Albert Einstein once quoted “It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity.” Two movies, which are “Ex-Machina” and “Chappie,” heavily thrive on this idea of Albert Einstein. Fiction movies have always interested me. I believe that science fiction provides an outlet for Imagination and creativity unlike any other form of literature. “Imagination and fiction make up more than three quarters of our real life.” But what happens when this imagination is turned to a reality? Well, these two movies will help us get towards the answer to this question. 

“Ex-Machina” is a 2015 science fiction psychological thriller film directed by Alex Garland. It is an Academy Award winner in “Best Visual Effects” and “Best Original Screenplay.” It is one of my favorite science fiction movies because it relates fiction to real life elements. It is a story about what happens when artificial intelligence is brought to life with human emotions. Nathan, the CEO of a tech based company created a fully humanoid artificial intelligence robot in an experiment.  He called it ‘Ava.’ A computer coder named “Caleb” gets a chance to spend some time with Nathan and help him in his experiment. Nathan wants Caleb to analyze and talk to Ava so that she can learn to communicate with different humans. In one of the scenes, While Caleb and Ava are in the middle of their session, suddenly lights go out and Ava tells Nathan not to trust Nathan.  Later Caleb finds out that Nathan was able to put human feelings in Ava’s body through is technology. Ava starts getting feelings for Caleb and wants to spend a genuine human life with him outside the lab in the real world. He promises her that he will get her out of Nathan’s lab. The day arrives and Caleb takes her out of the lab and Nathan tries to fight them. During the fight Ava kills Nathan and locks Caleb in a room. Eventually, She escapes outside to human society. 

“Chappie” is also a 2015 science fiction film directed by Neill Blomkamp. The story sets in Johannesburg, where the police department is linked with a tech company, which provides the department with trained robotic cops. Tech Company’s head designer named “Deon Wilson” is working on a side project, which he believes will revolutionize the Robot Industry. He created a robot with Artificial Intelligence, which he names “Chappie.” It has his own mind and learns things as he sees, just like human beings. But unfortunately a gang of criminals steals Chappie. Now. Being “raised” by a gang, Chappie learns all the bad habits and makes its own uniqueness.  Authorities see Chappie as a threat to the society and try everything to make sure that he is last of his kind. Chappie is attacked by the authorities and is about to die. Deon does not want his years of hard work to go to waste. Eventually, he somehow takes Chappie to the lab and transfers his consciousness to another robot. They live happily after. 

Both the movies depict the importance of ‘power.’ Power has a lot of potential and is only obliging if given in right hands. William Gaddis, who is an American novelist, once said that “Power doesn’t corrupt people, People corrupt power.” I completely agree to his thought and these two movies prove his point. ‘Ava’ was a powerful machine with remarkable power of having human emotions within her. In the end she betrayed her creator and her friend, just because she wanted to be free. Having emotions made her forget that in the end she was just a machine. She misused her power of being a powerful machine for her own happiness. His master and creator also misused his power by making a robot just for his own pleasure and use. He should have known that giving ‘Ava’ emotions could lead her to get feelings towards nature and people. Now, there is nothing wrong in inventions but one should always have a backup for all the consequences the invention comes with, which he was not prepared for. Both of them prove that if power is not given in the right hands, it can have some severe outcomes. In the movie “Chappie,” a gang suddenly gets a lot of power by having a robot in their gang. When they realized that Chappie has human emotions in him, they tried to use him for the wrong. They used a power of machine to rob banks, kill lives and rob people. This proves a point that it really matters who has the control of power. Power is a very useful thing, but if it goes in wrong people hand, it can be a nightmare. Both the movies have one thing in common which is that robots are given human emotions, Which became the major reason for a disastrous outcome.

In conclusion, I’ll come back to the question I asked in the first paragraph, “But what happens when this imagination is turned to a reality?” In both of the movies, the creators of robots imagined of bringing human emotions to a machine, which in both cases lead to disastrous consequences. “Power is always dangerous. Power attracts the worst and corrupts the best.” We as humans have the power of imagination, which is a good trait to have if used in the right manner. Because I believe, in the century we live in, it is possible to create what ever we imagine. Having this power can lead us to an alluring future as well as an ordeal future. It is all a matter of how the power is used. Therefore never underestimate the power of ‘power’.
