Alex Garland: Ex Machina, Devs, Annihilation, and the Poetry of Science | Lex Fridman Podcast #77

Alex Garland, writer and director of many imaginative and philosophical films from the dreamlike exploration of human self-destruction in the movie Annihilation to the deep questions of consciousness and intelligence raised in the movie Ex Machina, which to me is one of the greatest movies on artificial intelligence ever made. I'm releasing this podcast to coincide with the release of his new series called Devs that will premiere this Thursday, March 5, on Hulu as part of "FX on Hulu". It explores many of the themes this very podcast is about: from quantum mechanics to artificial life to simulation to the modern nature of power in the tech world. This episode is presented by Cash App. Download it & use code "LexPodcast": Cash App (App Store): https://apple.co/2sPrUHe Cash App (Google Play): https://bit.ly/2MlvP5w PODCAST INFO: Podcast website: https://lexfridman.com/podcast Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lwqZIr Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8 RSS: https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/ Full episodes playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmErZgOdP_8GztsuKi9nrraNbKKp4 Clips playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmErZgOeciFP3CBCIEElOJeitOr41 EPISODE LINKS: Devs: https://hulu.tv/2x35HaH Devs Twitter: https://twitter.com/Devs_FXonHulu Annihilation: https://hulu.tv/3ai9Eqk Ex Machina: https://www.netflix.com/title/80023689 Alex IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0307497/ Alex Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Garland OUTLINE: 0:00 - Introduction 3:42 - Are we living in a dream? 7:15 - Aliens 12:34 - Science fiction: imagination becoming reality 17:29 - Artificial intelligence 22:40 - The new "Devs" series and the veneer of virtue in Silicon Valley 31:50 - Ex Machina and 2001: A Space Odyssey 44:58 - Lone genius 49:34 - Drawing inpiration from Elon Musk 51:24 - Space travel 54:03 - Free will 57:35 - Devs and the poetry of science 1:06:38 - What will you be remembered for? CONNECT: - Subscribe to this YouTube channel - Twitter: https://twitter.com/lexfridman - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lexfridman - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LexFridmanPage - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lexfridman - Medium: https://medium.com/@lexfridman - Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lexfridman