The God Question

I initially thought this was an actual documentary where researchers had posed this question of an AI supercomputer. When I realized it was a fictional dramatization, I almost stopped watching then. After completing the whole movie, I wished I could have my 90 minutes back.

I don't want to give away spoilers, so I can't say much. It's worth it for AI fans. Interesting side conversations occur, hinting at the real dangers (someday in the far future) of giving a ASI (Artificial Super Intelligence) unfettered access to the web.

The movie is a bit slow at times but stick with it. It does skirt the issue of the fact that you can't ban the development of ASI successfully. It would just mean some other country would develop it. Better to build it right the first time since if you build it wrong you won't get a second chance. ASI will either make the Earth a paradise for humans or a living hell (or extinction level event). it's a long way off though. Rough estimate is 2060. Around 98% of AI scientists and programmers believe ASI is achievable someday.

I haven't seen a movie that deals with massive computer technology like this since Colossus: The Forbin Project. This is what SyFy is supposed to be except this is all to close to our immediate future as in now. People do not understand that we have moved from deterministic algorithm based computers to non deterministic neural networks. The implications are huge and that is what this movie is about. How we deal with this as a civilization is a key challenge. The hidden theme is what does it mean to have an artificial neural network. Is it sentient, does it believe in God, is it alive? What does it mean when you turn off the power and all the connections it created as it learned are lost?

Recently, I saw the video, The Grand Budapest Hotel. I feel like I should have enjoyed it more than I did given the great reviews, brand-name cast, and significant production budget. I only mention this because pretty much the opposite holds true for The God Question; given the unknown cast, and micro production budget, I shouldn't have enjoyed it as much as I did -- especially after reading some of the negative reviews here. This movie approaches the concept of computer AI from angles I haven't seen elsewhere. It struck me as pretty original. The central plot serves as a device into which many other pertinent questions are woven. The storyline feels uncomplicated to a fault, but it wasn't until I started talking about the movie with my husband that I realized how many issues it actually tackled. Surely, more bells and whistles could have been added with a larger budget, but at least this film did not leave me scratching my head over giant holes in the plot, or frustrated by inaccurate portrayals of the science behind the story. This is an honest film.

I am a big fan of movies dealing with the ramifications of Artificial Intelligence. This movie is much more interesting and well-considered than you might think after the first 10 minutes, which almost made me switch to something else. But if you keep with it, you will be rewarded with a very original perspective on the AI issue. Another review suggested that religious people will like this movie. Without creating a spoiler, I will say I believe this fellow reviewer did not actually watch the film. I think this movie does a very good job of considering what options a super-intelligent AI actually has. How does it decide what say, what to do, and just as importantly, what NOT to say and do?