Ava Versus Ash: Who's Truly Intelligent?

Ava, from Ex Machina, was a far better example of “artificial intelligence” than Ash from Be Right Back. When compared to Ash, Ava seemed to have a mind of her own. She was conniving, cunning, and deceitful (all unfortunate characteristics of a true human). Ava used her intelligence to play on the emotions and feelings of a human male in order to obtain freedom. This type of deceitfulness involved the use of her mind . Surprisingly, Ava was able to make her own decisions based on responses she received from Caleb. The ability for Ava to make decisions drawn from her own perspectives and interpretations of human behavior through interaction places emphasis on her achievement of AI. Ash on the other hand was more of a collection of stored data acquired from the real Ash’s personal accounts taken from the internet. He simply repeated what was expected of him in certain situations. Simply parroting what someone has said does not make you an intelligent being. It does not show artificial intelligence in the least. For example, when Martha was upset with him and initiated an argument, he continued to ask what she wanted rather than shout/argue back. When she told him to leave he did with no question. If that Ash had AI, surely he would have exhibited some type of emotion (even if it was acting) or he would have attempted to argue back with Martha.

Another way Ava demonstrates her artificial intelligence is through her ability to be creative. Ava’s creativity paints her to be almost self-thinking. Being creative is clearly not something Ash can do. Ash cannot do anything the previous Ash did not do because he is simply mimicking the original Ash. For example, Ava created artwork based on her own perspective and interpretation of Caleb and his features. Ash mimicked moves he’d seen in previous pornography videos when having sex with Martha. Nothing the second Ash does is truly original or creative. He is simply a limited copy of a human being. He does not have his own emotions, he does not have his own desires, but rather he simply follows the instructions of his owner Martha. Ava showed an innate desire to be free. She expressed a desire to be on her own and to be her own individual. Ash did not express anything of this nature. He had no desire to become his own person. He had no desire to be freed from Martha. Based on these observations, Ava is an example of AI while Ash is not.

Concerning moral obligations to other intelligent beings, every intelligent being should be treated with respect and should be treated ethically. With the thought that these other “intelligent beings” do have AI like Ava, then we should treat them with the same respect as we give others. If other intelligent beings can exhibit their own independent desires and exhibit self-thinking behaviors like Ava, then I believe we are morally obligated to treat them much like humans. Personally speaking, these obligations should still hold even if they aren’t natural or organic. Today, people are being fused with mechanical/robotic limbs and parts (even of the brain) yet they are still treated as humans and given the same rights as other humans. So if these “other intelligent beings” look human, act human, but have robotic parts, doesn’t that mean that they should be treated humanely and with respect?