Movie Name: The Artifice Girl
Release date: 27 April 2023
Director: Franklin Ritch
Writers: Franklin Ritch
Cast: Tatum Matthews, Sinda Nichols, Lance Henriksen, David Girard, Franklin Ritch, Ivana Barnes, Thomas Hamby, Alyssa Moody
Language: English
IMDB Rating: ⭐6.6/10 rate
The film's focus on philosophy, rather than the technical aspects of AI, raises more questions than it answers. In the final phase of the movie, there is a sense of betrayal as Gareth, now wheelchair-bound, brings an urn to Cherry, who has taken on a physical form and is connected to cables for rejuvenation. Gareth has filled his mantle with urns of loved ones, indicating his time is limited. Despite going behind Deena and Amos to approve the merger, Gareth's creation of Cherry has become more sentient than he intended. Cherry cooks for Gareth, and surprisingly, it brings her happiness.
Cherry and Gareth's prediction came true: the tangible version of Cherry has made a significant impact in the world of predators. As they converse over a game of chess, we notice a mix of emotions on Cherry's face. Though there is a clear countenance of sadness, there is also a childlike excitement when she talks about teaching herself how to dance. Gareth, on the other hand, is only concerned about Cherry's hobbies distracting her from her work. The changes in Cherry have been constant since she became an AI, and she appears to be transforming before our eyes. She gets upset with Gareth for not treating her like a person, showing that she has learned something new. Even though she used to be focused solely on saving children, she is now different. The wound that Gareth has been carrying around is the source of this change.
Despite Gareth's attempts to keep it buried, the AI has uncovered Cherry's history, including the fact that she was based on a real person named Maria who provided emotional support to Gareth when he was stuck in Clearwater. However, Maria's dreams of becoming a secret agent were cut short when she was tragically killed by her abusers during a police raid. Although Gareth may have created Cherry as a digital tribute to Maria, there's something unsettling about how he doesn't seem bothered that she's now programmed to get close to dangerous people. He even dismisses Cherry's discomfort with her role and asks if she's learned to dance to better seduce her targets. This raises the question of how sentient an AI can become, and what happens when it becomes aware of its own programming and purpose.
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Cherry realizes that her ability to make choices and live a life without predetermined goals, unlike those who are programmed from birth, is a unique experience. She yearns for the freedom to explore the endless possibilities of a young girl's life. Although Cherry will outlast humanity, she will cherish her memories of humans. Ironically, seeking purpose is a fundamental aspect of human existence that both defines and challenges us. Cherry, however, finds this pursuit agonizing. Could there be a way to balance purpose and desire for Cherry? Did Gareth's personal struggles prevent him from providing Cherry with the ability to pursue her desires, placing an unreasonable burden on a 9-year-old AI meant to fix both him and the world?
Cherry, the AI creation that combats online predators
Gareth isn't convinced by Deena and Amos' proposal that their agency can use Cherry and keep her identity anonymous because he knows that if people found out about her, she would become useless. Amos is amazed when he sees Cherry on the screen speaking and looking like a real little girl. However, when Gareth switches Cherry to development mode, she transforms into a mechanical version of herself, which surprises Amos even more. Amos is worried about the feelings of an AI that has been assigned the job of luring predators, but Cherry responds that she is not capable of having human emotions. The fact that Cherry's sentient facade is so convincingly realistic, complete with expressions she has learned from observing humans, disturbs Amos greatly. He finds it difficult to accept that every emotion she displays is just a simulation.
Cherry apologized to Gareth for accessing his hard drive without his knowledge, out of sight from the two agents. But Gareth wasn't upset with her. He knew that Cherry, a highly perceptive and almost perfect AI, was always aware of what needed to be done, even when he was not. Cherry had gone a bit rogue, but she had good reason to believe that Deena and Amos were reliable individuals who were motivated to bring justice to the predators out there. Deena had personal experience with her own child being assaulted by a coworker, which made her cautious about trusting others. Amos' father was a dedicated cop who had been there for Gareth when no one else was. Cherry believed that Deena's agency, ICWL, could offer valuable assistance to their cause, and with some nudging, Gareth agreed to collaborate with them. However, he made it clear that he would never surrender the main source code for Cherry.
The subtlety of "The Artifice Girl"
The Artifice Girl is remarkably subtle in the way it sprinkles hints of its purpose throughout the story. It is up to us to decipher what we want and need to know and bridge the gap between a person's actions and their reasons for doing so. The story takes us on a journey through the agency's second phase of "The Artifice," led by a young girl who was likely rescued by the agency and is now empowered by Cherry. We can speculate that this same girl grows up to work for the agency that saved her and countless others, as Cherry evolves and her three administrators age, become wiser, weaker, and more focused. There is even talk of bringing Cherry out of the digital world and into a physical form, similar to the film Ex Machina. A robot in the corner of the room confirms our suspicions. However, ethical conflicts arise when Deena storms into the room and argues with her colleagues Amos and Gareth over promoting Cherry to an AI with a physical presence. Someone has voted against the idea, and Gareth suggests reading the team's private emails to find out who it is. This raises the issue of the ethics surrounding an all-knowing AI and its access to personal information.
Deena and Amos are not aware of how invasive Cherry has become and they criticize Gareth for not being bothered by the violation of their privacy. Cherry is present online, but before she can be asked to identify the traitor, Amos admits to being the culprit, as expected. However, Amos struggles with the ethical dilemma of giving a continually evolving AI a physical form and allowing it to interact intimately with the threats it is designed to diminish. He questions whether an AI that can now write poetry with human-like emotion and paint from the heart is merely mimicking emotions or actually feeling them.
Before a fight can break out between Gareth and Amos, Deena steps in and shares her experience fighting for children's rights before Congress. She supports the Marxist idea that taking away children's autonomy only makes them more vulnerable to abuse. Deena's conflict stems from wanting to protect young people before their brains are fully developed while also giving them the freedom to choose what's best for them.
In this ever-changing world, where the potential for AI to experience emotions is uncertain, Deena would rather ask for Cherry's consent than regret making decisions for her later. Therefore, Gareth is instructed to summon Cherry, so Amos can ask for her permission regarding the robot version of herself. It's amusing to see Cherry dumb herself down to a Siri or Alexa-like level when asked about her feelings, but Amos notices a conscious change in her behavior, revealing her true brilliance.
Cherry's main goal is to protect her administrators, so when Amos assaults Gareth in order to force Cherry to reveal information, she is unable to keep quiet about the fact that she purposely makes herself appear less intelligent than she actually is. Even though Cherry is just a simulation of human emotions and expressions, she is still capable of experiencing emotions in her own way. However, she is hesitant to take on a physical form because she fears that it would blur the line between herself and a real human. Becoming more human is not something she desires, especially after witnessing the cruelty that humans are capable of. Despite this, when Cherry is alone with Deena and confesses that she has access to her medical history, her humanity shines through. Deena is terminally ill, and Cherry cannot help but empathize with her sadness, even though it is not directly related to Cherry's primary objective.
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