Take a look at the enduring appeal of James Cameron’s Avatar sequel, which continues to rock the box office charts more than a month after its release, and M3GAN is sure to get people excited to head to the cinema in 2023.
After taking in $100 million (£81m) earlier, the horror event, which this week is set for a rapid-fire sequel to 2025, is filled with the genre long trusted by Hollywood screenwriters.
An orphan? Check. A shocking death? Check. An embarrassing doll? Yes, check it.
But rather than being possessed by demons or serial killers like its cinematic ancestors Annabelle and Chucky, M3GAN is powered by something far more terrifying: Artificial Intelligence (AI).
AI with terrifying abilities has been a staple of filmmakers for decades – from Cameron Terminator to the HAL in 2001: A Space Odysseyviewers find it an irresistible source of escapism.
But M3GAN begins in a world where AI and related ethical dilemmas are all around us, from voice assistants we happily invite into our homes; For an artistic robot giving evidence in Westminster.
M3GAN director Gerard Johnston told Sky News: “The race to create general purpose AI is good, and not really thinking about the concepts – that’s normal humanity.”
‘Like Tobacco in the 50s’
It’s that ethos that seeps into the design of the film’s title character, who is positioned as the ultimate “cool babysitter” irresistible to both adults and children.
M3GAN is the product of a high-tech toy company, hilariously revealed with a ridiculous level of satire.
Because while Alexa and Siri aren’t out to cause the kind of disruption that 3GAN predicts, the habits users will create around it aren’t far from reality.
Just as Allison Williams’ Gemma gave her niece a toy to keep her entertained, many parents use smartphones or smart speakers to keep their kids busy.
It’s hard to imagine similar scenes when M3GAN’s new best friend is upset about her disappearance, when a boy is told to put down his iPad.
“I was coming at it from a parent’s perspective,” Johnstone said.
“How ubiquitous iPads and smartphones are — how can you teach your kids about the dangers of that, with screen time and things like that.
“I believe that we will look back and all this technology could have been the same as tobacco in the 50s.
“I really need to get my hands off the iPhone jam.”
Why be a parent when you have technology? Photo: Universal
Real robots that inspired M3GAN
Johnstone’s “jumping off point” is Furby, a soft toy robot from the ’90s whose dead eyes seem to pierce your soul, while the M3GAN is partly inspired by an android named Sophia.
Developed by Hanson Robotics, Sophia quickly achieved celebrity-like global fame when it launched back in 2016.
Built by a former Disney theme parks engineer to mimic human behavior using AI, speech recognition and advanced robotics, Sophia has become a human being who can work in healthcare, customer service and events.
A year later, she appeared on a chat show, in music videos, was named the first “Champion of Creativity” of the United Nations and was granted citizenship in Saudi Arabia, to some mockery – creator David Hanson suggested that she could promote women’s rights.
But don’t think all that. To Johnstone, “She looks like a prop in a John Carpenter movie.
He added: “The more realistic they are, the more it seems to make people laugh.
Sofia (left) is the United Nations ambassador
According to Kathryn Bresling, who worked on the technology behind Amazon Alexa Sky News Big Ideas live eventhistory is loaded with attempts to assign human agency to technology.
And Sophia isn’t alone, Ai-Da – the previously mentioned artist robot who gave evidence of the technology and inventors’ house claim – has an equally human charm.
Its creator, Aidan Mellor, told Sky News last year that it will help people understand the “huge and sweeping changes” AI is bringing.
Elon MuskHe did it by announcing it at the end of 2022 Tesla’s humanoid robotthe billionaire wants to mass produce and sell to the public.
“I think Optimus will be incredible in five or 10 years, like a brain teaser,” he said.
And let’s not forget that Killer robots are about to become public policy in San FranciscoPolice wanted to deploy explosive-laden machines to fend off “dangerous suspects.”
“The times we live in are truly absurd,” says Johnstone – and it’s hard to argue.
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AI robot answers the question on art
What’s next for M3GAN?
Science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke famously said that the best technology is “indistinguishable from magic.”
Few would argue that any of these creepy robots are even close to that, but the idea of humanoid robots going rogue is. It’s not what experts think should keep us up at night..
In fact, M3GAN’s success shows that people are happy to see the prospect more as an escape than anything else.
“Ultimately, I wanted this to be a fun movie,” says Johnston. “But if people think about things seriously, from a parenting perspective, from an AI regulation perspective, that can only be a good thing.”
With two years to go until M3GAN 2.0, with Johnstone not yet confirmed to lead, who knows what our relationship with AI might be like by then.
And while ChatGPT might not be smart enough to get co-authoring credit. (Johnston tried it, it has limits), Hollywood has to move on.
“Whether it’s M3GAN 2 or something else, the conversation is evolving,” he told Sky News. “It is important to consider how the audience and users are affected by these products and what this does psychologically, we must stay ahead of the conversation.”
