Interview: Will AI be dangerous or benign? It’s up to us, says Ex Machina director

By Drew Prindle Published April 24, 2015

If you haven’t already seen the sci-fi thriller Ex Machina, do yourself a favor and clear out a couple hours in your weekend schedule to go hit the movie theater. It opens up at theaters across the country today, and it’s not getting rave reviews for nothin’.

To gear up for the release, we got writer and director Alex Garland (Dredd, 28 Days Later) to hop on the phone and answer a few questions about the movie, artificial intelligence, and why he thinks Google is going to take over the world. Check it out — we made sure to keep the interview spoiler-free, so you’ve got nothing to worry about.

Drew Prindle

Former Senior Editor, Features

Drew Prindle is an award-winning writer, editor, and storyteller who currently serves as Senior Features Editor for Digital…

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Audio / Video

YouTube is reworking the Home page with Custom Feeds and quicker access to Subscriptions

Saved Custom Feeds are rolling out as YouTube also experiments with a redesigned Home navigation bar.

YouTube is changing how its Home page works, giving viewers more control over what shows up there and making some of the app’s most-used sections easier to reach. Custom Feeds are now replacing the existing topic chips for eligible users, while YouTube is also testing a redesigned top bar on mobile that moves Subscriptions closer to the Home feed.

YouTube first started experimenting with Custom Feeds earlier this year, letting you type out what you wanted to watch and turning that request into its own stream of recommendations. Now, the feature is starting to look less like a side experiment and more like something YouTube actually wants people to use as part of their everyday Home page.

Entertainment

EXCLUSIVE: How Klara and the Sun warns of a future where humans compete with AI

What Does Klara and the Sun Say About the Dangers of AI?

Jenna Ortega stars in Klara and the Sun.

Artificial intelligence has already changed people's lives, both at home and at work, but what happens when people start treating AI as a replacement for their loved ones? Filmmaker Taika Waititi explores this terrifying idea with his new sci-fi movie, Klara and the Sun. Based on the novel by Kazuo Ishiguro, the film follows Klara, a solar-powered "Artificial Friend" played by Jenna Ortega, as she bonds with Josie, a sick teenager.

Klara and the Sun paints an unusual, unsettling portrait of a world with AI. Essentially The Wizard of Oz meets Blade Runner, Waititi's dystopian film is filled with his brand of vibrant visuals and quirky humor. But beneath all that, the film tells a deeper, more serious story about AI and whether it can cause the downfall of society and human connection.

Entertainment

Spotify has kicked 50 million AI slop tracks out of your recommendations

Spotify is cleaning up your music recommendations, and AI-generated spam is finally getting the boot.

Finding new music on Spotify is one of those little joys that can turn an ordinary day around. You play a song you love, let the recommendations take over, and occasionally stumble upon an artist you wish you’d discovered sooner. But with AI making it ridiculously easy to produce music in bulk, not everything landing in your recommendations deserves a listen.

Spotify knows this is becoming a problem, and it’s acting on it. The streaming giant has revealed it filtered more than 50 million spammy, low-quality tracks from its recommendations this year. That’s on top of another 75 million tracks it has completely removed from the platform for repeatedly or seriously breaking its rules. And Spotify isn’t stopping there — it wants to make sure actual artists aren’t buried under an endless stream of AI-generated content.