It is true that toys have always occupied a special place in horror. Dolls like “Chucky” or “Anabelle” have managed to settle in the collective imagination and it no longer seems so crazy that a toy wants to kill us in the middle of the night. Now, M3gan comes stomping and eager to join the hall of fame of the diabolical dolls.
Blumhouse‘s new horror film is proving to be a huge success. Specialized critics have praised the film and it also managed to collect 30.4 million dollars in its opening weekend. If you don’t know what M3gan is about, here’s a brief summary: M3gan is a robot doll capable of doing anything like a human. It was created by Gemma (Allison Williams), an engineer obsessed with her work and who, unexpectedly, must be left in charge of her orphaned niece, Candy. Gemma’s creation is a success and the toy company she works for promotes M3gan as the ultimate doll. However, it could be said that M3gan is missing a screw or two and her murderous impetus comes to the surface.
It seems that the release of M3gan could not have been more accurate, especially considering the current boom in artificial intelligences. However, there is nothing to be afraid of (yet). Katie Darling, a technology ethicist and researcher at the MIT Media Lab, says the world is still a long way from seeing a real version of M3gan. According to Darling, she doesn’t think “we’re going to have anything of that level of sophisticated artificial intelligence in the next decade or two.”
However, Darling believes people should start questioning how robotic toys will be marketed and sold. “I’m not worried about what I’ve seen in the trailer happening in real life,” Darling says. “I’m concerned about whether AI should be used to replace human capability in relationships, and the answer is no.”
Ronny Bogani, an artificial intelligence ethicist and children’s rights lawyer, believes that robot caregivers could “completely change family dynamics.” “If a robot provides empirical evidence that a parent’s rules are wrong, how long does that have to happen to an adult before they get tired of being shamed by a toaster?” asks Bogani.
