M3GAN's Allison Williams Assures Us That The Robotic Nightmare Isn't Realistic... Yet
When James Cameron announced that "Avatar: The Way of Water" would need to be one of the highest-grossing films of all time to break even, Cameron acolytes and industry buffs alike kept a watchful eye on the box office. Now sitting pretty at the number seven spot, "The Way of Water" is on pace to join the $2 billion club.
While "Avatar" mania prevails, another film has quietly sashayed into the spotlight as a top earner. Despite its comparatively paltry $12 million budget, "M3GAN" pulled in a major box office haul, earning a whopping $30.4 million in its opening weekend (for context, projections had generously estimated $20 million).
Many factors converged to make "M3GAN" an unlikely hit — its emergence during a notorious dump month, its Blumhouse bona fides, and the meme-worthy trailer, to name a few. "M3GAN" also combines two horror subgenres, killer doll and killer robot, to terrifying effect. But thankfully, according to star Allison Williams, we don't have to worry about murderous AI just yet.
Experts told Williams that AI technology isn't as advanced as M3GAN
In an interview with Allison Williams on her SiriusXM series "Bevelations," host Bevy Smith articulated what makes "M3GAN" — short for Model 3 Generative Android — so scary. "She is Siri, Alexa, self-driving cars," said Smith. "Watching 'Terminator 2' back in the '90s, that was so far off. ['M3GAN'] is happening right now."
"Can I tell you something that should make you feel better?" Allison told the talk show host. "When I interviewed all of the people who work in AI and robotics and stuff before doing the movie, they would read the script and I'd ask them, 'What do you think?'" According to the experts, AI technology hasn't escalated to killer doll levels, especially when it comes to motion. "[They said] the movement is not there yet," Williams continued. "So for her to spontaneously speak and think and move all in one, we're not quite there."
Another AI expert, data scientist Dr. Alain Briançon, assured audiences that robots aren't designed to be spontaneously violent. "If someone wants to train a doll to kill, and make it a war machine, then, yes, that can happen," he told Insider. But the machine wouldn't suddenly reverse course. Still, artificial intelligence is moving at lightning speed, and Dr. Briançon predicts that "We're three or four years away from people not being able to distinguish [between a human and a robot]." That has mind-bending implications for humanity and, more importantly, for "M3GAN" sequels.