In today’s episode we speak with Dr. Isabel Millar, Author of The Psychoanalysis of Artificial Intelligence (published in 2021 - which I highly recommend). Dr. Millar is Associate Researcher at Newcastle University Department of Philosophy and both Fellow and Faculty at the Global Centre for Advanced Studies, Institute of Psychoanalysis.

She is currently working on her next book Patipolitics for Bloomsbury Philosophy.

Today’s film is Ex Machina, written and directed by Alex Garland and released in 2014. The film is ably discussed in The Psychoanalysis of Artificial Intelligence from a Lacanian perspective, an appropriate toolkit.

I’ll use the synopsis Isabel provides in Chapter 5, titled What Can I Know? Artificial Enjoyment - from page 138 of her book:

"Ex Machina depicts the attempt of a young, male computer genius Caleb, to evaluate the potential “self-consciousness” of Ava, an embodied Artificial Intelligence, via the fabled Turing Test. Hidden away in a secret bunker in the woods, Caleb is watched over by tech Svengali Nathan, the creator of a series of female AIs who appear—physically at least—uncannily human. Over the course of several days, Caleb meets and talks with Ava and tries to discern what is really going on behind the perfectly beautiful silicone face. Very soon Caleb’s Turing Test turns into a love affair, as Ava implores him to help her escape captivity from her life of subservience at the whims of Nathan. By the end of the film Ava tricks Caleb into believing she wants him, kills Nathan and leaves Caleb for dead. She escapes the concrete bunker alone and, for the first time, steps outside into the lush green natural world."

We were very happy that Isabel granted us a bit of her time to discuss this film and the way it illustrates some of the themes of her book. Check out the show notes for links and references; we hope you enjoy.

The book: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-67981-1

The film: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ex_Machina_(film)

Dr. MIllar’s homepage: https://www.isabelmillar.com

Dialogue between Dr. Millar and Mary Wild on Wild’s podcast (requires a patreon subscription): https://www.patreon.com/posts/56533141