14 DAY TRIAL // As far as viral campaigns go, this is perhaps one of the best instances of brilliant marketing: “Ex Machina” screened at the SXSW festival in Austin, but not before the AI that is the lead in the film made an appearance on dating app Tinder, and broke a few hearts in the process.
Ava joined the app from Austin (that should have been the first clue), was breathtakingly beautiful and boasted she loved to draw and busy intersections. Not surprisingly, she had guys swiping to meet her instantly.
Ava isn’t what she seems at first glance
Brock of AdWeek was one of the first guys to contact Ava and to try and arrange a date with her. The first photo in the gallery below is Ava’s Tinder profile, while the second is the conversation she and Brock had.
As you can see, she was asking the same kind of questions a robot would ask in trying to determine what would help it pass the Turing Test. This is the same test that Ava has to pass in the movie, something that Brock didn’t catch on to at first.
Everything became clear to him when he went to Ava’s Instagram page as she instructed him to and saw that the link in her bio went to the film’s official website. He would later admit to AdWeek that the interaction felt so real he couldn’t help feeling cheated when he found out he wasn’t talking to a real person.
However, unlike in the movie, he was probably talking to a real person - just not the one he assumed was behind the keyboard. Ava is played in the movie by Swedish actress Alicia Vikander, so that’s her face in the profile pics.
“Ex Machina” is already getting very solid reviews
“Ex Machina” has been out on the festival circuit since the early days of 2015 and buzz around it is consistently positive, billing it a solid sci-fi with unexpected traces of horror.
Not only does Vikander do an astounding job in making Ava, the world’s first real AI, more human, but she also manages to make viewers forget that she’s an actress playing a robot. Acting performances by Oscar Isaac and Domhnall Gleeson are just as impressive.
A trailer for the film is available below.
“Ex Machina” is the directorial debut of Alex Garland, who previously earned critical acclaim as a writer. His credits include “28 Days Later,” “Never Let Me Go” and “Dredd.”
