First
it was Deep Blue, then it was AlphaGo. The next step is Skynet and the rise of
the machines. That is pretty much how all the experts see the future, according
to this doom-and-gloom documentary. It is too late to close the barn door, but
we can still make the futile gesture according to Chris Paine’s Do You Trust This Computer? (trailer here), which opens this Friday in New York.
Yes,
the Singularity is pretty darned scary and yes, it is closer than we would like
to think. As is usually the case, it is mostly Google’s fault. They have spent
gazillions on artificial intelligence to generate those annoying “smart search”
suggestions. Of course, we have no idea what other applications they might have
in mind. One thing everyone seems to agree on is the inevitability of AI-driven
battle drones that can attack at will, sort of like self-driving cars, but with
machine guns and light projectile explosives.
So,
isn’t that all very unsettling? Basically, that vague sentiment is the general
thesis of Paine’s scattershot film. There are a lot of frightening predictions
in DYTTC, but it is presented like a
buffet of singularity horror stories—a little bit from here and a little bit
from there and before you know it, humanity is toast. Tellingly, one talking
head informs us with all due seriousness that no government regulations have
ever been applied to the research and development of artificial intelligence,
but he never suggests what those regulations ought to be, so what’s the point?
The
question “now what?” definitely hangs over the film, rather distractingly, but
it also lacks a consistent through-line or driving concept. Essentially, this film
is a collection of people Paine likes (such as Elon Musk, who also appeared in
his far superior Revenge of the Electric Car). Granted, if the concept of the Singularity is new to viewers than
Paine’s film will probably strike them like a revelation of Biblical
proportions. However, anyone who is well-versed in A.I. futurism, especially
those like Ray Kurzweil (also heard from briefly) who take a more optimistic
view of things, will find the film rather stitched-together, shallow, and not
particularly cinematic looking.
