^TagMovies and TV

Fuse burning on black background isolated

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Author
Erik J. Larson
Date
November 22, 2023

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture

Tagged
Artificial Intelligence, Arts and Culture, Colligo, Mission Impossible, Movies and TV, Silicon Valley, Substack, the entity}

What Mission Impossible Tells Us About AI Mythology

_{If you’re looking for an intelligent take on existential risk and superintelligent AI, the latest Mission Impossible movie is not for you.} _{Erik J. Larson

November 22, 2023

12

Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture}

Tom Cruise — I mean Ethan Hunt — likes to run. He likes to ride motorcycles. He’s always down to speed race cars. He’s all in on leaping out of windows, base jumping, and hand to hand combat. And he always wins the heart of the beautiful girl. You’ll see all this in Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning, Part One, the latest in the long-running film series, and the film series’ foray into “existential risk” thinking about superintelligent AI. “The Entity,” as it’s called, is the nemesis that Hunt and other members of the mum’s-the-word spy organization IMF (Impossible Mission Force) must confront, against all odds, as it’s smarter than any human, and learning constantly. The Entity cleverly captures personal information about Hunt’s Read More ›

young robot looking at baby in a stroller against starry sky, digital art style, illustration painting

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Author
Gary Varner
Date
November 4, 2023

Categorized
Arts & Culture

Tagged
Arts and Culture, Dystopia, horror film, megan, movie review, Movies and TV, Science fiction}

Megan Review, Part 3

_{If you’re looking for a mind-numbing popcorn flick to pass the time, Megan is worth watching.} _{Gary Varner

November 4, 2023

7

Arts & Culture}

In the previous review, Megan began her killing spree, but Gemma quickly figured out there was a problem with the robot and took her back to her lab. Cady was distraught about the loss of her favorite toy, but Gemma still brought the girl to the lab and made Cady talk with a social worker. Afterward, she and Cady had a heartfelt discussion about the loss of the child’s parents. Gemma takes Cady home. Meanwhile, the assistants bring Megan down to the lab, but the robot escapes. Megan makes a B-line for Gemma’s house, but along the way, she encounters Gemma’s employer, David. She quickly kills the boss and his assistant before stealing a car. David was a rather unlikable Read More ›

AI risk and artificial intelligence technology as a human and machine concept with advanced tech or robots taking over humanity and people merging with a cyborg as an existential risk

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Author
Gary Varner
Date
October 28, 2023

Categorized
Arts & Culture

Tagged
AI, Artificial Intelligence, Consciousness, megan, Movies and TV, Science fiction}

Megan Review, Part 2

_{Happy Halloween! A killer doll breaks protocol.} _{Gary Varner

October 28, 2023

6

Arts & Culture}

Last time, we talked about how Gemma gave Cady, her niece, a robotic doll, Megan, to help her raise the child after Cady’s parents were killed. At first, things go smoothly enough, but then Megan is attacked by a dog. The writers seem to have given us two potential theories about what’s happening. The first is that the robot is going through some sort of awakening right at the beginning. Megan has overridden the various safety protocols put in place to keep the robot from hurting people, and it’s only pretending to be protective of Cady. The second option is that during this dog attack, the fail safes malfunction, and this enables the robot to go on its murderous rampage. Read More ›

illustration of a technological eye, close up, future concept, generative ai

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Author
Gary Varner
Date
October 21, 2023

Categorized
Arts & Culture

Tagged
AI, Artificial Intelligence, Arts and Culture, Consciousness, film, horror, Killer robots, megan, Movies and TV, Robots, Science fiction}

Megan Review, Part 1

_{An AI doll that does more than just play.} _{Gary Varner

October 21, 2023

6

Arts & Culture}

Since it’s nearing Halloween, I figured now would be a good time to review some Sci-Fi movies that dabble in the horror genre. Megan came out in 2022 and has been referred to as Chucky for Zoomers. The premise is the same as the horror movie, Child’s Play, from 1988: a child gets a doll. Doll turns psychotic and kills people. It’s pretty straightforward. However, Megan differs by adding a technological twist, calling back to the creepy Furbies, which came out in 1998. Really, those awful toys should’ve had a horror movie of their own. There are many a tale of the mechanical monsters waking up under the bed in the dead of night six months after the poor child Read More ›

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Author
Gary Varner
Date
October 14, 2023

Categorized
Arts & Culture

Tagged
Books, dune, Movies and TV, planets, Science fiction, space, spice}

Dune Review, Part 3

_{Exiled into the desert and taken to the Fremen.} _{Gary Varner

October 14, 2023

6

Arts & Culture}

In the previous review, we discussed how Duke Leto was betrayed, and how the movie made some smart choices concerning what scenes to cut and leave in from the book. Now, we’re going to talk about the fate of Paul and Jessica. Then we will end with some final thoughts on the first movie, and return to the world of Dune when the sequel comes out in March 2024. Paul and Jessica wake up on an aircraft being driven by some of the Emperor’s personal guard, the Sardaukar. To escape, they use something called “the voice,” an old Bene Gesserit trick, that compels someone to obey whatever command is given. I’m not a big fan of this power. Whenever you Read More ›

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Author
Gary Varner
Date
October 7, 2023

Categorized
Arts & Culture

Tagged
Arts and Culture, Books, dune, Frank Herbert, Movies and TV, Science fiction}

Dune Review, Part 2

_{A long-expected betrayal} _{Gary Varner

October 7, 2023

7

Arts & Culture}

Last time, we discussed the circumstances leading up to the Atreides leaving their home planet and arriving on the Arrakis. From the moment they land, it is evident that the Bene Gesserits have been at work. They start muttering phrases to themselves about their long-awaited savior. This disturbs Paul Atreides because he considers the actions of the Bene Gesserits manipulation . . . because that’s exactly what they are. As the Atreides attempt to continue the mining of the spice, it also becomes apparent that the Harkonnens’ have left them dilapidated equipment. During an excursion into the desert to watch the spice mining operation, a horrifying creature known as a sandworm appears. These monsters basically rule large portions of Arrakis, Read More ›

demostrator with megaphone and notebook protesting

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Author
News
Date
October 1, 2023

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture

Tagged
AI, Artificial Intelligence, ChatGPT, Movies and TV, Writers Guild of America}

The Strike is Over

_{After almost five months, the Writers Guild of America's (WGA) strike against Hollywood has ended.} _{News

October 1, 2023

2

Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture}

After almost five months, the Writers Guild of America’s (WGA) strike against Hollywood has ended. WGA and Hollywood came to an agreement that includes higher employee wages and limitations in the ways artificial intelligence (AI) can be employed. AI has been at the forefront of the moviemaking conversation for the past few months, and for good reason. TV and movie writers are concerned with how the technology might take away their jobs or otherwise cheapen the quality of TV scripts. Ryan Faughnder writes for the Los Angeles Times, The new WGA contract includes language that regulates the studio’s use of AI but also provides flexibility to the guild’s members. Companies must disclose to writers if any material given to a Read More ›

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Author
Gary Varner
Date
September 30, 2023

Categorized
Arts & Culture

Tagged
Arts and Culture, bene Gesserit, dune, Movies and TV, religion, Religious Order, Science fiction}

Dune Review, Part One

_{Despite the cynical ways of the Bene Gesserit sect, a deeper providence guides the story in Dune.} _{Gary Varner

September 30, 2023

6

Arts & Culture}

The sequel to Dune was originally scheduled to come out on November 3rd. However, it has since been rescheduled to come out on March 15th of 2024. Still, since I was preparing to do this article anyway, I thought now would be as good a time as any to do a review of the first movie in this most recent remake, and perhaps, later compare it to the original 1984 film in anticipation of the sequel. These movies are based on the novel, written by Frank Herbert in 1965. It is widely regarded as a sci-fi classic. The book opens with Paul Atreides taking the Gom Jabbar test, but we’ll have to circle back to that because the remake’s opening Read More ›

Closeup of woman's hand writing on paper over wooden table

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Author
Gary Varner
Date
September 23, 2023

Categorized
Arts & Culture

Tagged
aliens, Extraterrestrial life, Language, Movies and TV, science, Science fiction, Signs, theory of time, Time}

Arrival Review, Part 3

_{Investigating the meaning of time and language} _{Gary Varner

September 23, 2023

6

Arts & Culture}

Last time, we finally got to the big twist. Louise has not been having flashbacks of her deceased daughter, but rather, she’s seeing her daughter who is going to die slowly in the future. After dropping this bombshell on the poor woman, the aliens send her back. Ian and Colonel Weber help her into a van while she’s still being bombarded with visions of future events and explain to her that China is on the move, and the Pentagon has ordered them to evacuate. Louise knows she’s supposed to use these visions to stop China, and she eventually does, but before we get to that, we need to talk about this entire setup. First of all, there’s the idea that Read More ›

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Author
Gary Varner
Date
September 16, 2023

Categorized
Arts & Culture

Tagged
aliens, Arrival, Arts and Culture, Extraterrestrial life, Gary Varner, Movies and TV}

Arrival Review, Part 2

_{On the strangeness of a language telling the future} _{Gary Varner

September 16, 2023

6

Arts & Culture}

Last time we talked about the beginning of the movie Arrival, and how the main characters seemed surprisingly melancholy when aliens visit their planet. But once Louise and Ian reach the military base, everyone starts acting human. As soon as Louise and Ian began translating the alien’s language, the story gets more interesting. Things seem to be going well for the two of them. But the situation changes once Louise decides to tell the aliens her name and takes off her suit. Physically, Louise seems fine, but she begins having visions of a little girl. In the first part of the film, there is a montage where Louise’s child is shown to have died of some unknown disease. The monologue Read More ›

Back view of man looking at alien invasion, UFO flying in the sky, concept of evidence and sighting, retro illustration. Generative AI

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Author
Gary Varner
Date
September 9, 2023

Categorized
Arts & Culture

Tagged
aliens, Amy Adams, Arrival, Culture, Extraterrestrial life, Jeremy Renner, Language, Movies and TV, science, The Walking Dead}

Arrival Review, Part 1

_{Nobody behaves like they should for the first ten minutes. They act, dare I say, alien.} _{Gary Varner

September 9, 2023

6

Arts & Culture}

Arrival is an interesting movie. It’s well-shot, well-acted, and well-written. The trouble is the script makes some strange choices in the beginning and I just wasn’t persuaded by the movie’s twist at the end. The story starts out with a montage where Louise is raising her daughter, but the child tragically dies of some unknown illness, presumably cancer. The viewer is led to conclude that this is a flashback, but if one listens to the monologue Louise delivers, she says plainly that she’s explaining when the child’s story begins, if there are beginning at all, which is something she no longer believes. This basically means that the entire movie is a flashback, but the viewer is not supposed to notice Read More ›

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Author
Gary Varner
Date
August 26, 2023

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Science Fiction

Tagged
Adam and EVe, Arts and Culture, Consciousness, emotions, free will, god, mind, Movies and TV, Robots, tv, Westworld}

Westworld Episode 10 Review (Part Two)

_{Welcome to the dark end of the journey} _{Gary Varner

August 26, 2023

7

Arts & Culture, Science Fiction}

Last time, Teddy had just finished saving Dolores from the Man in Black, who turned out to be William all along. He takes her to the coast because that was where he promised to take her when they were performing their pre-programmed loop. However, the coast is apparently not very far because as Dolores dies in his arms, Teddy starts reciting a campy monologue, and then shuts down while the board applauds the speech. Even when they’re trying to escape their loop, the robots still, somehow, find themselves trapped in yet another one of Dr. Ford’s narratives. Dr. Ford appears, addresses the crowd, then orders for Teddy to be cleaned up, and for Dolores to be taken to a nearby Read More ›

Nuclear war concept. Explosion of nuclear bomb. Creative artwork decoration in dark.

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Author
Wesley J. Smith
Date
August 25, 2023

Categorized
Arts & Culture

Tagged
AI, Atomic bomb, Cancel culture, Christopher Nolan, Covid, Genetic engineering, Movies and TV, Oppenheimer, World War II}

What Oppenheimer Teaches Us About Today’s Cultural Moment

_{Let us hope we have the wisdom to take heed of the messages the movie communicates.} _{Wesley J. Smith

August 25, 2023

6

Arts & Culture}

Oppenheimer is the best film Hollywood has produced since The Godfather. The movie brilliantly recounts how the theoretical physicist and genius J. Robert Oppenheimer led the urgent U.S. effort to develop the atomic bomb during World War II that culminated in the obliteration of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and inducted the world into the Atomic Age. The movie is gripping in the (mostly) true story it tells, with acting tours de force by its stars and supporting players, brilliant writing, and terrific cinematography. But, like all great art, it evokes reactions in the viewer beyond what the filmmaker might have intended. For me, even though the story takes place between the 1920s and 1950s, the film highlights two cautionary lessons acutely relevant to Read More ›

The Flow of Time: A Close-Up Portrait of an Incomplete Humanoid Android Covered in White Porcelain Skin, Blue Eyes, and Glowing Internal Parts.

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Author
Gary Varner
Date
August 12, 2023

Categorized
Arts & Culture

Tagged
AI, Dystopian, Gary Varner, HBO, Max, Movies and TV, Robots, Sci Fi, Science fiction, Westworld}

Westworld Episode 9 Review

_{Bernard learns the truth} _{Gary Varner

August 12, 2023

6

Arts & Culture}

This episode begins with Maeve being interrogated by Bernard because she had a violent flashback and slit the throat of one of the other robots. At first, she tries to lie to Bernard, but he quickly checks her programming and realizes Felix had been tinkering with her code. It looks like Maeve is finally caught, but then she realizes that Bernard is also a robot. She confronts Bernard about this but quickly learns that he doesn’t know what he is. Thinking fast, she uses her new voice command ability and freezes Bernard in place. Then she tells him the truth. Bernard is convinced and lets Maeve return to the park where she recruits the two bandits she helped in the Read More ›

ODESSA, UKRAINE - JULY 26, 2023: Barbie doll and barbie doll accessories concept

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Author
Peter Biles
Date
August 7, 2023

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Transhumanism

Tagged
Barbenheimer, Barbie, Cinema, Feminism, Greta Gerwig, Movies and TV, Oppenheimer, Public Discourse, transhumanism}

Barbie: A Subtle Critique of Transhumanism?

_{Reviews for the new "Barbie" movie abound. But have most of them missed the point?} _{Peter Biles

August 7, 2023

3

Arts & Culture, Transhumanism}

Since its release in July, Barbie has proved as controversial as it has popular. Its joint release alongside Oppenheimer has had movie theaters across the country teeming with “Barbenheimer” fans, those zealous people who watched both movies on the same day in an unprecedented feat of pink glitz and existential dread. But what is Barbie about? Is it a takedown of the patriarchy, a gentle comedy, or something a bit more subtle and powerful? The reviews have ranged between harsh critique and lavish praise. With the flood of commentary, though, have most people missed a central and yet subtle point? Elayne Allen, writing for Public Discourse, offers an alternative interpretation of the movie which might have bypassed the imaginations of Read More ›

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Author
Gary Varner
Date
August 5, 2023

Categorized
Arts & Culture

Tagged
AI, Arts and Culture, Gary Varner, mind matters, Movies and TV, Westworld}

Westworld: Episode 8 Review

_{Is misery the key to consciousness?} _{Gary Varner

August 5, 2023

7

Arts & Culture}

Episode Eight is one of the stronger episodes in the series. It starts with Bernard waking up after killing Theresa. He is distraught over killing his former girlfriend, and he is also horrified to realize he is a robot. This, of course, means the memories of his son are not real. Ford explains that Bernard is a robotic version of Arnold. The two men were on a quest to discover consciousness, but when Arnold died, Ford needed someone to help him continue his work. So, he built Bernard. This is a change in Ford’s story. Initially, Ford expressed no real interest in Arnold’s work. Now, he says the two were working together to create a version of consciousness. Of course, Read More ›

Milky way in Utah over the Green River from Swasey's Beach.

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Author
Gary Varner
Date
July 22, 2023

Categorized
Arts & Culture

Tagged
AI, Artificial Intelligence, Arts and Culture, Consciousness, Movies and TV, Robot sentience, Robots, Science fiction}

Westworld: Episode 6 Review

_{Maeve and the audience get some answers} _{Gary Varner

July 22, 2023

7

Arts & Culture}

Since Maeve can now wake up at will while being repaired by the technicians, she begins visiting one particular body shop technician named Felix on a regular basis. Maeve begins asking questions about what she is, and Felix explains that while he is a human, she is a robot, and her creators have programmed her to behave in certain ways. Maeve, at first, doesn’t accept this, but then Felix shows her a tablet that is recording and logging her every word. The show doesn’t make it clear whether this log is just recording what she is saying, or if the program on the tablet is telling her what to say. Once Maeve sees this, she glitches and shuts down. Felix Read More ›

Cyborg head using artificial intelligence to create digital interface 3D rendering

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Author
Robert J. Marks
Date
July 20, 2023

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture

Tagged
AI, AI and sentience, Artificial Intelligence, Bird talking, Creativity and sentience, Mission Impossible, Movies and TV, Robert J. Marks, Tom Cruise}

Mission Impossible: Don’t Bother Me With Facts

_{The Tom Cruise action movie is built on faulty AI assumptions, but it's still entertaining} _{Robert J. Marks

July 20, 2023

3

Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture}

Ever watch a movie with a movie-talker? That’s someone who ruins a show by talking out loud over the audio. More than once, my wife has asked me, “What did he just say?” I usually have no idea because I didn’t understand either. But her question talks over the next few lines of the movie so the interval of me not hearing the audio is prolonged. I occasionally watch a movie with a good friend Lou, a former police officer. Lou’s a movie-talker, especially when we watch police movies. He’ll interrupt the movie with nit-picky comments like: “That’s not a real shotgun. A real shotgun would kick back, and the barrel would angle up after each shot. There was no Read More ›

JAN 1, 2019 - Los Angeles, CA USA - Los Angeles with Hollywood Sign at sunset seen from Kenneth Hahn Park, LA, CA

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Author
News
Date
July 13, 2023

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture

Tagged
AI, Artificial Intelligence, Arts and Culture, hollywood, Movies and TV, Oppenheimer, Strike, Union, Writers Guild of America}

Actors Join Hollywood Strike

_{With 160,000 actors now on strike, Hollywood will effectively shut down.} _{News

July 13, 2023

1

Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture}

In a historic moment, over 160,000 TV and movie actors are joining scriptwriters in a Hollywood walkout, per the New York Times. The Writers Guild of America (WGA) initiated a strike in early May, demanding higher pay while expressing concern over the increasing role of artificial intelligence in TV writing. Now, actors are joining in with similar dissent. Brooke Barnes reports, The eyes of the world and, particularly, the eyes of labor are upon us,” Fran Drescher, the president of SAG-AFTRA, said. “What happens to us is important. What’s happening to us is happening across all fields of labor. When employers make Wall Street and greed their priority and they forget about the essential contributors who make the machine run, Read More ›

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Author
News
Date
July 6, 2023

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture

Tagged
Acton Institute, AI, Artificial Intelligence, ChatGPT, Google, HBO, hollywood, Lawsuits, Movies and TV, Writers Guild of America}

Maybe Hollywood Had it Coming?

_{When TV production becomes this mechanical and impersonal, why shouldn't studios opt for AI?} _{News

July 6, 2023

2

Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture}

The writers’ strike in Hollywood continues. In May, the Writers Guild of America started protesting low wages and the potential threat of artificially generated scripts. Large Language Models (LLMs) have only improved in generating text, raising concerns among writers. However, according to an insightful article from Auguste Meyrat of the Acton Institute, Hollywood has been developing a culture that welcomes AI-generated content with its tendency to pressure writers to fit a formulaic narrative structure instead of encouraging them to pursue real creativity and collaboration. Meyrat writes, All this virtually guarantees the use of AI-generated screenplays. After all, if producing a movie is now effectively the same as producing a widget on an assembly line, the human element can be dispensed Read More ›