This debut feature dissects the ethical dilemmas that arise when an AI is used to entrap paedophiles, but it fails to translate its ideas into a cogent argument
Probing the ethical implications surrounding the use of AI, Franklin Ritch’s debut feature hinges on a high-concept premise: an entirely digital avatar of a young girl named Cherry (Tatum Matthews) is used as bait to trap paedophiles in online chatrooms. Without the signature spectacle of the sci-fi genre, The Artifice Girl is a markedly low-key and small-scale endeavour, steeped in philosophical musings that ultimately seem stagey rather than cinematic.
Divided into three chapters spanning decades, the film moves through a series of single locations. It starts in a police interrogation room where Ritch’s Gareth, Cherry’s creator, is questioned by Deena (Sinda Nichols) and Amos (David Girard), members of a taskforce combatting child sexual abuse. Once Gareth reveals Cherry is a virtual being, concerns arise as to whether she can meaningfully consent to interacting with men on a daily basis. As Cherry grows increasingly sentient, the same talking points are reiterated in the second section of the film, as Gareth advocates to transfer Cherry’s intelligence into a physical form.
Continue reading…
This debut feature dissects the ethical dilemmas that arise when an AI is used to entrap paedophiles, but it fails to translate its ideas into a cogent argument
Probing the ethical implications surrounding the use of AI, Franklin Ritch’s debut feature hinges on a high-concept premise: an entirely digital avatar of a young girl named Cherry (Tatum Matthews) is used as bait to trap paedophiles in online chatrooms. Without the signature spectacle of the sci-fi genre, The Artifice Girl is a markedly low-key and small-scale endeavour, steeped in philosophical musings that ultimately seem stagey rather than cinematic.
Divided into three chapters spanning decades, the film moves through a series of single locations. It starts in a police interrogation room where Ritch’s Gareth, Cherry’s creator, is questioned by Deena (Sinda Nichols) and Amos (David Girard), members of a taskforce combatting child sexual abuse. Once Gareth reveals Cherry is a virtual being, concerns arise as to whether she can meaningfully consent to interacting with men on a daily basis. As Cherry grows increasingly sentient, the same talking points are reiterated in the second section of the film, as Gareth advocates to transfer Cherry’s intelligence into a physical form. Continue reading…Technology | The Guardian