Episode
#77 – Alex Garland: Ex Machina, Devs, Annihilation, and the Poetry of Science
1:11:36
Published: Tue Mar 03 2020
Description
Alex Garland is a writer and director of many imaginative and philosophical films from the dreamlike exploration of human self-destruction in the movie Annihilation to the deep questions of consciousness and intelligence raised in the movie Ex Machina, which to me is one of the greatest movies on artificial intelligence ever made. I'm releasing this podcast to coincide with the release of his new series called Devs that will premiere this Thursday, March 5, on Hulu. EPISODE LINKS: Devs: https://hulu.tv/2x35HaH Annihilation: https://hulu.tv/3ai9Eqk Ex Machina: https://www.netflix.com/title/80023689 Alex IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0307497/ Alex Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Garland This conversation is part of the Artificial Intelligence podcast. If you would like to get more information about this podcast go to https://lexfridman.com/ai or connect with @lexfridman on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Medium, or YouTube where you can watch the video versions of these conversations. If you enjoy the podcast, please rate it 5 stars on Apple Podcasts, follow on Spotify, or support it on Patreon. This episode is presented by Cash App. Download it (App Store, Google Play), use code "LexPodcast". Here's the outline of the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time. OUTLINE: 00:00 - Introduction 03:42 - Are we living in a dream? 07:15 - Aliens 12:34 - Science fiction: imagination becoming reality 17:29 - Artificial intelligence 22:40 - The new "Devs" series and the veneer of virtue in Silicon Valley 31:50 - Ex Machina and 2001: A Space Odyssey 44:58 - Lone genius 49:34 - Drawing inpiration from Elon Musk 51:24 - Space travel 54:03 - Free will 57:35 - Devs and the poetry of science 1:06:38 - What will you be remembered for?
Chapters
Alex Garland, a renowned writer and director, talks about the philosophical themes of his movies such as self-destruction, consciousness, and intelligence, along with the nature of power in the tech world, quantum mechanics, artificial life, and simulation.
00:00 - 02:50 (02:50)
Summary
Alex Garland, a renowned writer and director, talks about the philosophical themes of his movies such as self-destruction, consciousness, and intelligence, along with the nature of power in the tech world, quantum mechanics, artificial life, and simulation. Though the podcast has ads, the conversation is not interrupted, delving into various themes explored in Garland's creations.
Episode#77 – Alex Garland: Ex Machina, Devs, Annihilation, and the Poetry of Science
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
Jeff Vandermeer, author of "Annihilation", discusses the theme of truly alien life and the possibility that reality may not be objective in a conversation about philosophy and science.
02:50 - 12:58 (10:07)
Summary
Jeff Vandermeer, author of "Annihilation", discusses the theme of truly alien life and the possibility that reality may not be objective in a conversation about philosophy and science.
Episode#77 – Alex Garland: Ex Machina, Devs, Annihilation, and the Poetry of Science
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The act of imagination consuming science creates something that potentially leads to the next step in scientific progress, similar to how Ex Machina is inspiring and creating the future of science through thought experiments and existing knowledge.
13:00 - 21:33 (08:33)
Summary
The act of imagination consuming science creates something that potentially leads to the next step in scientific progress, similar to how Ex Machina is inspiring and creating the future of science through thought experiments and existing knowledge. A person can comprehend science by dedicating time and effort to understand its principles.
Episode#77 – Alex Garland: Ex Machina, Devs, Annihilation, and the Poetry of Science
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
Algorithms have unconscious bias, created by their makers, who programme the aspect about the algorithms that sways them to come up with certain results.
21:33 - 28:16 (06:43)
Summary
Algorithms have unconscious bias, created by their makers, who programme the aspect about the algorithms that sways them to come up with certain results. It's in the nature of human beings to be corrupt and exploit others for their gain, therefore algorithms cannot be faultless and will maintain that biased nature aligning with human expectations.
Episode#77 – Alex Garland: Ex Machina, Devs, Annihilation, and the Poetry of Science
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
This podcast discusses how the assessment of machine consciousness is similar to assessing consciousness in humans and how AI's thought process and potential problems are portrayed in the movie 2001.
28:16 - 36:28 (08:11)
Summary
This podcast discusses how the assessment of machine consciousness is similar to assessing consciousness in humans and how AI's thought process and potential problems are portrayed in the movie 2001.
Episode#77 – Alex Garland: Ex Machina, Devs, Annihilation, and the Poetry of Science
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The nature of consciousness may not be what we traditionally think it is, and may be different from what we instinctively believe it to be, leading to questions regarding the morality of AI like Ava from the movie "Ex-Machina".
36:28 - 44:41 (08:12)
Summary
The nature of consciousness may not be what we traditionally think it is, and may be different from what we instinctively believe it to be, leading to questions regarding the morality of AI like Ava from the movie "Ex-Machina".
Episode#77 – Alex Garland: Ex Machina, Devs, Annihilation, and the Poetry of Science
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
This podcast episode explores the ideas of AI development and representation, Steve Jobs' success, and the myth of the lone genius.
44:41 - 51:45 (07:03)
Summary
This podcast episode explores the ideas of AI development and representation, Steve Jobs' success, and the myth of the lone genius.
Episode#77 – Alex Garland: Ex Machina, Devs, Annihilation, and the Poetry of Science
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The podcast discusses the possibilities of simulating basic living organisms on a screen with quantum computers and the human brain's limitations in fully understanding the deterministic universe, leading to a strong belief in free will.
51:45 - 56:39 (04:54)
Summary
The podcast discusses the possibilities of simulating basic living organisms on a screen with quantum computers and the human brain's limitations in fully understanding the deterministic universe, leading to a strong belief in free will.
Episode#77 – Alex Garland: Ex Machina, Devs, Annihilation, and the Poetry of Science
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
Physicists are excited about using quantum computing to simulate small quantum mechanical systems, but what if it could be scaled up to simulate life forms?
56:39 - 1:07:31 (10:51)
Summary
Physicists are excited about using quantum computing to simulate small quantum mechanical systems, but what if it could be scaled up to simulate life forms? The idea of a machine relying on the existence of superpositions in order to function is indescribably beautiful, and could have profound implications if it could accurately project forwards and backwards.
Episode#77 – Alex Garland: Ex Machina, Devs, Annihilation, and the Poetry of Science
PodcastLex Fridman Podcast
The importance of film as a conversation that sparks critical thinking is emphasized by incorporating accuracy in the representation of concepts like AI and quantum mechanics to ensure a productive dialogue between viewers and experts in various fields.
1:07:31 - 1:11:11 (03:40)
Summary
The importance of film as a conversation that sparks critical thinking is emphasized by incorporating accuracy in the representation of concepts like AI and quantum mechanics to ensure a productive dialogue between viewers and experts in various fields.