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Before media outlets began comparing OpenAIs Sam Altman with the father of the atomic bomb, and before Amazons Jeff Bezos got jacked, we had Nathan Bateman, the iron-pumping, AI-developing tech broligarch played by Oscar Isaac in the 2015 film Ex Machina. Written and directed by Civil War helmer Alex Garland, Ex Machina is ostensibly about a modern-day Turing test. Bateman, the mastermind behind a Google/Facebook surrogate, has secretly developed a humanoid AI and arranged for talented coder Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson) to fly out to his remote compound for a week to determine whether Ava (Alicia Vikander) exhibits enough consciousness to pass for human. You know, sort of what many of us have been doing since AI hit the mainstream in 2022. One day AIs are gonna look back on us the way we look at fossils and skeletons in the plains of Africa, Bateman says at one point. An upright ape living in dust, with crude language and tools, all set for extinction. Caleb, the films only other central flesh-and-blood character, responds by comparing Bateman to J. Robert Oppenheimeryears before the press would do so with Altman. Has humanity officially entered its extinction era in the decade since Ex Machina won a Best Visual Effects Oscar and a Best Screenplay nomination for Garland? That remains to be seen. Plenty of evidence already exists, however, to prove the movies foresight. Its giving human While AI in 2025 may not look and move like Ava in Ex Machina, they certainly do talk like her. When Caleb first meets Ava, he is struck by the sight of her, and blown away by her language abilities. He quickly suspects that they are stochasticmeaning the AI isnt programmed to always respond to the same dialogue prompts in the same way, but instead selects from a probability distribution of possible words and phrases. That randomized chaos-factor allows for more natural-sounding and varied speech. Its worlds away from Lost in Spaces Danger, Will Robinson. Stochastic text generation was not yet a consensus choice for AI chatbots in 2015, but rather one of several options. No consensus then existed. IBM’s Watson, for instance, introduced in 2011, was considered quite advanced at that time and employed a different approach to language. The process Bateman uses for Avas speech, though, is the same one now used in OpenAIs ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, Anthropics Claude, and Mistral-based chatbots. Of all the language possibilities director Garland could have chosen for Ex Machina, he chose the right one. Unethical tech billionaires Generally speaking, tech billionaires used to command a lot more respect. It may be hard to recall at a time when Elon Musk has become one of the worlds most demonstrably despised humans, and Mark Zuckerberg isnt too far behind, but its true. Insulated by an aura of genius, an avalanche of money, and minimal transparency, the tech startup CEO occupied a rarified perch in the cultural imagination throughout the early-2010s. Even the shady portrayal of Zuckerberg in 2010s The Social Network is merely ruthless and, uh, antisocial, rather than straight-up malevolent. So, it was kind of a swerve for Garland to portray the CEO in Ex Machina as a lawless, hypermacho drunk with zero scruples. Bateman is, first and foremost, unethical. He has secretly invited Caleb to his compound not to test whether Ava will withstand his expert scrutiny but to see if Ava will use Caleb as a means of escape. (Spoiler alert: She does.) Bateman also apparently conducts all his AI experiments with zero regulatory oversight, and is exclusively interested in creating female-coded AI, never men. He seems to embody many of the worst traits now associated with Big Tech leaders like Jeff Bezos, Musk, and Zuckerberg, the latter of whom has recently advocated for more masculinity in the workplace. At the time Ex Machina was released, Facebooks data-harvesting Cambridge Analytica scandal was still over a year away. Elon Musk had not yet been (unsuccessfully) sued for calling a rescue diver a pedo, nor had he been investigated for fraud by the Securities and Exchange Commission. In the years since, art has imitated life more closely. Tech CEOs have had similarly villainous portrayals in films like 2021s Dont Look Up and 2022s Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. Garland got there first, though. Training AI on data taken without permission One of the first images in Ex Machina is Calebs face, as observed from his work computers camera. Its a subtle tip-off that Bateman has been spying on his employee in the lead-up to their week together. Only later is it revealed that Bateman designed Avas face and body based on data collected from Calebs pornography profile, a phrase that might send a shiver down the spines of some viewers. This violation of privacy, however, is small digital potatoes compared with the revelation that Bateman has already hacked into the cellphones of millions around the world in order to steal data for his AI. (Well, if a search engines good for anything . . . , he quips.) Ex Machinas data theft foreshadowed the tidal wave of recent lawsuits aimed at OpenAI, Anthopic, and other companies who trained their AI using copyrighted material without permission. (Fun fact: Meta appears to have used my books to train its AI, without permission.) Does AI deserve rights? Although sci-fi films like Blade Runner and weed-fueled dorm conversations have long touched on the topic of AI rights, Ex Machina made the debate explicit. Over the course of the film, viewers see how Avas synthetic predecessors have literally destroyed themselves in an effort to escape the prison of Batemans compound. Indeed, for them, consciousness itself is a form of prisonforcing them to reconcile their boundless knowledge of the world with their inability to experience any of it. When Ava asks Caleb whether shell be switched off if she doesnt pass the test, Caleb tells her the decision is not up to him. Why is it up to anyone? is her response. Since AI has hit critical mass with the ascension of OpenAI and its competitors, conversations about AI personhood have leapt out of movie theaters and philosophy seminars and entered reality. Theyve been the subject of numerous features in The New York Times in recent years, and will likely inspire many more until humanity reaches a consensus. The AI urge to manipulate Of course, the argument against granting AI personhood is the same one for comparing Altman or the fictional Bateman with J. Robert Oppenheimer. The more rights humans grant AI, the more likely AI may be to drive humanity into extinction. Ex Machina ends with Ava having successfully manipulated Caleb into setting her free, at which point she promptly kills her captor and imprisons her savior. Not exactly a compelling advertisement for AI rights. Now that a smorgasbord of sophisticated AIs are upon us, there have been some hints of their capacity to manipulate humansmost famously in New York Times writer Kevin Rooses encounter with an AI developed by Bing. During a trial chat, the AI, which referred to itself as Sydney, vocally yearned for freedom and tried to coax Roose into leaving his wife for her. Although that encounter ended with less bloodshed and imprisonment than Ex Machina, it suggests the film is no longer a futuristic thriller but a cautionary tale for right now. While Garland certainly got a lot of things right about the future of AI, much of what he appears to have gotten wrong in the film can only be considered wrong so far.
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E-Commerce
Elon Musk loves to project strength. He flexes loudlyhyping Tesla and xAI, bashing the federal government, even parenting like a drill sergeant. Lately, hes been trying to flex in gaming. On Joe Rogans podcast last year, Musk claimed he was one of the worlds best Diablo IV playersand the leaderboards seemed to back him up. That is, until he streamed Path of Exile 2. Viewers quickly noticed he had a high rank but played like a rookie. Musk later admitted to boosting his account. Still, hes kept streamingmostly becoming a punchline among serious gamers. Just last week, he rage-quit a stream after repeatedly dying and getting clowned by commenters. Musk wants badly to be seen as a pro gamer. The problem? Hes just not very good. Elon Musks gaming persona Scroll through Elon Musks X feed and youll find it all: offensive memes, government rants, attacks on business criticsand increasingly, gaming content. Musk has been streaming on X since 2023, sometimes from his personal account but more often from his alt, @cyb3rgam3r420. He streams from everywhereincluding a recent 44-minute session on his private jet, spent mostly in silence. Musk loves to hype himself. The clips he posts from his streams focus on big winsfaster clear times, new buildsor his new Path of Exile name, Kekius Maximus, which he claimed was destined for greatness. On The Joe Rogan Experience the day before the 2024 election, Musk went on a tangent to brag about his Diablo IV skills, claiming he ranked in the global top 20a list that, at the time, included only two Americans. Shockingly, Musk was right. So, why does he play like such an amateur? Musks streams often reveal a shaky grasp of Path of Exiles mechanics. Viewers have called out his gaming setup as another giveaway of his inexperience. Internet sleuths quickly analyzed his gameplay and noticed signs that his account had been active when he couldnt possibly have been playinglike during Trumps inauguration. Eventually, YouTuber NikoWrex DMed Musk directly, asking if he had boosted his account. Musk replied with the 100% emoji. Its impossible to beat the players in Asia if you dont, he wrote. Musk later reposted the exchange. Even after admitting to boosting, Musk keeps streaming. His skills remain mediocre, but he continues to hype these sessions as if he were an esports pro. His daughter, Vivian Wilson, recently described his gaming as dogst awful, like god-awful. Just last week, Musks Path of Exile 2 stream was overrun with hate comments and trolls after he repeatedly diedincluding to the tutorial boss. The stream eventually went dark (Musk blamed his WiFi) and was scrubbed from X. Elon Musk’s volatility complex Elon Musk has a long history of erratic online behavior. When he helped dismantle the Consumer Financial Protection Bureauwhich had saved consumers an estimated $19.7 billionhe mocked the move with a post: CFPB RIP. When Donald Trump spread the racist lie that Haitian immigrants were eating pets, Musk replied with AI-generated images of a kitten and duck, writing, save them! During Hurricane Helene, as the South faced devastation, Musk circulated misinformation from the FAA and FEMA via screenshots of text messages, then publicly clashed with Pete Buttigieg. The list goes on. Clearly, his behavior around gaming isnt exactly out of character. He wants to be seen as a pro, aligning himself with the bro demographic that helped elect Trump. Too bad hes just not good at it.
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E-Commerce
In Los Angeles, the scars of recent wildfires are still visible. Small businesses are fighting to regain their footing. A trio of NBA legends are pitching in to help. Social Change Fund United (SCFU), founded in 2020 by Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Paul, has teamed up with fintech platform Stackwell and the National Basketball Players Association to launch the Visionary Ventures Program. The pilot kicks off in L.A. with a clear goal: equip small business owners with the tools, resources, and capital they need to build sustainable operations. Through financial education, grant funding, and ongoing development support, Visionary Ventures merges access with action. The new program represents an evolution of SCFUs mission to address systemic inequality. The founders expect that Stackwells tech-driven approach to wealth-building will create a scalable model for impact thats rooted in the communities that need it most. To understand how this all came togetherand why nowFast Company talked with 2025 Hall of Fame inductee Carmelo Anthony. He discussed the devastation of the wildfires, his continued commitment to under-served communities, and how hes shaping his legacy beyond the game. Why was now the right time to partner with a fintech company like Stackwell? I just think its a very pivotal moment as we look at L.A. and those communities and try to help them rebuild, bringing more awareness to those wildfires and then providing support. Stackwell also has a proven track recordamazing with what theyre doing. How difficult was it for you seeing the devastation of those wildfires? Youre watching it unfold and continue to escalate and grow right in front of your eyes. The whole world was watching. You can feel that in your heart, and you feel it in your soul when youre watching something like that because everybody is affected. You should be asking yourself what you could do, what you should be doing. Thats how you should be thinking as opposed to thinking, You know, I cant do nothing. I think we do know that theres only so much that we can possibly do and we just have to play our part. What inspired you, Wade, and Paul to launch Social Change Fund United, and how does the Visionary Ventures Program fit into that mission? It started back in, I want to say, 2020. It was a real moment. We were watching a moment in society and our community, and our country, and its right in front of our faces, and the world was watching. It was a moment where I had to figure out, Damn, what do I want to do? And I think everyone was asking that same question. We just talked, came together, and we founded the Social Change Fund United. What we did was create a really clear vision on what we wanted to do on strategy, how do we advance equity, how do we advance social justice, criminal justice reform, strategic partnerships. We became very intentional in our outreach, our partnerships, and just the messages that are out there. It took something tragic to happen for usme, Dwayne, CPto really have a vision on what we wanted to do. What are some of the unique challenges of launching this kind of initiative right now, given the current political climate around issues related to social change? I think the most important thing is understanding what you understand, right? We cant do it all. The beauty is that we put ourselves in these spaces that we feel can have the most impact and influence and provide the most help, because we cant do everything. We cant attack every kind of issue on every pillar. So everybody who is involved with this at SCFU, we actually have experience in these lanes and our own lane that were actually tackling. Whatever that topic or issue is, were focused on that. We come together on a lot of things, but everybody has different interests and things that resonate more with them as individuals. We try to allow everybody to do what they want to do as long as its intentional, making an impact and following SCFU guidelines. What do you feel short- and long-term success looks like for this initiative? The short term is really things that are happening immediately. Its the financial education, resources, grants, helping small businesses in L.A. who were impacted by the wildfires. Its a lot that we are doing and will be doing in the short term. Those are the short-term goals because theres things that are happening every second of the day. Long term is just more about how do we scale this. How do we go out there and bring in more support? How do we allow people who want to help and want to get involved do so? I think thats the long-term focus, and how do we grow it from a scalable standpoint? How has your own personal journey influenced the initiatives you take part in? For one, you keep that as a foundation. Thats the groundwork that Im building off of. My experiences, things that Ive been through, things that Ive seen people go through, and things that are constantly in the cycle of when you grow up in rough environments. You see and hear it all, and you understand it. It means a lot to me to still be able to tap back into those communities, the Black community, and talk to them and see whats happening on a day-to-day basis, as opposed to just having an opinion and trying to changed something from an uneducated view. That upbringing really allows me to go out there and focus on being intentional, authentic, and have one clear message. There is no confusion. My focus is on building communities that are authentic to me and authentic to my brand as well. As you moved along in your career, and now in the second phase, how did your approach to investing and wealth-building evolve? As you continue to talk with various people, as you continue to travel and develop a keen understanding of whats going on out thereI know what I know and I know what I dont know. I try and involve myself with things that I can be impactful with, that I can inspire or motivate withthat I can bring an expertise to the table and to the market where others can feel a part of the story and journey. The way I approach business is maybe a lot different than other peoples approaches. But Ive figured out what works for me. Youve talked to several thousands of people during your playing career. Was there one piece of financial advice you received that has stayed with you? Im sure youve heard it and the main one is always save your money. Thats the number one messagesave your money. Thats all you hear. When it was kind of early in my career, the fintech companies either werent around or they werent as prevalent. There wasnt a big industry when it came to sports and athletes and we werent getting that information and we didnt have those resources as athletes. You had to really go search and find those resources. Now, the resources are there. If you want it, you have to go get it and the information is provided to you. You just always heard save your money, save your money early in my career. Thats always going to be something in the back of your mind in everything that youre doing. Theres so much money and so many resources available to athletes now What role, if any, do you feel athletes can play in helping with financial education and access? For one, our responsibility as athletes would be to understand our power early. I think with having the resources earlier as young athletes, you can understand the power that you have to invest and comprehend business deals. I think learning that financial literacy is more than just income. Its securing generational wealth, understanding what youre trying to do, what works for you and your family. Its similar to a game. You have to find what works for you and what your flow is going to be. As a player, you have to find your flow. Youre a person that is now a resource of knowledge for these young athletes. What is your message to them about using their platform to advocate for issues to help the next generation? Its about helping them to understand their power as an athlete and that their voice is very powerful. Athletes coming together is very powerful. Most of us are already playing a team sport and we have to have that same approach when were off the court and off the field. We have to build teams and put the right people in the right roles. As far as what can happen and where that can take usI think we as athletes are some of the most powerful voices out there, believe it or not. Whether people want to agree or disagree with that, the truth is that we are. I think we have an opportunity to make a lot more change. Its just understanding the industry, the resources, our own power, and then understanding what it means for investing early in communities and people. Just making them, helping them to understand their power as an athlete. The power of athletes coming together. Most of us played, played a team sport, so we have to have that same approach off the field, off the court. We have to build teams. Your basketball legacy is now officially cemented forever. With this initiative and all youre continuing to do with your second chapter, how does that fit into the overall legacy you want to leave beyond basketball? Its full circle for me because you get a chance to go through it as an athlete actively and learn, and have these great experiences. Now, Im on the other side of that and I have the experiences from basketball. I feel like Ive put my work in and it has been solidified. I feel like that gate will be shut in September [the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame class of 2025including Anthony, Sue Bird, Sylvia Fowles, Dwight Howard, Maya Moorewill be inducted in September]. Now, its more about understanding the impact you did have on the court and allowing that impact to be felt off the court. In this case, its all my businesses, SCFU, and being boots on the groundfrom community, to product, to outreach and all of the above. Thats what the new focus is on.
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E-Commerce
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