USING ANTHROPOMORPHISM IN MOVIES FOR PROMOTING HUMANOID ROBOTS IN THE AGE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: EX-MACHINA MOVIE

In the Merriam-Webster dictionary (2020), humanization is described as representing something as “human” by giving it human qualities. This makes the non-human seem gentler, kinder, or more appealing to people. Such a trial to attribute some human characteristics to non-humans is defined as “Anthropomorphism”. The results of studies show that a product presentation with anthropomorphism can actually be an influencial advertising tool, since it creates positive emotions among the audience and has a positive affect in their purchasing behavior. But are there any other possible underlying reasons for such an increase in sales when consumers are made to perceive material objects as ‘human’? And is this advertising strategy being used in the movies today to promote the use of humanoid-robots? It should be noted that this kind of correlation made between the object and the subject (non living and the living) may have foreseeable drawbacks in the future, and they need to be attended. In this article, using anthropomorphism in movies for promoting humanoid robots will be discussed by analyzing the “EX-MACHINA” movie as a case study, and applying content and discourse analysis on the subject.

Keywords

Anthropomorphism, Interactivity 2.0, Avatar Brands, Artificial Intelligence, Advertising