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The last time I touched on artificial intelligence (AI) and sexual exploitation, it involved a movie review for the direct-to-video action flick called Virtual Combat. A film of its time, it certainly didn’t do well with that topic. I decided to tread the well-worn path of Ai movies on this site and came across a Tubi treasure The Artifice Girl from 2002, which is brimming with an array of barely relevant actors. Unlike the rest of the cast, the casting director managed to snag one big name Lance Henriksen (Aliens, Pumpkinhead [1988], Near Dark). While Capricorn does tend to do his part very well, the convincing eye stretch of the movie itself is a fuss that looks a jaw-dropping fifty years ahead into the future and concerns itself with the science fiction aspects (the recognition and respect of artificial life forms, advancement in technologies, falling ecology) as well as the sinister side of humanity.
Gareth (portrayed by the director of the film Franklin Ritch – New Wings: A Batgirl Fan Film [2018]), a skilled computer animator gets dragged into an interrogation chamber by two US federal agents. The agents, Deena, intend to accuse Gareth of soliciting minors for sexual favors on the internet. This meeting is extremely complicated as the agents are attempting a good cop/bad cop routine on yet another perverted criminal. Instead, they stumble upon a treasure. Gareth is not just another computer geek. He is a pedophile baiter with an extensive spending history on AI conversational models along with a procedural video generator. He then turns the information these criminals give him in their solicitation to the federal authority that combats online pedophiles which Deena and Amos are part of. The way he makes Cherry, an AI model he created for his purpose, help was astonishing. Gareth struggles attempting to make them sign an NDA under the condition that his identity remains undisclosed until they meet Cherry. The agents agree, and that is how the story begins, in a remarkably adventurous and dubious manner.
Cherry (played by Tatum Matthews, “A Waltons Thanksgiving” [VoD]) possesses two forms: a low-resolution video presentation mode which is procedurally generated to deceive pedophiles on the internet, and a developer mode with high-resolution which displays a convincing image of a young girl who both agents thought was a real person. While Deena seems all set to cooperate with Gareth, Amos doesn’t for some reason understand how Cherry works, and how it is that she is able to look so real. Gareth is quick to remind both agents that Cherry is NOT real but does volunteer some information, admitting that some of the clues that make Cherry so good were provided to him on a silver platter. While Gareth is secretive about his accomplishments, Deena is willing to put him and Cherry on her “spearhead” against child molesters.
What’s about to unfold is the culmination of five decades that contain AI, governmental inquiry, mystery, and plenty of other things that intrigue the human mind. With Cherry’s knowledge of AI programming and digital snooping, Cherry is able to see into the lives of other people, which allows her to accurately predict their future endeavors. As time paces on, however, she no longer seeks only to capture pedophiles; rather, she crosses the line between man and machine as she strives toward artificial superintelligence. By the end, we realize where Cherry emerged from and if you have a heart, the truth will utterly devastate you.
This movie made me feel less alone in my never-ending concern for the current situation regarding AI and how each program is evolving. It leaves me thinking: What exactly do we do? Do we treat them (as many would say) as ‘artificial slaves’? Gab them as a usurper of humanity’s hegemony? Or do we provide AI programs with the respect that we humans deny each other? I feel it was imparted on Amos to deal with this issue too, since being the only non-white person, specifically Black in such a production, he knew fairly well how he gets stripped of all rights to change things he can. Amos even mentioned a question Cherry was posed before she set out Did she give tasks waiting for her some form of consent? It is something that is pertinent to a whole lot rather than just AI. The script on the whole was remarkable and the premise was ideal. It felt like the ending was put together hastily, but I feel like it served as a symbolic indicator of Cherry’s plight as an AI program.
The world in the film adapts over time, which is a delight: futuristic computer interfaces are used alongside masks due to terrible air quality. Possibly, the best part of the film is the scarce space and the strategically used lighting at each set to create tension between the characters. Amazing from top to bottom. All of it is incredible, and it is available on VOD, so download it whenever you can!
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