KEY POINTS

  • A new sci-fi movie is set to become the first-ever film to rely on an artificial intelligence robot named Erica
  • The movie is being created by Tarek Zohdy, Sam Khoze, and visual effects supervisor Eric Pham
  • The film has a budget of $70 million

Hollywood is still figuring out how to resume production as early as possible. The ongoing coronavirus pandemic forced the entire entertainment industry to halt the production on various movies and television shows to prevent the spread of the disease.

Recently, the industry came up with numerous guidelines on how to start filming safely. In a report, it was stated that actors would need to get tested regularly before they start shooting for a particular film and series. While the industry is still trying to find out ways to reopen, one movie is moving ahead with a lead actress that is already immune to the life-threatening illness.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, a new sci-fi movie that is in the works will feature a robot named Erica in the lead role. Organizations like Happy Moon Productions, Bondit Capital Media, and Ten Ten Global Media are developing a movie entitled “b” that would depend on an artificially intelligent star.

The movie is being created by Tarek Zohdy, Sam Khoze, and visual effects supervisor Eric Pham. The budget for the project is reportedly $70 million.

While talking about the film, Khoze revealed that the creators of Erica, Hiroshi Ishiguro and Kohei Ogawa, taught her how to act. The producer also noted that they “simulated” the robot’s emotions and created everything from scratch, so she could play the role.

“In other methods of acting, actors involve their own life experiences in the role. But Erica has no life experiences. She was created from scratch to play the role. We had to simulate her motions and emotions through one-on-one sessions, such as controlling the speed of her movements, talking through her feelings, and coaching character development and body language,” Khoze said.

The story is based on a scientist who realizes that the program he created to perfect human DNA has a lot of dangerous elements attached to it. As soon as he gets to know about the situation, he helps Erica, the AI robot he designed, escape.

Created in 2015, Erica was made as a research platform to study the interaction between a human and a robot. According to Robots.org, the artificially intelligent woman understands language and can exhibit a lot of facial expressions.

Robot/AI/Capital Markets
The key to trusting AI software is having the right expectations. Pixabay