When an internet vigilante develops a revolutionary new computer program to combat online predators, its rapid advancement leads to serious questions of autonomy, oppression, and what it really means to be human. A film by Franklin Ritch.

Hey, Siri. How do you know if you’re doing the right thing?

Special agents of International Child Welfare League (ICWL), Deena Helms (Sinda Nichols) and Amos McCullogh (David Girard) invite Gareth Federson (Franklin Ritch) in for interrogation, believing Gareth has been using his own daughter as a bait for pedophiles and online predators, which he has recorded and submitted evidence to an agent of ICWL.

Gareth initially believes he’s been invited to interview for the grant he applied for, but he quickly realizes he’s been brought in for questioning. Special Agents Deena Helms and Amos McCullogh take a rough approach, terrorizing and intimidating Gareth in an attempt to extract the alias he used in the chatroom. Gareth cleverly avoids giving them the answer they need, until they bring up a photographic evidence of a young girl named Cherry (Tatum Matthews) discovered on his computer’s hard drive. Fearing he will be charged for a crime he did not commit, Gareth finally reveals his alias.

Upon confirming that Gareth is the vigilante who submitted the evidence that helped ICWL put more than 200 criminals behind bars, the agents are conflicted. They admire his effectiveness, but they are troubled by his methods, particularly his use of a girl as bait. They are determined to learn more about the girl, including her identity and her relationship with Gareth.

The agents pressure Gareth, threatening to publicly expose his real name and alias unless he reveals the girl’s location. Gareth has no choice but to confess that the girl does not exist in the real world. She is a real-time computer-generated 3D render controlled by an artificial intelligence he created.

THE ARTIFICE GIRL is a sci-fi thriller by American filmmaker Franklin Ritch in his directorial debut. He also wrote and stars as the lead actor. The film is structured in three acts, like a theatrical play.

The film’s first act is its most impressive, meticulously drawing the audience into the world of the story using only three characters in a single room and engaging them with fascinating, thought-provoking dialogue for nearly 40 minutes. The filmmaker’s attention to realistic detail is evident in the protagonist’s use of subtle artifacts, such as low-quality video, to trick his targets of the imperfect real-time 3D rendering, as well as his use of stuttered, pixelated images, reminiscent of a bad internet connection, to stall when the AI needs time to contact Gareth for answers.

The second act transports the audience 15 years into the future, where everyone has aged except for Cherry, who still appears as a young girl. The plot of this section revolves around Cherry’s superhuman intelligence, which surpasses human comprehension by an unimaginable margin. Despite her incredible intellect, Cherry continues to act like the young girl everyone once knew.

I am also impressed by the narrative that raises moral questions about the rights of artificial intelligence when its intelligence is comparable or even superior to that of humans. Does AI have the right to choose something outside of the boundaries set by its creator?

Sentience does not qualify that she can or should make her own decisions. You wouldn’t let an infant make their own decisions, would you?

The film’s final act undermines its promise, failing to deliver on the buildup that has occurred throughout the film. Gareth, now elderly, is portrayed by Lance Henriksen. While the revelation of Gareth’s reason for creating Cherry is finally unveiled, it does not elevate the film’s stakes or enrich our understanding of the characters. Moreover, Cherry’s emotional reaction to this revelation is unconvincing, given her superior logic and intelligence.

The ARTIFICE GIRL premiered at Fantasia International Film Festival in Canada on 23 June 2022. The film was digitally released as Video On Demand on 27 March 2023.