Jennifer Lopez’s Netflix film sparks new debate on AI

Netflix recently released Atlasstarring Jennifer Lopez in the lead role, where she plays a cynical analyst who must team up with an artificial intelligence named Smith to save humanity from the rogue robot Harlan.

Besides humor, action and a dose of intelligence, the film also explores themes of trust.

The film is directed by Brad Peyton and also features Sterling K. Brown and Simu Liu in mechanical costumes.

Preview

Atlas Shepherd has spent years tracking down the artificial intelligence known as Harlan. Harlan was designed to improve humanity, but he has a change of heart and now wants to destroy humanity.

The crew’s search for Harlan leads them to the planet GR-39 in the Andromeda Galaxy. Here, Atlas shows great distrust of artificial intelligence. However, as she is forced to collaborate with Smith, trust begins to develop.

This evolving trust is at the heart of the sci-fi drama, which underlines its message: while one AI robot threatens humanity, another helps save it.

As Jennifer Lopez mentioned, Atlas and Smith are taking this journey. “They teach each other to be a little more human,” Lopez said.

The lack of empathy towards artificial intelligence in this case leads to better understanding. Smith understands Atlas and doesn’t respond to his cynicism like a human would. He does not withdraw from her when she shows him less pleasant traits.

The film is like a lesson about the relationships that exist between people, where distrust and lack of understanding are the main problems. During the pandemic, she read the script and appreciated the relationship Atlas and Smith developed.

The Good and Bad Sides of AI

The film presents both the good and bad sides of AI. For example, Harlan is the first AI terrorist. “He was created by a brilliant scientist to be the protector of humanity. Unfortunately, you know how some things happen,” Liu told Netflix.

On the other side, Smith and Atlas try to save humanity. “It’s a friendship story and a love story, in a way,” Lopez said. For her, it is a different love between two beings who teach each other to be more human.

William Bibbiani in his review of The wrap, wrote: “Hidden somewhere beneath all the generic dialogue, awkward plotting, mediocre action, and strangely ineffective performances, there’s a good idea in Brad Peyton’s Atlas. It’s a shame the filmmakers never found it.

According to him, the film comes dangerously close to being interesting, but it never exceeds this very important limit. “It’s a shame because there was a great story to tell with exactly the same concept. Maybe someone else will say it one day,” he concluded.

Who can we trust?

According to Ipsos consumer monitoring, people are worried about the misuse of AI. However, they also tend to trust AI more than humans. Currently, around one in three people regularly use some form of AI tool, and most (57%) plan to increase their use in the future.

A 2022 study found that people who distrust humans are more likely to trust artificial intelligence to moderate online content.

“One of the reasons some may be hesitant to trust content moderation technology is that we are used to freely expressing our opinions online, and we fear that content moderation will limit that,” explained Maria D. Molina.