I actually prefer the new Ghost in the Shell to Ex Machina because it's far more realistic. I think the malicious singularity will spawn from a collectivist group of nihilist humans.
This is an interesting thought. I really liked Ex Machina. Simple plot & setting. clear demonstration of how smart enough AI can’t be contained.
Ah yeah see, my interpretation is that Ex Machina is waaay more about the humans than it is the robots. There's a big meta about playing God. What it means to be conscious/unconscious.
One definition of consciousness is a being that knows it can be killed(and therefore knows what it's doing when it hurts/kills). So the irony is that the humans in Ex are unconscious.
Personally though, I like a story with flawed characters who learn and grow. Ex Machina is amazing and haunting but ultimately it's just an allegory like Animal Farm or Ayn Rand.
I would expect AI that is much smarter than everyone else to not be as flawed or grow as much as people. & I like stories that paint an ideal, something to strive for (eg Ayn Rand).
an ideal even at the expense of characters "growing". Think its more interesting to watch the environment/world change around these types of characters/bend to their point of view.
So like- the users fall in love with the tech because it gives us something we want; the creators of tech are aware of the dangers but they're too busy playing Gad to take precautions