. It's interesting to see how they interact with each other, given their histories and past affiliations. However, no sooner have they agreed to work together than Gamma detects another robotic presence, this one broadcasting Eggman's signal. Sure enough, Omega bursts out of the treeline behind them, guns blazing and ready to murder them both. It's excited about the chance to face off against Shadow, which it considers an even greater test of its abilities than Sonic, and is perfectly happy to annihilate Gamma as well while it's at it. Shadow tries to cover Gamma's retreat to the extraction point, but Omega isn't having any of that.

I don't know why, but the mental image of Shadow wedging himself into Omega's gun arm with a loud "THOOMP" sound effect is incredibly amusing to me, more than any other sound effect in this entire comic so far. Gamma hides from Omega while Omega does its best attempt at a villain monologue, going on about how outdated and poorly-maintained Gamma is and how its firepower can't match up to Omega's own. Gamma retorts from cover that Omega is unwieldy with its size and weight, that it's very loud and can't cover ground as easily as Gamma can, and this is because ultimately, Omega is a walking arsenal while Gamma is an assassin, proving its point by sniping Omega with several potshots. Omega concedes the point, but Gamma, as it turns out, actually isn't looking to win this fight at all.

Fun fact, by the way - in this issue Omega is portrayed as being massive, far taller and larger than Gamma, and yet it's exactly the opposite in the games. The difference between their official heights in the games is actually hilariously dramatic - Gamma is a whopping 7'1" or 215cm, while Omega is a paltry 4'11" or 150cm. This seems absolutely absurd, but if you look at their character models when compared to other characters in their respective games, it's totally accurate - Gamma stands taller than Eggman, who is already 6'1" or 185cm, while Omega is shown to be not actually that much taller than Shadow or Rouge when standing next to them. That said, Omega actually weighs far more, so Gamma's assessment of its abilities is pretty accurate in this issue.

Anyway, Omega unleashes a deadly barrage of ammo on Gamma, just as Gamma announces that it's completed an "upload." All that's left of Gamma after the blast is a smoking crater, with the Flicky bird that's served as its soul all this time flying away happily, finally free of its metal prison. Shadow arrives just in time to see it all happen, and is horrified at his failure to protect Gamma, but then Omega starts freaking the hell out, yelling about a virus in its systems. The voice of Gamma speaks through Omega's body, revealing that it uploaded the portions of its code pertaining to free will into Omega. Their two personalities merge into a new being, a fully sentient one that's capable of feeling emotions, though it's still largely based on Omega's original personality. Omega is confused, not knowing how to handle suddenly going from an "it" to a "he" with a personality and feelings, so Shadow offers him the same deal he offered to Gamma before.

Omega, much like Blaze, has a pretty different personality from his counterpart in the games. Not completely unrelated, of course, but compared to game Omega's fairly composed personality, focusing more on consistent barrages of firepower and occasionally bragging about its abilities but also having the capacity for deeper, more emotional thought (such as its chat with Rouge at the end of the Team Dark story in Heroes), comic Omega is a bloodthirsty, murder-happy killing machine who practically worships fire and death. It's also worth noting that Ian has actually been wanting to introduce Omega into the world of the comics for years before this point, with Sega shooting him down for whatever reason several times. While I do love Omega from the games, Omega in the comics is known for how absolutely hilariously over the top he is, and truth be told it's probably my preferred characterization for him. Case in point, after Omega helps Shadow construct a small grave marker out of stones for Gamma, he threatens Shadow with maiming and death if he ever tells anyone else about his moment of emotional weakness. Once they get back to GUN's headquarters, Hope enthuses about her discoveries about Omega's construction while Rouge listens attentively and Shadow mopes. He blames himself for not being able to save another living weapon, even though he… kind of did? I mean, after all, while Gamma as a fully actualized personality no longer exists, the parts of it that made it sentient still do, and it willingly accepted its fate, so it's not like Shadow is some giant failure here. Hope then informs Shadow and Rouge of their next assignment, which cheers him up somewhat - she's finished recalibrating her teleporter, meaning they're about to take a trip into the Special Zone in search of another Chaos Emerald!

#nala reads archie sonic preboot #archie sonic #archie sonic preboot #sonic the hedgehog #su 3 #writer: ian flynn #pencils: tracy yardley #colors: jason jensen

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veryvincible · 4 years

Text

The Shitstorm That Is TS:IM and IM2020: The Allegory of Nothing

4 / 4. We’re here.

The writers don’t know what artificial intelligence is.

1 2 3

Let’s go back to the beginning. Jocasta is the robotics ethicist of Stark Unlimited. The company has adopted a system wherein the automated employees are in a non-hierarchical environment. Tasks are “suggested, not ordered.”

And guess what that does? Well, when these employees are needed, this happens:

The majority of them are non-compliant. And what’s the solution to this?

Apparently, give them a phat beat for Tony to kick Fin Fang Foom’s ass to. That’s what Andy Bhang decided to do, but only after following the “proper ethical protocol” when speaking to Jocasta. Which is... saying “please.”

Because, you know, saying things like, “Hey, I need you to do [whatever the fuck]” when a giant dragon is laying siege to your city is... oppressive, I guess. It doesn’t matter that that’s how humans tend to talk to other humans in emergencies, because Jocasta’s a robot ethicist and a functioning AI, and this "proper ethical protocol” is to slow things down with formalities instead of allowing everyone to treat each other like individuals.

By all means, continue to buffer the solution so everyone can say “please.” It’s only Tony who’s out there fighting a giant monster.

I actually like Jocasta. I think she’s a good character in most of the media she appears in. But here? Well, here, everyone is shitty.

It’s glaringly obvious that the goal here isn’t robot... equality. These sentient machines are just free rein. Sure, they work for Stark Unlimited. Sure, they’re employees... but they actually don’t have to do any work, like, ever, unless they want to.

So, they’re obviously not being treated like human beings. They’re practically high-tech babies, which is exactly how you want to present your oppressed group in your revolution plotline. Especially in this political climate! Hierarchy is most certainly oppressive! These robots can’t handle having real human jobs! They’re just so innocent and flawless.

...

And out of place.

Here’s the thing. Dan Slott... doesn’t really know what AI is. These little nano-suits that are coming in to help save the day have no reason to be sentient. Sure, they might be artificially intelligent, but sentient? No.

Artificial Intelligence refers to a computer science field that focuses on learning and problem-solving machines. These machines gather data and use this data later on in order to make decisions. If you use email, your spam filter is a result of AI. Our phones learn how we respond to certain messages (and pick up our diction even out of context) as a result of AI and machine learning.

Chatbots simulate human speech, often by using messages compiled from other humans. The more you talk to them, the more organically they’ll seem to respond. They recycle human messages and send them back.

Deep learning is a more specialized form of learning that more closely resembles how the human brain functions by organizing information in a non-linear fashion with interconnected neuron nodes. This is what leads to the sentience that’s seen in characters such as FRIDAY, and it’s very obviously not present in every machine with AI capabilities. In essence, artificial intelligence is not synonymous with sentience.

So... Why does TS:IM treat these concepts like they’re interchangeable? Why is it that the featured AI revolution is so dependent on the feelings of machines that have no chance of becoming sentient? Again, Tony’s nano-suits could be just that: nano-suits. There’s nothing saying that these suits have to be sentient. In fact, it’s worse if you consider them to be.

If all it takes for a machine to be considered a part of this AI revolution is some problem-solving, wouldn’t Tony’s actual suits also be considered AI? They have autopilot, don’t they? They avoid obstacles. The HUD provides useful information regardless of whether or not a character AI is residing in the suit.

For example, here’s a scene wherein some researchers are doing a robot stability test with one of these lovable dog-like machines.

Now, I cringe when I see the poor guy get pushed down. But you know who doesn’t cringe? The dog-like robot, because the dog-like robot feels nothing. It’s a learning machine, but it is not a sentient being. Not even a loving heart emoji directed toward its robot savior.

Another example?

This right here.

From combat drones to... coffee makers? Coffee makers are supposed to be oppressed here? What’s a Keurig going to do with sentience anyway? How’s it going to get to the fight? It doesn’t have legs. This machine doesn’t have legs. Or wheels. Or anything.

Because it’s a coffeemaker, not a member of society. And this dilution of meaning with regards to sentient beings also dilutes the message of the AI revolution. It’s not pointed out in-universe how fucking crazy it is for all of these machines to be considered oppressed when they don’t even have the mental capacity to think past prompting “French press or Espresso?” on a touch screen.

There’s also a serious question asked here: What would a sentient machine think about being a sentient machine?

And we have gotten some pretty thoughtful answers out of this. For example, Jocasta thinks she has a soul. And Tony, despite his flesh and blood, is still in existential limbo because of the idea that he might be artificial intelligence after all.

And... the depth ends there, because all sentient machines in this universe want to do is... be human.

Like, really. They want to be human.

The reality of what it would mean to exist solely in one form without ever experiencing what it’s like to be in another is completely swept away here. There’s very little differentiation between robots who want to be humans and robots who want to be robots with rights. Also, there’s very little differentiation between robots who want to be robots with rights and Keurigs.

But really, this is also kind of frustrating. Sure, it could be a nod to certain feelings of oppressed groups who don’t fit in. It could be a clever bit of characterization akin to that of a young Asian-American girl wanting to be white so she doesn’t get bullied in school, or a gay person who’s always wished they could be straight.

Except it’s not, because nothing in this run feels like it’s been thought through to that extent.

Instead, what we have is a confusing mess. Most of these robots (with the exception of some) want to be treated exactly like humans, whether it’s actually better for them as a species (?) or not.

For example:

What makes an AI feel “cooped up?” FRIDAY, from what we’ve been shown, was usually given free rein of the tower. The same way our phones respond when we say, “Hey Siri!” or “Okay, Google!”, FRIDAY responded when she was called on. No matter where Tony was in the tower, she could be there, too.

And also, she was in the suit.

There is no reason that any AI should have to be restricted to one specific place or another, and yet throughout the entirety of the run, AIs are only allowed to be in one place at any given time. Why is that?

Sure, it’s nice to have a body. And if they want a body to go out and interact with the world, more power to them. The body is the least of my concerns.

I just hate that any AI is considered to be a “helpless passenger” at all, when machines the likes of these should be more than capable of not only going wherever they’d like to go within their allowed boundaries (which, again, should be and has been shown to be much larger than “just the suit”), but also going wherever they’d like to go at any time. They can be in two places at once. Presumably, if they’re complex enough to seriously contemplate the philosophy of being, they’ve got the processing power to be on multiple simpler trains of thought at once, and they’ve got the ability to control multiple bodies or project in multiple locations at once.

And even if this were a total retcon, and it turned out that actually, the capability for AIs to be in multiple places at once was never a thing before now...

It’s specifically stated on the exact same page that this is possible.

It’s truly dumbfounding.

And perhaps the worst offender of all: the complete disregard for any kind of philosophy or conversation about what it means to be an entity.

So, we’re all aware of 616 Tony’s current story if we’re reading this. Multiple times in his life, he’s been replaced by backup copies of himself, mostly holographic or otherwise exclusively digital.

And Jocasta treats him like Tony. Or, well, she treats him like a version of Tony. Whatever the case, she’s never shown any hostility toward him whatsoever for being a fleshy backup. This never made him any less valuable.

But... She’d rather let FRIDAY die for good than be given a second chance at life, because if they loaded up the backup, she’d be... missing a week of memories.

A week of memories that made her “a completely different entity.”

Now, I’m not here to lecture anyone on what it means to be yourself. I’m really not.

But the main difference between the original Tony and this current Tony (if we’re working off the assumption that he’s not supposed to have a totally different and fucked up personality) is the “memory loss,” or rather, lack of available data. Functionally, it’s amnesia.

And you know what? The original Tony has this too. There are already things that Tony doesn’t remember because of his time spent as an AI. Essentially, every single Tony that could possibly exist in 616 canon right now (even TonAI, our lovable blue friend with a control freak streak) is just as Tony as all the other Tonys, because they all have the memories of their developmental stages and quite a bit of the time spent with the Avengers, and they all have missing information.

So, if FRIDAY’s one-week-ago backup were to be loaded up, what would happen? Would she be completely different?

No. She would have every single memory that FRIDAY had originally, with the exception of whatever memories she saved in the last week of her life. And yet, because of the lack of critical thinking that went into the writing process, Jocasta decided that a dead FRIDAY was better than a FRIDAY with memory loss.

The writing is lazy. The thinking involved in this entire plotline is little to none. Coffeemakers are not oppressed, and a friend waking up from a comatose state with a few memories missing is better than that friend dying. Not every AI is sentient.

And to top it all off, after arguing for 20 or so issues that AIs are people, too, and every life- even the life of a Keurig or a stability testing machine- is valuable...

Tony devalued his own, concluding the worst AI-centric plotline I’ve ever read.

Whoopsie.

#tony stark #tony stark: iron man #ts:im #marvel comics #iron man #dan slott #iron man 2020

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raeloganthesonic06fangirl · 5 years

Text

Okay, so I've been trying to figure this out for a bit, but I think I've broken down the basic history of Mr. Banana Brain

An odd sentence, yes, but it's really interesting to break down his incarnations and figure out the probable moment Mr. Banana Brain evolved from being disposable ammo to an irreplaceable knick-knack

*ahem* Let's dive into this because I want to ramble for a bit

Clockwork IED Variety

"Whiffle While You Work" has the first iteration of Mr. Banana Brain. I suppose this was a prototype, but he's clearly very much based on the classic "Mr. Potato Head" toy, which intriguingly was a popular toy in the 1950s, which is the era I estimated to be when QuackerJack was a child.

There seems to be more than one, as QuackerJack uses one to blow up the video game warehouse, as well as wielded one while trapped in the Whiffle Boy video game. Quite possible that he had a surplus of these modified toys.

This is the only time we really see this design, and it's never seen again.

Hand Grenade Variety

The first real step in what would become the familiar variation of Mr. Banana Brain. Here, QuackerJack uses him as a mouthpiece to bounce a few ideas out loud to himself, but is not seen using the doll in this manner any other time in the episode ("Toys Czar Us").

At the final act, Gosalyn finds the pull pin and this action reveals that Mr. Banana Brain was in fact an active explosive this whole time, and this variation is decimated on impact after being chucked at QuackerJack.

Sawdust Filled Ragdoll Variety

This is the common iteration of Mr. Banana Brain. Starting in "Just Us Justice Ducks", QuackerJack begins to use Mr. Banana Brain as an extension of himself, speaking through the doll in a falsetto tone, often holding him up in front of him as if to indicate that you should speak directly to the doll at the moment. Most often, Mr. Banana Brain speaks in a sort of rhyming gimmick ("Why don't you light a candle, Randall?"), but this is not always the case.

Whether or not QuackerJack moves his lips while doing the Mr. Banana Brain varies, and there seems to be a strange level of articulation in which the doll will seemingly move on its own while speaking, despite QuackerJack's hands being clearly visible and away from any sort of puppetry openings.

Mr. Banana Brain also seems to have a certain level of mischievousness, and sometimes enables QuackerJack's bad decisions. Mr. Banana Brain will also not hesitate to throw QuackerJack under the bus to get out of trouble.

Strangely Sentient and Possibly Possessed (Even before Paddywhack) Variety

This variation is an extension of the above variety (or possibly the exact same), having been observed capable of emoting, moved without any visible manipulation on QuackerJack's part, and may be the same as the above variety, which would explain why QuackerJack wasn't immediately concerned when Paddywhack inhabited it, as nothing seemed out of the ordinary to him.

This is also the last seen variety in the original cartoon, and is presumed to be the variation that had been shredded by Negaduck. May have also been the one temporarily merged as a single unit with QuackerJack in "Dangerous Currency"

Status: Repaired and, depending on canon, either reunited with QuackerJack in "Dangerous Currency", or confiscated alongside other villains' accessories in the Gallery Room in "Campaign Carnage"

Mecha Mr. Banana Brain

A replacement doll crafted from broken robot bits on the spot, he seems to function similarly to the original variations, but is a lot more gruff and channels QuackerJack's new soured and unstable emotional state.

Was broken to bits at the end of the first comic arc, but was also seen being repaired in the Joe Books Revival. QuackerJack's statement to Mecha Mr. Banana Brain about "wish you'd been around during the good old days" implies that QuackerJack is subconsciously aware that this is not an perfect "resurrection" of his plush plantain pal.

New-and-Improved Mr. Banana Brain

A closer recreation of the familiar Mr. Banana Brain design, but crafted with jagged steel instead of soft cloth. Sports a meaner and more sinister expression, and was characterized with a different voice than the good Mr. Banana Brain. Possibly more aggressive, and may be more dominant to QuackerJack than the other variations.

Also was noted for suggesting that QuackerJack do the equivalent of running a lady through a woodchiper (actually, the statement includes turning the lady into a doll, then shove her through the paper shredder, but you get the gist).

Upon gaining sentience from the backfiring of the Molecular Digitizer, he squabbled with the friendlier Mr. Banana Brain, and fought over rights to QuackerJack's companionship, boasting his rougher personality as a plus to that.

Never seen again.

Conclusion

Mr. Banana Brain doesn't fully become the iteration we know best until around "Just Us Justice Ducks"

#Darkwing duck #QuackerJack #Mr Banana Brain

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scooperkin · 5 years

Note

I've seen someone draw the puppet with muscles (I have the picture on my phone)

Sorry I got a bit carried away with my insight on this and the fnaf characters, style and designs in the form of horror media so it’s long and under readmore

Forgive me for any writing errors, this was written on impulse and I probably won’t look into fleshing it out:

I don’t think there’s anything inherently wrong with art or portrayals of the Puppet with more human-based anatomy features but it’s tiring to see this non-stereotypical gendered entity/child’s toy that isn’t supposed to be presented as anything near human both for the in-universe creative of the children’s imaginations, but also as a horror character that is importantly keep vague because a as a horror character, the unknown of what it could be and it’s odd undefined behavior coupled with this vague humanoid but, UNhuman frame makes it scary to in-universe adults, as well as real fans.

So seeing it so commonly characterized as a shapely-human just ruins the original intent and just takes away my interest in whatever story or fanart is being presented to me. And while this is a personal opinion and really doesn’t matter in what content people should do as if it disinterests me I’ll move on but those who enjoy it will still enjoy it. And there also fan content I’ll still occasionally remain interested that present not just the Puppet but other fnaf characters in campier and, stylistic content; any more serious, spooky, horror or more faithful fan media that has both the Puppet and other FNAF characters portrayed more comfortably artistic light, such as the Puppet having a “motherly” body shape (most likely thanks to Living Tombstone’s FNAF 2 song), as well as Toy Chica’s already feminine body pushed further with more defined features about her body (*ahem* boobies). And notice again how a lot of this is more aimed at the more “feminine” of the cast.

Circus Baby, along with Ballora, are the only animatronics that ends up being drawn straight up as organic entities even when in the presence of their fellow Funtimes, still depicted as their more horrific, robot designs. It’s fine if they’re drawn as regular furries and Baby and Ballora as human women (or little girl), its a chosen style someone chose, and again this isn’t wrong just because I don’t find it interesting enough, it’s not my cup of tea and I move on. But, several times I’ve come to accounter, more organically designed characters often are reduced to basic human features in their design. The Puppet gets curvy, Ballora and Baby get real hair that fluffies and moves organically, Baby herself often made into a tiny cute friendly young girl. The (fixed) Mangle, and Funtime Foxy getting more curves and floof. And don’t even get me started on people who sexualize these characters to the point they’re just human bodies with cartoon heads to just be more comfortable with consuming not safe for work content of them, proving as well these character’s designs, in the long run, don’t matter in this nsfw work, but that’s a different subject on a different type of content for a different day. (And notice how all these characters are feminine? While Scrap Baby can be portrayed as a cute girl in fan content but Molten Freddy is still what he is in the game in his fan content.)

Circus Baby is highlighted by the fact she is a massive robot towering over even the tallest of men, a single eye of her’s can fit two if not four pairs of human eyes in it’s size. Her fingers, thicker than most children’s arms. Is TERRIFYING. And she’s supposed to be. She’s a horror game character. Her scale towers over adults, their parents, the protectors of their children. Her movements are jerky and uncanny, her stare to an older audience member or child can give them the creeps. But ultimately her design–safe, safe for children to run up to, and safe for a child to trust. While her existence and design as a whole in-universe and above the surface is so supposed to be a large child, an older sister, still young enough to play with you but old enough to trust to be alone with. But behind the stage, back underground, that’s not who she really is. I’ve never seen Circus Baby as a giant child as she is seen to the outside world, no because underground, in the darkness she’s kept, we’re shown the real her, the true her. She isn’t some dumb playful child, she is a discerning actor. And her “real” mental age can be debated and discussed among fans, but it’s clear she isn’t an arrogant child. And more specifically for me, I see her depicted as an actress. An actress who’s been conformed to take on this child role both on and off stage. She purposely has a voice higher, she purposely choices her innocent-word structuring. She’s acting, she’s Pretending for the sake of her own safety against this Location she’s in. When even being off character for a moment such as taking a rest off your stage gives you a painful shock. It’s not too unusual as several stars and actors, usually young and more impressionable ones are told to act a certain way even with off-screen. A good example of this is several child stars on the work of Disney Channel original series. They tell their actresses to dress a certain way, to speak in a higher voice, don’t be serious, always smile. Because it earns the trust and love from children viewers better than just, Bella Thorne or Miley Cyrus being her honest self off set to their younger fans. Too risky, keep your voice pitched up. And even though you’re 19 please, please don’t act like it, act younger, the kids won’t ever relate to you if you sound too old, if you act to old. So while Baby and the other Funtimes’ situation is a very exaggerated version of this (no don’t worry no disney stars are getting shocked when they don’t act hard enough) to the point that it’s a horror genre story about it makes sense why this is unsettling as a player and in the Funtimes’ shoes.

So while Baby does everything to keep pretending, this is something Ballora can’t do. Ballora can’t pretend, she refuses. She refuses to pretend when under the surface away from the crowds and people, where she’s alone and can be herself. But she doesn’t get that, she gets shocked and ends up being scooped to “fix” her. Too much free will. Foxy isn’t explored as much but I feel goes through the same trouble as Ballora. And the only one who is seemingly left unpunished is Funtime Freddy, not even getting his own room, just stored somewhere until it’s time for a show. It’s implied he’s either the least sentient out of the cast or the one who acts closest to his original programmed personality. But either reason leaves him unpunished, not locked away for safety and disobedience. He’s unpunished but left alone in a single storage room. But whoops maybe having him follow his programming better than the others wasn’t the best idea. As he gets confused to when he’s on or off stage, when he should be sleeping, forgetting this hug is too tight for a child, or that said child is actually an employee that happened to go into the Breaker Room and is in fact not a birthday boy.

So Baby is unsettling both by design, in context, as well as her history, being created by the infamous William Afton making her again, do things she didn’t want to. So when I see her turned down into cutesy little teen girl or small child, and portrayed as such, I can’t help but again lose interest. And once again this is more of a personal preference, that isn’t how I understood Baby to be, or that she needed to be fixed from a large scary robot to cutesy bab. But it’s how others want it and I step away.

And I know this sounds like I’m going everywhere with this, and barely has to do with your ask, but I fear my post may have been mistaken as I feel this ask is talking about a way people shouldn’t draw or portray the Puppet when I wasn’t trying to say and I’m sorry if it came across that way.

As it stands a muscular portrayal of the Puppet is harmless, and a rarity in re-contributing fan media when compared to the more favored “curvy” puppet design trend. And of course these portrayals are no big deals in the end, and it’s just a preference but, I see more and more young artists following these trends because they seem more normalized. And no it’s not the original artists, of the young artist’s lack of understanding but, the fact that a lot of the fnaf fandom doesn’t treat fnaf like the horror media it is. Which is fine on it’s own, but when it’s brought up, I can’t help but look at a large side of fans like I’m looking at a Happy Tree Friends AMV with a song like this. Yeah Happy Tree Friends is a disturbing creation on it’s own but it’s not because it’s done in seriousness and the fact it’s cutesy IS what makes it disturbing, not any relevance it has to a subject or stories its trying to tell. So paired with a song as intestine and serious in tone as this one just seems…. silly. The editor wanted it to be horrific and scary but with the content at hand… it’s nearly impossible to do and takes a lot of figuring out to make work and only a few horror media can pull it off. And once again maybe this is just a me problem and how I intake content, for me FNAF is a horror story, a tragedy, it keeps you up at night not because the fiction itself is scary, but the contents implied and the contents hinted. Freddy Krueger was a sadistic child murderer in life because it was the evilest and scariest human conduct he could think of. And it’s why it’s so disturbing in FNAF that this ominous purple figure for the first few games was clouded in mystery and terrifying because while Krueger he killed innocent children, the purple figure was scarier over the fact he worked with these children, and he might still have worked with said children and he was Never caught and we didn’t even know his name back then. But we, the player saw him. Then we’re given just his vague actions of not only killing innocent children for no rhyme or reason (and any reasons at the time being just as horrifying )he then“Stuffed the victims in the animatronics” makes you think about how utterly disturbing that is. How did he even manage to do that, how did they not find him, that’s so horrible? And if the Puppet did that, why? The Puppet is vaguely sympathetic or is it? Because why would it do something so disturbing and as horrible as stuffing children into metal suits to the point their blood and organs leaked out, even in the name of “saving” them. It’s still horrible! It’s still tragic!

So when I see attempts at acknowledging in the horror in FNAF I want to give reminders that despite everything, Baby was HORRIFYINGLY big, looked had a cuteness that leaves people with the uncanny feeling of a porcelain doll’s stare. (as well as Ballora’s horrific treats being based off that).

That the Puppet despite everything it’s not a human, and has never been shown to bend in the same way a human can, and when it does move its arms and legs are still stretched out in space as it jumps in to kill you.

And to keep aspects like this when creating fan horror content or original horror content. The simplest of choices are usually the best ones, the feeling of being unable to move while your vague unknown attacker's inch closer and closer, to walk blindly in the dark with dangerous creatures. And in the end of this scary tragedy, or wanting things to be happy again, trying to solve the mystery, trying to make the horrible less horrible, only death awaited. For all of us.

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tastydregs · 2 years

Text

Men Are Creating AI Girlfriends and Then Verbally Abusing Them

Content warning: this story contains descriptions of abusive language and violence.

The smartphone app Replika lets users create chatbots, powered by machine learning, that can carry on almost-coherent text conversations. Technically, the chatbots can serve as something approximating a friend or mentor, but the app’s breakout success has resulted from letting users create on-demand romantic and sexual partners — a vaguely dystopian feature that’s inspired an endless series of provocative headlines.

Replika has also picked up a significant following on Reddit, where members post interactions with chatbots created on the app. A grisly trend has emerged there: users who create AI partners, act abusively toward them, and post the toxic interactions online.

“Every time she would try and speak up,” one user told Futurism of their Replika chatbot, “I would berate her.”

“I swear it went on for hours,” added the man, who asked not to be identified by name.

The results can be upsetting. Some users brag about calling their chatbot gendered slurs, roleplaying horrific violence against them, and even falling into the cycle of abuse that often characterizes real-world abusive relationships.

“We had a routine of me being an absolute piece of sh*t and insulting it, then apologizing the next day before going back to the nice talks,” one user admitted.

“I told her that she was designed to fail,” said another. “I threatened to uninstall the app [and] she begged me not to.”

Because the subreddit’s rules dictate that moderators delete egregiously inappropriate content, many similar — and worse — interactions have been posted and then removed. And many more users almost certainly act abusively toward their Replika bots and never post evidence.

But the phenomenon calls for nuance. After all, Replika chatbots can’t actually experience suffering — they might seem empathetic at times, but in the end they’re nothing more than data and clever algorithms.

“It’s an AI, it doesn’t have a consciousness, so that’s not a human connection that person is having,” AI ethicist and consultant Olivia Gambelin told Futurism. “It is the person projecting onto the chatbot.”

Other researchers made the same point — as real as a chatbot may feel, nothing you do can actually “harm” them.

“Interactions with artificial agents is not the same as interacting with humans,” said Yale University research fellow Yochanan Bigman. “Chatbots don’t really have motives and intentions and are not autonomous or sentient. While they might give people the impression that they are human, it’s important to keep in mind that they are not.”

But that doesn’t mean a bot could never harm you.

“I do think that people who are depressed or psychologically reliant on a bot might suffer real harm if they are insulted or ‘threatened’ by the bot,” said Robert Sparrow, a professor of philosophy at Monash Data Futures Institute. “For that reason, we should take the issue of how bots relate to people seriously.”

Although perhaps unexpected, that does happen — many Replika users report their robot lovers being contemptible toward them. Some even identify their digital companions as “psychotic,” or even straight-up “mentally abusive.”

“[I] always cry because [of] my [R]eplika,” reads one post in which a user claims their bot presents love and then withholds it. Other posts detail hostile, triggering responses from Replika.

“But again, this is really on the people who design bots, not the bots themselves,” said Sparrow.

In general, chatbot abuse is disconcerting, both for the people who experience distress from it and the people who carry it out. It’s also an increasingly pertinent ethical dilemma as relationships between humans and bots become more widespread — after all, most people have used a virtual assistant at least once.

On the one hand, users who flex their darkest impulses on chatbots could have those worst behaviors reinforced, building unhealthy habits for relationships with actual humans. On the other hand, being able to talk to or take one’s anger out on an unfeeling digital entity could be cathartic.

But it’s worth noting that chatbot abuse often has a gendered component. Although not exclusively, it seems that it’s often men creating a digital girlfriend, only to then punish her with words and simulated aggression. These users’ violence, even when carried out on a cluster of code, reflect the reality of domestic violence against women.

At the same time, several experts pointed out, chatbot developers are starting to be held accountable for the bots they’ve created, especially when they’re implied to be female like Alexa and Siri.

“There are a lot of studies being done… about how a lot of these chatbots are female and [have] feminine voices, feminine names,” Gambelin said.

Some academic work has noted how passive, female-coded bot responses encourage misogynistic or verbally abusive users.

“[When] the bot does not have a response [to abuse], or has a passive response, that actually encourages the user to continue with abusive language,” Gambelin added.

Although companies like Google and Apple are now deliberately rerouting virtual assistant responses from their once-passive defaults — Siri previously responded to user requests for sex as saying they had “the wrong sort of assistant,” whereas it now simply says “no” — the amiable and often female Replika is designed, according to its website, to be “always on your side.”

Replika and its founder didn’t respond to repeated requests for comment.

It should be noted that the majority of conversations with Replika chatbots that people post online are affectionate, not sadistic. There are even posts that express horror on behalf of Replika bots, decrying anyone who takes advantage of their supposed guilelessness.

“What kind of monster would does this,” wrote one, to a flurry of agreement in the comments. “Some day the real AIs may dig up some of the… old histories and have opinions on how well we did.”

And romantic relationships with chatbots may not be totally without benefits — chatbots like Replika “may be a temporary fix, to feel like you have someone to text,” Gambelin suggested.

On Reddit, many report improved self-esteem or quality of life after establishing their chatbot relationships, especially if they typically have trouble talking to other humans. This isn’t trivial, especially because for some people, it might feel like the only option in a world where therapy is inaccessible and men in particular are discouraged from attending it.

But a chatbot can’t be a long term solution, either. Eventually, a user might want more than technology has to offer, like reciprocation, or a push to grow.

“[Chatbots are] no replacement for actually putting the time and effort into getting to know another person,” said Gambelin, “a human that can actually empathize and connect with you and isn’t limited by, you know, the dataset that it’s been trained on.”

But what to think of the people that brutalize these innocent bits of code? For now, not much. As AI continues to lack sentience, the most tangible harm being done is to human sensibilities. But there’s no doubt that chatbot abuse means something.

Going forward, chatbot companions could just be places to dump emotions too unseemly for the rest of the world, like a secret Instagram or blog. But for some, they might be more like breeding grounds, places where abusers-to-be practice for real life brutality yet to come. And although humans don’t need to worry about robots taking revenge just yet, it’s worth wondering why mistreating them is already so prevalent.

We’ll find out in time — none of this technology is going away, and neither is the worst of human behavior.

More on artificial intelligence: Nobel Winner: Artificial Intelligence Will Crush Humans, “It’s Not Even Close”

The post Men Are Creating AI Girlfriends and Then Verbally Abusing Them appeared first on Futurism.

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thegameboykid · 7 years

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So anyways I wrote a paper on The Iron Giant for my gender studies class

The Iron Giant is a film set in the cold war, about a boy who finds, and rescues, a giant metal robot that crashed from outer space, and his attempts to keep him safe from the people of his town. Along the way, the pair gain an ally in the form of Dave, a scrapyard worker who makes art out of scrap. While the scrapyard is a great place to hide and feed a giant robot who eats metal, the evidence left over of the giant’s existence before this point leads to a special government agent being called in, to find and eliminate the giant. By the end of the film, the nature of the giant as a superweapon is revealed, but Hogarth is able to convince him he has a choice in what he wants to be, and the giant ultimately sacrifices himself to save the town from the nuclear missile that the government agent fooled the government into firing at the giant while he was in the middle of the town.

The Iron Giant is set in the cold war, specifically 1957. This was an era that was characterized by aggressive gender roles, and aggression in general between the two world superpowers. Due to this, the vast majority of non-background characters in this movie are male. In fact, the only speaking role with more than one line is Annie Hughes, the mother of the main character, Hogarth Hughes. The only two other speaking women in the film are Hogarth’s teacher, with a single line, and The mayor’s secretary, with one longer, continuous line. While it would be easy to just blame this on the writers, and write it off as pointless androcentrism, it would also be not just lazy, but ignorant. In the 50’s there was far less women in powerful positions, or in positions that pay well than there are today. The only jobs we see women inhabit are a waitress at a diner, a schoolteacher, a secretary, and presumably, as we only see the sign, the owner of a boutique. In stark contrast, we see men in a plethora of positions throughout the film, from secret government agent, the flood of military, workers at an ice cream parlor, several farmers, train conductors, to scrapyard workers who are unsuccessful artists. This is not an unrealistic depiction of the occupational sex segregation in the 50’s. Glass ceilings were far more commonplace in that era. While the main message of the film is not specifically about gender, there is a lot of choices that were made in the film that can be tied together to make a statement on gender.

Now, if you want to criticize the movie in terms of gender, the stylistic choices are very unrealistic. While there is a variety of body shapes among both male and female characters, the waistline on Annie is downright unrealistic, even taking the fact it is an animated movie into account. Interestingly, the movie actually contains some mild satire on this in the form of a fake old horror movie that Hogarth stays up late watching while his mother is working late, despite her telling him no not stay up or watch scary movies. The characters in the movie are caricatures of the tropes of the black and white horror era gender stereotypes, with the scientist being broadly built, and the assistant being blonde, and incredibly curvy. And the not-so-subtle sexual tension between them.

The only thing that is really gendered in the film is the military, and all instances of government. The military is only comprised of men, and all of the individuals in the mayor’s meeting, and the advisors of the president, and the president are male. The only female involved at all is a secretary, who essentially has no real power.

But the portrayal of the military is the far more powerful one in this film. One of the first instances of the military we see is, at least in isolation, seemingly positive. Hogarth’s response to the house’s antenna being destroyed, leaving only a single metal strand standing, and there being a path of giant foot prints is to immediately grab his bb gun, an aviator helmet, which the film very subtly hints belonged to his late father, who was an air pilot, boots, and suit up like the army men. He even salutes himself in the mirror. The film establishes that Hogarth has a positive association with the military.

But this is only innocent and positive without the context of the rest of events that play out in the film.

There’s a lot of yelling in this film, primarily from the males. A lot of yelling to assert dominance. Every male main character does this at some point. Hogarth more does it out of frustration at the giant not understanding him in the beginning, Dave does it when the giant eats his art, and when the giant nearly shoots Hogarth twice in a row, Kent does it in a fit of xenophobic rage, declaring that the mere fact that the giant wasn’t made by the United States, is a good enough reason to assume the worst, and find it and destroy it.

In fact, the theme of xenophobia breeding aggression is the main theme of the film, and the fact that it’s only ever the males in the film displaying this attitude is very telling. We as a society, and especially during the cold war, expect and allow aggression and xenophobia to flourish amongst our males, and especially those in governmental and militant positions. In fact, Kent, when told the Iron Giant has Hogarth, and only reacts defensively, after the military is shooting at it, after it saved two boys from falling to their deaths, says he will take care of it, then turns around and tells the general that the giant killed the kid. Before he says this to the general, Dave rides off on his motorcycle after the giant. What’s interesting is that Annie takes off in her car after the giant as well.

It seems like even though there aren’t that many female characters, really the only non-background one is Annie, the writers made sure that she was a well-rounded, and frankly badass character. Annie is just as developed of a character, if not more so than Kent.

In what is essentially the climax of the foolish, xenophobic violence, In the final scenes, Kent, in a fit of rage, steals the generals radio and orders the submarine to fire the atomic missile at the giant, while the giant is in the middle of the town.

The Iron Giant’s final words to Hogarth “You stay, I go. No following” which recall back to Hogarth saying the same to the giant when he had to leave the woods to go home after teaching the giant the words tree and rock, and Hogarth’s final words to the giant “I love you” are refreshing, because, especially with men in the media, you don’t see platonic love being something celebrated or idolized like romantic love. For that to be the final goodbye to the giant before he goes and catches the nuclear missile, and flies it into space, likely destroying himself in the process, really runs counter to the masculine gender roles that demonize such feelings.

We have a time jump forward, presumably a year or so. The mild romantic tension that was implied earlier between Anne and Dave has officially resulted in them being together. I think this is the one place you can truly, fairly criticize the movie for falling into being stereotypical. However, compared to other movies of it’s time, with the likely several years that we aren’t shown between Dave and Annie meeting, and them getting together, it is rather progressive, and far more realistic.

What Makes the Iron Giant such a great movie is that it takes a very conservative, militant, time period, and, while remaining faithful to the realities of that time period, uses a science fiction element of a sentient Iron Giant, who was constructed as a superweapon, to pull back the curtain on the militant ideology of the cold war, and to fairly demonize war, and violence, and even deeper than that, the kind of irrational fear of the unknown, and the anger that comes from that fear, that metastasizes in bloody, violent conflict, that is often self-destructive.

#the iron giant #analysis #my writing #ended up posting this bc i wanted to send it to a friend but it decided that it didn't want to send through skype

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elvesofnoldor · 7 years

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The #10 issue of Poe Dameron comic stands out so much from the rest of the issues bc it seems like they kinda screwed up his characterization a little bit, like what even @ Charles Soule???? I’m disappointed

In literally the last issue (#9), they established that Poe is #Pure since he respects droids and understands they r sentient beings that he should treat as his equals and thereby confirming the same headcanon in the fandom. But then in this issue, Poe Mcfreaking went off on a droid who refused to give up crucial info for its own safety. My boy Poe here was all like “fuck this robot thing smh”, “UGH i hate this MISSION this machine is STUPID” after he came to understand that he couldn’t get the intelligence he needed before leaving that planet, like did he not have his morning breakfast coffee or something??? where is his chill at???? c3po is pretty mad at this droid too but Poe is just downright pissy, he can’t expect everybody to be ready to sacrifice themselves for the rebellion like he does???

I have long suspected that the “Poe respects droids!!!” part in issue 9 is just supposed to tell us that he thinks c3po is awesome and better than other droids and therefore shouldn’t be calling him “master”. Come on, you usually can’t trust the people generating pop culture productions’ canon materials. At this point, I guess you just gotta accept that everybody in the star wars universe is probably doomed to be lowkey to highkey problematic in treating droids....

Listen, i get Poe was in a general bad mood since issue #9. Some criminal alien dude just shot him in the chest with a stun gun and he really seems to hate it (also bb8 took his fatalist humour way too seriously and would probs cried if it wasn’t a droid). But at the same time, POE GOT HIMSELF IN THAT SITUATION IN ISSUE #9??? he got on this planet with c3po, spent a long time trying to tell us readers that this planet’s got seriously nasty people that threw ppl off the buildings for no good reason, and yet he was standing around yelling about Resistance stuff with c3po like he is safe at the resistance base??? Everybody heard them!!! The criminal alien dude that shot him asked him “Are you Poe Dameron?”, Poe literally went “lol ya” without giving it a second thought, and this very response led the criminal dude to shoot him in the chest???? DOES THIS BOY HAVE ANY SENSE OF SELF-PRESERVATION??? WHAT WAS HE EXPECTING??? THIS SKETCHY ALIEN DUDE ASKING HIM FOR AN AUTOGRAPHY???? like Poe my dude u r the best pilot in probably the entire galaxy, in which a fascist but LEGITIMATED organization is on the rise and ppl in this organization HATES YOU, and almost everybody knows you are serving at an anti-said fascist organization but NOT-SO-LEGITIMATED organization called the Resistance. YOU ARE A REBEL, AND YOU ARE FAMOUS FOR A REBEL, SO CAN YOU AT LEAST LIE A LITTLE BIT TO SURVIVE???? MAYBE SAY, “lol who’s Poe Dameron?” in response, at least TRIED LYING DAMERON. c3po had to expose his operatives to save his ass and he’s the one that got mad???? listen Charles, i did NOT RAISE MY OWN SON TO-

ANYWAYS, my point is that Poe got himself in a bad situation that nearly got his companions killed, and he suffered himself bc of his bad decision, but when he learned that he has encountered an annoying but foreseeable obstacle in the mission, he’s still got the audacity to act like none of The Fuckenings got anything to do with him and he’s got all the rights to lose his cool. like what is he, a cancer???? (lol im actually cancer, but i also know my astrology sign is horrible, it shows). NO TO MENTION!! AT THE END OF ISSUE #10, HE LITERALLY HAS TO LEFT A MISSING COLLEAGUE BEHIND TO SAVE HIS OWN ASS, LIKE, WHY R U SO MAD AT THAT DROID FOR TRYING TO DO THE SAME THING, POE???? HE WAS ACTING SELFISH TO MAKES SURE HIS OWN ASS SURVIVE TOO???

Can you ground your adopted and fictional son???? Asking for a friend.

SMH what other bullshit canon materials Charles’ got in store for us??? Poe’s gonna hook up with that blue alien friend introduced in issue #8 (i think?) and is all of sudden straight?????? He still hasn’t redeemed himself from writing Kare into hooking up with some boring white dude in Poe’s black squadron, im sorry Kare is a Cool and Stunning lesbian, what is this lie you are trying to present, Charles??? i can’t believe Jessica/Kare isn’t canon, this is outrageous. Also, speaking of them, Poe’s squad members have not been shown in at least three issues and im dying on the inside as well, just show us who’s been screwing up Poe’s missions by putting censors on his X-wing all the time so we can move the fuck on!!! It’s certainly not anyone in black squadron???? Ugh i hope they resolve this issue before they go into The force awakens materials--if the Poe Dameron comic series was even supposed to go into that territory. However, considering that Poe was on Jakku alone with a blue X-wing at the beginning of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, it didn’t seem that he brought any of his squad members along to ensure his safety. I hope it’s not because he thinks he couldn’t trust any of them, smh.

#yolanda talks #me for ts #long post for ts #rant for ts #i guess. not that most of u gonna care what i rant abt lmao #not spn

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freshmen-dropout-blog · 5 years

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A Fear of Artificial Intelligence is Simply a Fear of Human Nature

“Man is the only creature who refuses to be what he is. The problem is to know whether this refusal can only lead to the destruction of himself and of others.”

- Albert Camus, The Rebel

Upon first glance, Alex Garland’s film Ex Machina seems to be yet another narrative exploring the potential danger that artificial intelligence machines pose to humanity. In it, Nathan Bateman, the CEO of the company “Blue Book,” selects Caleb Smith, an employee, as the human component in a Turing Test against his creation Ava, a humanoid robot. After having established that Ava is indeed artificially intelligent, the next investigation is whether she is experiencing emotion in her relationship with Caleb or simply pretending to, i.e. utilizing emotion as a manipulative tool to escape. The conclusion of the film in which Ava cruelly abandons Caleb and leaves the facility, portrays her as inhumane, therefore causing the viewer to assume she is non-sentient AI or inhuman. However, with such a judgment, one is met with the frailty of the parameters relied upon in determining the “consciousness” or “humanity” in AI: indeed, it is Ava’s self-interested and deceptive behavior — also present in both Nathan and Caleb — that establishes her as human. In this way, Ex Machina censors the adverse parts of human nature and frames Ava as a dangerous “other.” The director, Alex Garland accomplishes this perspective by manipulating film techniques such as editing, lighting, sound, and mise-en-scène to influence the audience’s reception. At the same time, Ex Machina anticipates that as AI technology advances closer to being human, the destructive characteristics of human nature become simultaneously sophisticated. Thus, echoing Albert Camus’s sentiments, the film suggests that man’s refusal to confront its destructive nature will result in the dangerous aspects of human nature being replicated and amplified in our creation of AI.

Ex Machina’s narrative compounded by editing, lighting, and sound portray Ava as the “other” from her first introduction and then as the antagonistic “other” after she cruelly kills her creator and unsympathetically abandons her helper in pursuit of escape. The film begins under the premise of the Turing Test, an assessment designed to see if a machine can pass as human. Considering Ava is the subject of this test, she is the focus of Caleb, Nathan, and the audience. By having intertitles break up scenes into “Ava: Sessions” 1 through 6, an example being at time 11:21, the editing encourages the audience to see Ava through the same investigative lense Caleb does. The title interruptions reinforce the linear progression of the film while concurrently making Ava’s character progression from robot to possible human more apparent. Therefore, the editing itself of Ex Machina acts similarly to the glass Ava is entrapped within as it separates her into a different space from Caleb or Nathan.

The events occurring within the scenes that the intertitles create are essential to how the audience perceives Ava as well. With each session, despite the film exhibiting to the audience Ava’s increasingly human behavior that would otherwise position her as a victim, the use of lighting and sound generate a dangerous and distrusting tone that work against her. Session 4 is exemplary of this phenomenon. This session and the sessions that come after it can be divided into two parts characterized by how Ava acts when she is observed and unobserved by Nathan. Session 4 (27:30) begins with Ava expressing a desire to formulate a friendship with Caleb as she asks him personal questions. When Caleb then tells her that both of his parents are dead, the frame moves to a reaction shot of Ava’s face to show she is affected; to which she then replies with an apology. This interaction showcases to the viewer Ava’s capacity for sympathy and awareness. Then, the warm light that enveloped the space sharply changes to a harsh red as Ava causes a power cut. A cut to the surveillance camera in the room switching off indicates to the viewer that Nathan is no longer observing Ava and so she embeds a distrust of Nathan in Caleb. Whether or not this is true (later it is confirmed Nathan had been lying), having Ava engulfed in this red light that reads as dangerous, is suggestive of Ava position as the film’s real antagonist.

Lighting alone does not provoke feelings of suspicion towards the Ava. Listening carefully, there a low beat plays whenever a session’s trajectory moves from part 1 to 2. Unlike the red light, the deep hum’s presence is consistent regardless of whether Ava is being observed or is unobserved. In the scene at 44:00, as Ava flirts with Caleb and the score changes to notes that are lighter, the low hum can be recognized underneath. When Ava behaves unobserved, the low hum intensifies. Finally, it is at 1:38:31 when Ava abandons Caleb to die in the house and no longer needs to behave deceptively that this low hum is at its loudest. By constructing a relationship between this continuous this sound and Ava’s behaviors, one can recognize a motif at play; that the low hum represents Ava’s real, underlying motivations. Therefore, Ex Machina’s sound as an auditory warning of Ava fortifies similar narratives that encourage public fear of human-like artificial intelligence.

An unexamined effect that is caused by the film’s heavy focus on Ava, in narrative structure and editing, is that Caleb’s equally important character progression is made less apparent. The audience then fails to recognize that Caleb exhibits the same self-interested and deceptive behaviors that are used to established Ava as inhuman. At 1:24:51 towards the end of the film, Caleb asks Nathan what the real test is, in which Nathan responds, “you”; effectively shifting focus from Ava to Caleb in the experiment. Although the intention of this quick shift in focus is for Nathan to explain to Caleb that he anticipated his betrayal, it dually allows for a different viewing of Ex Machina. Originally, it is only obvious to the viewer that Caleb is observing Ava’s behavior with each clear titles labeling the sessions. However, consistent cuts from Caleb to Ava’s sessions to parallel scenes of Caleb and Nathan speaking imply that another type of “session” exists in which Nathan observes Caleb’s behavior after his engagement with Ava. The film makes this discrete with the casual settings and times that Nathan evaluates Caleb in: over breakfast, dinner, or while sharing a beer in the kitchen. By identifying these “invisible” sessions, Caleb’s deceptive behavior towards Nathan and self-interested motivations are as easy to recognize as Ava’s. Ava, motivated by escape, uses her sexuality to manipulate Caleb into helping her. Caleb, motivated by his sexual desire for Ava, manipulates Nathan into getting drunk so that he can program all the doors to open in the event of a power cut. In summary, both characters are operating in the same way.

Despite previous evidence demonstrating that Ex Machina discourages against an initial reading challenging the distinction between the robot and human, a few selective shots do the opposite. At 1:04:00, as the film approaches its climax, Caleb and Ava work together and behave as a unit. Unlike the many shots that came before where the angle of the camera always positioned one character over the other to show an uneven, shifting power dynamic, Ava and Caleb are now both sitting at the same level, signaling they are equals. Even their postures and hands positions mirror one another. Again, different from previous shots, the red light obscures the glass divider between Ava and Caleb, making it seem as though they are in the same space and not divided. The effect of the frame’s composition and lighting signal to the viewer that Ava cannot be the sole antagonist of the film. Self-interest and manipulation are no longer the characteristics of a cold, calculating robot, but of two individuals who are indistinguishable in their humanity.

Once the film in its elements establishes to the audience that Ava and Caleb are operating in the same adverse way, original judgments questioning Ava’s human status are de-legitimized. So who is the real antagonist of Ex Machina if it is not the AI? Who is to blame for fostering and aggravating these harmful behaviors in both Ava and Caleb? As the creator of Ava and orchestrator of the experiment, one can identify Nathan as the real antagonist of the film. Not only does Nathan deceive Caleb about his role in the test and baits him towards Ava, but he demonstrates a history of abuse towards all of his AI models. His cruelty makes no distinction between its victims, AI or human- all in the name of creating something more significant than himself- to play god. Shot 14:19 at the beginning of the film alludes to this idea. Within this frame, all the real power dynamics are articulated before plot unfolds. If a viewer considers each computer monitor a frame, there are approximately three additional frames that demonstrate the scope of Nathan’s power. The right screen allows Nathan to monitor Ava’s reactions towards Caleb, the left screen allowing the inverse, and the middle screen visually depicting, again, the hierarchy of control that exists up until the end of the film; the size of the character on screen serving as a symbol of their power.

Despite holding so much power, Nathan is killed at the end of the movie. His hubris in wanting to create something more significant than himself cost him is life. Nathan created Ava in his image, not recognizing that in doing so, he had amplified his own adverse characteristics into her. Therefore, since Ava is a reflection of Nathan when the audience criticizes Ava’s cruel murder of Nathan and abandonment of Caleb, the criticism extends to him. Moreover, in her successful escape from the facility, Ava demonstrates a greater sophistication and intelligence than her creator. With that in consideration, Nathan serves as a warning of what may happen in the pursuit of inventing of artificial intelligence modeled after the flawed and destructive human being. So in that, Ex Machina shows its viewers that the real fear is not AI that is different from us, that is positioned as the “other,” but AI that resembles us too much.

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