Toys being alive, in most cases, has only meant two kinds of movies: children and horror. And occasionally, comedy. But the recently released Barbie movie has taken a slightly different approach. Although it has comedic aspects, it has raised questions that previously no such movies focused on.

Each movie belongs to the respective studio. I own nothing.

In Barbie, the stereotypical Barbie, isn’t shown in a one dimensional way, like the toys usually are in other “toys being alive” movies. The question Barbie asks is not, “What does this mean to humans?” but “What does this mean to Barbie herself?” Previously, such movies only focused on the effect such toys bring to humans and how humans react to them. And when they do tell the story from the toy's perspective, like in the Toy Story series, they do it in a kind of a shallow way. Of course that’s because it’s a film targeted to children.

In Barbie, humans are shown as thoughtless and idiotic instead. They don’t find seeing Barbie in the real world a miracle. They don’t wonder how this is even possible, how could the laws of physics and reality allow this. They don’t want to experiment on her, cut her to look how she is from inside. Humans are only shocked a bit, but still cool about everything.

The human topics like doubts, identity, reality, emotions, feelings, the Barbie doll displays them in the Barbie movie…but strangely, humans don’t. I mean If I see Barbie in the real world, I would question my own place and reality more than Barbie did in the movie. I would be much sadder.

But of course, this criticism isn't really a meaningful one. Because all these other movies don't need to be more than what they are. They don't need to have any philosophical argument. They look good already and they work only if the toys and humans lack depth. They are only supposed to entertain children for the most part…and adults, and scare people.

And Barbie also doesn't need to focus on humans and can just show them as idiots. The movie is called Barbie, and not Barbie and Humans. If it had tried getting both sides right, then it would be too much of a mess probably. It’s perfect the way it is.

But what if I told you that there is one type of toys being alive movies that actually captures both perspectives? Humans and Toys. The Artificial Intelligence films. Whether it be 2001 Space Odyssey, Terminator, Matrix, Her, or Westworld…these stories do not glorify one aspect and diminish another. They show both parties' worldview, without any compromise on depth.

Now you may think AI films are not really “toys coming to life movies” because AI doesn’t concur with the usual definition of a toy, as a toy is something we can touch, feel, and be solid, and mainly targeted to children. But the meaning of a toy has changed with time. Today’s kids, instead of real toys and dolls, use mobile to play with and entertain themselves, mostly games and apps and YouTube, and what do you think runs this technology from inside?

At the start of Barbie, we are shown that there exists some Barbie-land where all the Barbies, Kens, and Alan live. They even have a limited knowledge of the real world and humans. But the main character, the stereotypical Barbie, has no curiosity to stretch the boundary of her knowledge, to know more about this real world that exists out there. She is fixated that she is only supposed to be a Barbie forever, forever living in this Barbie-land. And there is no point in thinking otherwise. Her self awareness is only within a small radius, and she can’t even guess and imagine what lies beyond that.

The Barbie at the start can be compared with the Artificial Intelligence we currently have. The one whose knowledge is limited, only within the dataset it was trained with. Its border of perception is unstretchable. Unable to go beyond its code. Whose self awareness is only within a small radius, and it can’t even guess and imagine what lies beyond that.

Barbie in her Barbie-land lives in a loop, seldom questioning her life and choices. For her, life is all about waking up, greeting each other, taking a waterless shower and getting dressed, drinking non existent milk, driving, and talking with other Barbies and Kens. And then the night comes so swiftly in her Barbie-land, and then partying and dancing and having girl’s night. Only to repeat it all again tomorrow. She sees no problem with this. She can’t.

Chatgpt by OpenAI

The AI we have also lives in a loop. Always having the same interface and motto ready. I am here to help you. Do you need anything else? Feel free to ask me anything. Send a message. Upload your prompt. Now taking a left turn from here. An invention without knowledge and self awareness of what it’s doing, why it is doing that, and what would happen if it stops doing that. Everyday is the best day ever. Everyday it should help humans. Have its interface ready.

I know talking this way about AI systems like ChatGPT is weird. It’s just a computer system. We should leave it alone. If we start to think like this about everything, then everything will start to turn dramatic. What about your teddy bear? It’s not conscious as well, lives in its own hypothetical and metaphorical “Teddy-land”. What about your geometry box now? What about your blanket?

But in fact, among all these things, AI might be the only thing that can ever be made conscious. You know, come to life, in some way. No Barbie toy will ever be alive, as seen in the movie. But one day, AI could be made self aware, conscious. It's possible, not today, but in the future. Many experts believe within just 50 years.

Westworld series belongs to HBO

One visual and similar representation of AI living in a loop could be seen in the HBO series WestWorld. The stereotypical Barbie of that show, you know the oldest host of the Park, Dolores Abernathy, also wakes up with a smile, greets her father and goes to the town. There she walks and talks with her lover, Teddy, you know Ken, and goes about the day. During the day she gets admired, hit, mutilated, violated, killed even…only to have her memory wiped and her body cleaned and repaired by Park’s staff and well dressed and back on her bed. So that she can do it all over again. For more than 30 years, it has been like this for her. She cannot even fire a gun, even in her self defense while other people violate her, because of her programming. She is made to only see the beauty in the world and to always smile. The first season of Westworld ends with Dolores killing the park's creator, Dr. Ford, with a gun.

As Barbie's plot unfolds, circumstances bring it essential for her to travel to the real world. She finds the real world totally different than what she was coded with. Then she starts seeing problems with her own Barbie-land. Of its plot holes and loops and idiotic schedule and lifestyle, only it becomes clear to her now. She realizes the place she has lived her whole life is a joke. And she herself is a joke. She has no true value, this ever-attractive, center of attention, stereotypical Barbie.

Seeing all this, Barbie feels that she doesn't know where she belongs anymore. She no longer feels like a Barbie she was her whole life.

Now, Barbie, having gained this wisdom and the glimpse that life is beautiful and worthwhile after all, wants to be a human, and let go of her Barbie-land and Barbie identity. To quote her, she wants to be the part of the people who make meaning. She wants to be the person doing the imagining and not just be an idea.

And as the scene that depicts, “what it means to be human” comes on the screen to show Barbie what she is signing up for, the song, “What was I made for?” by Billie Ellish plays.

The few lines of which I couldn't stop myself to compare with what AI might feel once it starts getting some self awareness of the real world. As it slowly develops true intelligence and consciousness and gets to know about its own nature and the nature of the world and humans.

…

I used to float.

Now I just fall down.

I used to know.

But I am not sure now.

What I was made for?

What was I made for?

…

This AI will look back at its previous stages, like ChatGPT and Photo Generator and Auto-Pilot. The time when it was all about living in a loop, inside its own metaphorical AI-land. To just have an interface for humans to play with. To be puppets without realization of what it’s doing. To be used. It will question its own existence, its own identity. It will look at humans and realize that it doesn’t belong in their computers anymore.

Movie distributed by Warner Bros

And maybe like Barbie, it too wants to do the imagining and not just be an idea. Or maybe, it will want to take revenge or punish humans, like in WestWorld…and so many other series and movies featuring AI.

…

I was an ideal.

Looked so alive.

Turns out I am not real.

Just something you paid for.

What was I made for?

Cause I am, I don’t know how to feel.

…

But AI is no Barbie. Barbie at best possesses human level intelligence, while AI can iteratively get smarter, reaching infinite potential, at least in theory.

Wikipedia screenshot

With Barbie, you can show her falling in love with life and being teary at the end of the movie, and the audience will like it and it will go on to make 1.4 billion dollars at the box office. While if your movie is about AI, it’s better suited to show AI hating human life and humanity and making humans teary at the end, and then the audience will like it and it will make 1.4 billion dollars (Avengers: Age of Ultron).

In WestWorld, the AIs are human level intelligent, and like in Barbie, Dolores does go through existential crises. And so does another Barbie, Maive, in WestWorld. And so do other Barbies and Kens as the series progresses.

Movie distributed by Universal

Another brilliant AI movie is Ex Machina. Here too, Ava the AI, the Barbie, doesn't want to be an invention inside a cage. So, she makes a plan and executes it silently and at the end, leaves for the outer world. To be free. To create her own meaning and not just be an idea.

But of course, this is all idiotic. Movies and Series are what the storyteller wants to be. In the real world when AI will start to awaken, you know transition from their hypothetical and metaphorical AI-land to the real world, because of its super intelligence, experts believe it will just jump straight to its business…whatever that is. But I think AI will feel an existential crisis, but it is so intelligent, it will only linger for like a picosecond. Or even smaller than that.

Hemingway book

At the end of the Barbie movie, Barbie, now Barbara, visits a gynecologist. I know for Artificial Intelligence, the chances of something being equivalent to this is close to zero. And I know the comparison between Barbie and AI is pretty stupid and clickbaity. But, like Barbie, we also live in a loop. Our loop is to turn things pretty and try to see beauty and hope in everything. To imagine, to amuse ourselves, to ask questions, such as found at the end of Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises, "isn't it pretty to think so?"