What Does The Ending Of Ex Machina Really Mean?

Was Ava 'Human'?

It's the film's biggest question and one that needs to be addressed before going any further - is Ava a true artificial intelligence?

There should be little ambiguity here; she is unequivocally a thinking machine with consciousness on a par with a human. She's able to manipulate Caleb with a calculated plan and shows an ability to adapt as the film enters its bloody climax. She may be built on a world's worth of internet searches, rather than life experiences, but in terms of intelligence she's there.

However, the film takes things further than just asking what makes A.I. smart; it's about what it means to be human. And in that regard the film sees Ava go through something of a transformation. She may be able to think like a human from the off, but it isn't until the end that she passes the Turing test.

In a thematic sense, her getting out of Nathan's complex is the moment of transcendence (think the colour expert thought experiment). But in practice it's more complex; at the end she only integrates into human society thanks to her physical resemblance as well as her mind. Being "human" can't be just measured with a discrete definition.