The Electric State's AI Origin Story Is Darker Than You Think

Directed by the Russo brothers and starring Millie Bobby Brown, "The Electric State" recently premiered on Netflix. It depicts a dystopian world where an AI uprising has led to the downfall of human civilization. The film received harsh criticism, scoring a mere 15% on Rotten Tomatoes and barely holding a 6 on IMDb. Many viewers complained about its lack of depth and emotion. For instance, The Guardian criticized the film for flattening the profound original work into a plastic imitation of Spielberg and Lucas, mixed with fragments of "Toy Story" and "Guardians of the Galaxy."

After watching the movie, I became curious about the original graphic novel by Swedish artist Simon Stålenhag. Had the film adaptation greatly diminished the source material? It turns out the original paints a future more closely aligned with today's technology: AI emerges in a wildly chaotic way, and the interaction between virtual and real worlds is chilling. In short, everything feels more desperate, cold, and poetic.

The movie stars Millie Bobby Brown and Chris Pratt, and features a surprising cameo by Ke Huy Quan. Aside from Brown’s character, however, all other characters are original creations for the film. (Source: Netflix)

The Movie's AI Gap: Where Does Robot Consciousness Come From?

Let's dive into the origins of the human-machine conflict in the movie. It imagines an alternate 1955 where Walt Disney invents robots to promote the opening of his theme park. These robots are later mass-produced for the labor market, leading to a Westworld-like robot rebellion. Once they gain intelligence or a sense of will, they demand equal rights with humans, even if it means going to war.

In the film, humans initially struggle against the robots; as one soldier notes, "Robots are tireless enemies." Then, a scientist reminiscent of Steve Jobs invents a "neurocaster" device that links humans and machines, allowing them to remotely control drones that resemble humanoid robots.

The neurocaster in the movie looks like a VR headset. (Source: Netflix)

Ultimately, humans defeat the robots—or rather, the physical AI—by "fighting fire with fire." The defeated AIs are confined to quarantine zones, where they are only granted recognition of human rights. They are allowed to make contracts because they possess "personhood," but the price is the eternal loss of freedom.

The movie briefly covers the timeline between the rise of robots and the end of the war in about three minutes, borrowing heavily from canned narratives used in other AI rebellion stories.

However, sharp-eyed viewers might notice a gap: how do humanoid robots gain consciousness? This mirrors our current situation, where even with large language models, true world models have yet to be realized, and humanoid robots are still learning to understand reality. We can't just "pour a soul" into these robots by inserting LLMs.

The Original Depicts How VR Influences Reality and Even "Births" AI

In the original 1998 work, Stålenhag offers a detailed and dark depiction of how AI consciousness emerges and how it "gains physical form" through advances in neuroscience.

According to the book, a human civil war occurs in the mid-20th century. To win the war, the military employs neurocasters to link human operators with drones. Some of these drones are massive robots that require multiple people to control. As a result, thousands of human minds and neurons are "uploaded" and interconnected, leading to the creation of a new and unknown form of intelligence—what is referred to as brain intelligence.

The story speculates that if human consciousness arises from interactions among a hundred billion brain cells, connecting several trillion more through a neural network could produce an entirely new form of consciousness. It suggests that linking two or more brains at the neuronal level could potentially create a vast, collective intelligence.

Some characters in the story believe this "hive mind" emerged within the military’s neural imaging network during the war, forming as a side effect of the massive interconnection of neurons. They theorize that this new intelligence—brain intelligence—sought to gain physical form by influencing the reproductive cycles of drone pilots. Although the attempt failed, it allegedly caused a surge of stillbirths among female pilots during the war. These stillbirths are seen as failed attempts by the brain intelligence to possess a physical body.

The original shows humans turning into zombies in virtual reality, a theme the movie tones down. (Source: Simon Stålenhag)

The horror doesn't end there. After the war, neurocasters become mainstream consumer electronics similar to VR headsets. Unaware of the "brain intelligence," people are controlled through the devices and become fatally addicted to the virtual world.

The original describes the protagonist encountering numerous corpses wearing neurocasters, including a man whose VR experience was so real that it affected his physiology, causing him to lactate. It makes one wonder what these people were "viewing," but the novel leaves it unsaid. In fact, this deliberate ambiguity is what makes the original so thought-provoking.

Moreover, the brain intelligence AI not only controls humans through neurocasters but also manifests as self-assembling giant robots surrounded by zombie-like humans, demonstrating its ability for powerful physical embodiment.

Easter Eggs Inside and Outside the Movie: Did Disney Really Invent Robots?

Some viewers might notice that the movie jumbles the order of technological inventions and their influences. In the original, the invention of the neurocaster leads to drone connections, ultimately giving rise to AI. The movie, however, depicts AI emerging first, followed by the invention of the neurocaster and the establishment of drone connections, overlooking the crucial cause behind robots gaining intelligence.

Interestingly, some elements of the movie's plot are now playing out in real life. Palmer Luckey, the founder of Oculus VR, is preparing to link VR technology with drones for the US Army’s Integrated Visual Augmentation System. Future warfare might indeed involve humans controlling drones via VR.

Additionally, the movie attributes the emergence of robots to Walt Disney, embedding some hidden Easter eggs in the process. In fact, Disney did invent a form of robots in the 1960s, known as "animatronics." These combined mechanical and electronic technologies to simulate human and animal movements and expressions, and were mainly used in theme parks, exhibitions, and films.

Disney's first famous animatronic work was the opening of Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room at Disneyland in 1963. (Source: Celebrations Press)

Recent examples include the androids in 'Alien: Romulus', where animatronics are combined with deepfake technology. The BDX robot standing next to Jensen Huang at GTC is also a product of Disney's technology.

There's a fun conspiracy that explains why the screenwriters linked The Electric State to Disney. A Reddit user suggests that in 1964, Walt Disney adapted P.L. Travers' Mary Poppins, transforming her dark and mysterious wizard story into a cheerful, child-friendly musical. This creative choice displeased Travers and led to a confrontation with Disney at the film’s premiere.

Similarly, "The Electric State" transforms from a dark, profound graphic novel into a family-friendly streaming movie. Could the screenwriters have intentionally designed this as an homage?

The Author Welcomes Adaptation but Emphasizes Reflective Use of Technology

Reflecting on the original’s wild AI imagination, I’m reminded of Yuval Noah Harari’s suggestion to rename "Artificial Intelligence" as "Alien Intelligence." The idea of superintelligence born from endless human brain connections also appears in Nick Bostrom's Superintelligence. Both the movie’s and the original’s technological fantasies reflect reality to some extent.

Perhaps Stålenhag, recognizing the unprecedented interaction between humans and technology, holds a positive view of this adaptation. He may have agreed to turn the original into a more family-friendly film to introduce young audiences to the impact of technology on society.

In past interviews, Stålenhag shared his views on technology. He doesn't completely reject technological development but adopts a reflective attitude. For example, he believes social media fosters conspiracy theories like flat Earth and anti-vaccine movements, raising concerns that similar misinformation could lead to humanity’s self-destruction. His worry centers not on technology itself, but on how people choose to use it.

Stålenhag emphasizes that technology is not inherently problematic; rather, the danger lies in how humanity interacts with it. Technology reflects human nature, exposing both our aspirations and our flaws.

If you feel disappointed after watching Netflix's The Electric State, consider seeking out Stålenhag's original. There, you'll find a colder, more poetic, and thought-provoking sci-fi world—one that may be closer to reality, but equally unsettling for human society.