SCIENCE. ART. FILM Chappie + Panel

Dev Patel, Hugh Jackman, and Sigourney Weaver star in this sci-fi action drama from Neill Blomkamp, the director of District 9. The human police force in a near-future Johannesburg is largely replaced by robots, deployed to tackle soaring crime rates. When a stolen robot, dubbed Chappie, receives artificial intelligence, he develops sentience and faces a choice between sides.

Are robots superior to humans? What role does humour play in this exploration of AI-driven technological progress – and is it progress after all? After the film, join us for an insightful panel discussion that will examine both Chappie’s comic robot and its portrayal of artificial intelligence and social order.

‘…a broad, brash picture, which does not allow itself to get bogged down in arguing about whether or not ‘artificial intelligence’ is possible. It has subversive energy and fun’ – The Guardian

This screening is part of the SCIENCE. ART. FILM. series presented by the National Film and Sound Archive, Australian National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science and ANU Humanities Research Centre.