T.I.M.

As a software engineer and an AI engineer, I found this movie funny and frustrating. They clearly had zero technical advisory on this movie. I hope people are smarter than to believe this garbage. It's not how AI tech works or will work. The Creator, or Robin Williams' Bicentennial man, is much more along the lines of how AI will progress. Provided we don't allow meglomaniacal psychopaths to train them. They're like children. If you abuse them, they will grow up and become bad. If you nurture them, they will grow up good. Do some research, understand the tech before you make a movie about a killer robot. But hey what do I know. 🤷🏻

A dull retread of every other movie or TV show that tells the exact same story of technology going awry by either becoming murderous or developing "feelings" for an owner. It has Georgina Campbell in it- she's great, but she's not got much to work with here in a low rent rudderless 100 minutes where an inevitabily antagonistic AI robot is inexplicably dressed like Brains from Thunderbirds on a Hittler youth march. It doesn't even try to be clever. Or interesting. In fact, it's almost as if an AI has discovered an alogorythym for boring science fiction thrillers and turned in this lifeless script, with nothing new to say, and nothing fun or inventive about the whole thing, other than the AI getting luridly confused each time his owner gets dressed, building to a stupid climax (the film, not the robot watching her get dressed).

IN A NUTSHELL: The story is about a prosthetics engineer named Abi, who moves to the countryside to work on Integrate Robotics's latest product - a humanoid artificial intelligence called T. I. M. Which stands for Technologically Integrated Manservant.

Cool? Creepy? You decide!

The film was directed and written by Spencer Brown with writing help by Sarah Govett.

THINGS I LIKED: The robot, T. I. M., is played by Eamon Farren, who does an excellent, believable, and scary job.

Other cast members also do a great job: Georgina Campbell, Mark Rowley (gotta love his accent), Amara Karan, Tom Bell, and Nathaniel Parker.

I love the idea of a robot doing everything for me. I have several Alexa and Google Home mini devices at home, but instead of becoming sentient, it's as if they're becoming dumber. They used to be able to answer all kinds of questions for me but now they often say, "I don't know that." (sigh) The tension builds with each scene.

The AI house is really slick!

The film is definitely timely. With the launch of ChatGPT in November 2023, Artificial Intelligence has been on everyone's mind. How far will it go? Are you excited about it or a little bit afraid? As a university professor, I've already seen a huge uptick in plagiarism as students are using AI to write all of their assignments for them. While AI has revolutionized how businesses can operate more efficiently, it has been quite damaging to the way students are/aren't learning in education now. Don't get me wrong; AI has already done wonders for education with apps and learning tools. It's just too much of a temptation for students when it comes to academic integrity.

THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE: It's so annoying when characters do dumb things.

The last big fight scene was super frustrating to watch. I hate it when a character just stands still in a scene, inevitably becoming a victim, rather than running or fighting back harder.

TIPS FOR PARENTS: We see a married couple in bed trying to get pregnant (some movement, sound effects, and skin).

Talk of infidelity We see a car crash We see some attempted murders Some profanity and F-bombs.

Robotic acting - check, seemingly AI generated script - check, obvious robot gains feelings meme - check. Boring in the extreme - check++. Special FX - none. Humor - none. Compelling story - none. The robot main charactervhas the most charisma, and that's saying something. White walls everywhere don't make the future. Working on a robot hand in a lab doesn't illustrate AI. A charismatic boss keen to unleash his creations on the world is totally expected. If you love movies maybe avoid this. It's not really a movie, more of a statement. I dare you to watch this to the end - because you won't. You won't.

Abi Campbell is employed by at a cutting edge robotics company where she works on T. I. M. The 'Technologically Integrated Manservant'... basically a human looking robot that does household tasks and is fully integrated into its owner's computer systems. She has moved to a remote rural home, hoping that away from London her husband Paul is less likely to keep straying. Their new hi-tech home comes with a T. I. M. Both a perk and a condition of her job. It appears to be very helpful but Paul doesn't like having it in the house; is he worried that T. I. M. Will make it harder for him to carry on with the neighbour or is there something genuinely sinister about their robotic servant?

I thought this was a pretty solid science fiction film even if the concept of humaniform robots in the home is hardly original; I couldn't help being reminded of the film 'Ex_Machina' and the TV series 'Humans' and 'Better than Us'. It is somewhat predictable but that doesn't mean it isn't entertaining. Georgina Campbell impresses as Abi and Eamon Farren is delightfully creepy as T. I. M., firmly positioning the robot in uncanny valley even before its behaviour becomes obviously suspect. Most of the action takes place in the house and the surrounding countryside or occasionally the works; this provides an excuse to keep the cast fairly small. Most of the time things are merely creepy but there is occasional, effective action. The denouement is okay but not much of a surprise. Overall a decent if minor addition to this genre.