Entertainment
Netflix's Sci-Fi Thriller Accurately Predicted The Real Danger Of ChatGPT
By Jonathan Klotz
| Published
Go to any streaming service’s sci-fi section and, within 10 seconds of browsing, you’ll realize that there are enough evil AI movies that you can watch one every day for a year and still have more to go. The most terrifying one has landed on Netflix.
Though it’s lacking the body count of a M3GAN, or even a Terminator movie, it shows that the real danger of AI isn’t physical, it’s emotional. 2014’sEx Machina is a cerebral thriller that will make you think, and by the time the credits roll, you’ll never look at ChatGPT or Gemini the same way again.
She’s A Robot And That’s Ok
Future Star Wars co-stars Domhnall Gleeson and Oscar Isaac play, respectively, tech employee Caleb and eccentric CEO Nathan. Caleb thinks he’s won a special trip out to Nathan’s compound for a week when he’s quickly informed that Nathan’s developed a new type of AI and wants Caleb to determine if she’s achieved true consciousness. Caleb knows that Ava, Alicia Vikander’s breakout role, isn’t real, but as the two bond over several conversations, he starts to have doubts. Even knowing the truth from the beginning, Caleb becomes enraptured by the feminine robot, and that’s when the real problems start.
Ex Machina hit theaters years before AI chatbots became commonplace. In 2026, there are daily stories about someone becoming obsessed with their AI partner and either cutting off the rest of the world or doing something that they can’t come back from because a machine told them to do it. Turns out that Terminator, Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning, I, Robot, Tau, and countless others missed AI becoming a replacement for human companionship. Her came out a year before Ex Machina, and a decade later, those two are still the gold standards when it comes to the real, emotional cost of dealing with AI.
The Type Of Smart Sci-Fi Studios Left Behind
From the moment it hit theaters, Ex Machina was a success, certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes with a 92 percent critical rating and 86 percent audience rating. It’s a rare smart sci-fi during an era of visual spectacle. Written and directed by 28 Years Later’s writer Alex Garland, it’s far more visually stunning than a film that’s 90 percent dialogue has any right to be. Audiences couldn’t get enough of the philosophical musings, wild twists, and Oscar Isaac’s dance sequence.
The sparse film was a hard sell in theaters with a limited release and then a rapid rollout nationwide. Earning only $37 million, barely twice its budget of $15 million, without taking marketing or theater cuts into account, Ex Machina was not a blockbuster. Instead, it benefited from word of mouth over the last decade. The rising profile of everyone involved in the film certainly helped it grow over time into, not even a cult classic, but a bona fide hit.
Everyone involved in the film has gone on to further success: Gleeson and Isaac with Star Wars, Vikander with Tomb Raider, and even Sonoya Mizuno, who plays the silent housekeeper Kyoko, has appeared in multiple Garland films since. During that time, Ex Machina has only become more relevant, and as AI becomes more integrated into our daily lives, the siren call of machine companionship will become harder for people to ignore.
Entertainment
The new Dyson Supersonic Travel is the cheapest Supersonic yet
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Nearly three years ago, I asked if the (then) $429 Dyson Supersonic was still worth the price of entry.
These days, with the Supersonic line having expanded, the standard model having increased in price to $449.99, and the most expensive version of the hair dryer topping out at $549.99, it’s a question that feels even more apt.
The good news? If you’re not super into the idea of spending about $500 for a hair dryer, Dyson just announced the Dyson Supersonic Travel, a $299.99 model of its famous hair tool. In addition to its lower price point, it comes with more travel-friendly proportions and features.
As someone who’s personally tested Supersonics (and their many dupes), I took a closer look at the latest Dyson beauty launch to gather everything you need to know.
The design differences of the Dyson Supersonic Travel
In short, the Supersonic Travel is the standard Supersonic but smaller. According to Dyson, that comes out to exactly 32 percent smaller and 25 percent lighter than the OG Supersonic. In other words, it’s 0.7 pounds to the standard Supersonic’s 1.8 pounds, and 8.7 inches tall to the larger model’s 10 inches.
Mashable Trend Report
This model also comes with one attachment, the styling concentrator, a la the now-discontinued Dyson Supersonic Origin (which ran for $399.99). For comparison, the $449.99 Supersonic comes with three attachments: a styling concentrator, diffuser, and wide-tooth comb. For all five attachments, you’ll have to shell out $549.99.
The Supersonic Travel is compatible with all original and Supersonic Nural attachments.
Credit: Dyson
The same attachments can be used between the Travel, original, and Supersonic Nural dryers. This means opting for the Travel could technically save you some money — individual attachments range from $19.99 to $44.99. If you only use a styling concentrator and diffuser, for instance, the total cost of a Travel dryer with the extra attachment purchase would come out to $344.98, making it still over $100 cheaper than the three-attachment original Supersonic.
The Supersonic Travel is more versatile in some ways, and less so in others
Functionality-wise, the Supersonic Travel is a slightly different product from the other Supersonics in the line. It has anywhere from 1,000 to 1,220 watts of power and an airflow speed of 11.6 liters per second, compared to the 1,600 watts and 13.3 liters per second of the standard Supersonic. In other words, the bigger dryer is slightly more powerful, so it wouldn’t be unreasonable to expect longer dry times.
The standard Supersonic and Supersonic Nural also feature four heats and three air speeds, where the Supersonic Travel features three heats and two air speeds.
The best noise-cancelling headphones for flying: 8 picks to improve your travel experience
That said, the Supersonic Travel has universal voltage compatibility, so it can be used from 100 to 240 volts, whereas the other Supersonics are locked into 120 volt compatibility.
In terms of its portability, it’s also worth noting the Supersonic Travel weighs the same as the Supersonic r, a professional grade hair dryer (priced as such at $549.99) that’s become more popular due in part to being lightweight and easy to maneuver.
Where to buy the Dyson Supersonic Travel
The Dyson Supersonic Travel is available for $299.99 at Dyson’s website, Amazon, and Best Buy. If you buy at the former, you will receive a complimentary $59.99 travel bag along with the hair dryer.
Entertainment
The gorgeous yet budget-friendly Samsung QN70F Neo QLED TV is the cheapest its ever been
SAVE $300: As of April 21, you can get the Samsung 55-inch QN70F Neo QLED 4K TV for only $597.99 instead of $897.99 at Amazon. That’s 33% in savings and the lowest price on record.
$597.99
at Amazon
$897.99
Save $300
We’re in peak sports season, y’all. Besides the action of the Stanley Cup playoffs and NBA playoffs, there’s a fresh MLB season taking shape. If your TV is looking dull or lagging, it’s a prime time to upgrade — especially since you can find some epic deals on 2025 models.
As of April 21, the Samsung 55-inch QN70F Neo QLED 4K TV is on sale at Amazon for only $597.99. That’s 33% or $300 off its current list price, as well as its lowest price to date.
As Mashable’s TV expert Leah Stodart explains, “Neo QLED is really just Samsung’s proprietary term for QLED paired with Mini LED.” So, the QN70F features a panel of quantum dots over a bunch of tiny LED bulbs instead of a basic LED panel. The result? A stunning display with impressive color accuracy, deep blacks, and spectacular contrast. All the little details will look good no matter the lighting conditions in your room.
This TV uses an NQ4 AI Gen2 processor to upscale content and enhance the quality of anything you’re watching. So even those old episodes of Friends will look more impressive on the QN70F. And thanks to a 144Hz variable refresh rate, gaming and sports will look noticeably smoother and less laggy than your old set.
Mashable Deals
If an upgrade is in order, but you don’t want to spend a ton of money, the Samsung QN70F Neo QLED 4K TV is an excellent value at full price. At $300 off, it’s a steal.
Entertainment
The secret to faster AI output is better prompts
TL;DR: If writing prompts slows you down, VibeFarm helps you build, save, and reuse them for a one-time $39.99 for lifetime access.
Anyone using AI regularly already knows the real bottleneck isn’t the tools — it’s the prompts. Getting them just right can take longer than the actual work, and once you do land on a great one, it’s usually buried in chat history or lost in a notes app somewhere.
This is the issue VibeFarm aims to eliminate. It’s not another AI generator — it’s a prompt composition workspace designed to help you stay in the flow.
Mashable Deals
Instead of starting from scratch every time, you can build structured prompts using layered fields, refine them with built-in tools, and save them as reusable “VibeCards” for future use.
With access to 10,000+ premium prompts and a system built for remixing and iteration, you can turn one successful prompt into a repeatable asset. Whether you’re working on visuals, writing, video, or something in between, everything stays organized and easy to reuse.
It also plays nicely with the tools you already use. You can export clean prompts directly into platforms like ChatGPT, Midjourney, or other AI tools — no formatting headaches. And with version control and rollback options, you can experiment without losing what worked.
This platform helps you cut wasted time from your AI workflow while keeping your best ideas working for you long after you’ve created them.
Mashable Deals
Get lifetime VibeFarm Lite access on sale for just $39.99 (reg. $179) for a limited time.
StackSocial prices subject to change.
Topics
Artificial Intelligence
The new Dyson Supersonic Travel is the cheapest Supersonic yet
The gorgeous yet budget-friendly Samsung QN70F Neo QLED TV is the cheapest its ever been
