Ex Machina easter egg… or how Python code slips into a movie
Do you remember the science fiction movie “Ex Machina”?
This British film, released on 2016 and directed by Alex Garland, has won several awards such as Best Independent British Film and Best Screenplay Oscar.
Caleb, 26, is a programmer with one of the world’s largest IT companies. He wins an internal competition to spend a week in a secluded mountain location owned by Nathan, the lonely CEO of his company who enjoys his fortune gained through a revolutionary search engine.
Nathan tells him the real purpose of his visit: he will participate in a form of Turing test against an artificial intelligence called Ava, to determine whether or not this machine has a conscience. Ava comes in the form of an android, has the general appearance of a woman but certain particularities show its artificial nature…
This film deals above all with artificial intelligence.
During a scene that takes place in Nathan’s control center, the director lets us glimpse the code on the different screens.
On one of them is hiding an easter egg.
Indeed, the following code appears :
I typed this program using my Python editor and then executed it.
The object of this code generates the ISBN 9780199226559.
Oh surprise! this code corresponds to the book :
“Embodiment and the inner life: Cognition and Consciousness in the Space of Possible Minds”
Good reading !
