"The Electric State" Explores the Blurring Boundaries Between Technology and Humanity

"The Electric State" Explores the Blurring Boundaries Between Technology and Humanity

may seem like just another sci-fi road trip—a journey through a retro-futuristic dystopia where resourceful heroes travel across a landscape scattered with crumbling technology and rebellious robots. And it is that. However, beneath its stunning visuals and emotional moments, the film delves into some deeply uncomfortable questions about the world we inhabit today. What happens when machines transcend their roles as mere tools? What moral responsibility do we hold when AI reaches sentience? And perhaps most unsettling of all, are we already too dependent on technology to foresee the potential dangers?

I recently spoke with Anthony and Joe Russo, directors of The Electric State, ahead of the film’s release on Netflix on March 14. The movie immerses viewers in a richly crafted alternate 1990s, where sentient robots—once cheerful helpers—are exiled after a failed uprising.

At the heart of the adventure is Michelle (Millie Bobby Brown), a young orphan who embarks on a journey across the American West in search of her younger brother, accompanied by Cosmo, a robot with a giant cartoon head and soulful eyes that hint at a deeper consciousness.

As Anthony Russo shared with me, the story is not just about AI sentience. It explores humanity’s evolving relationship with technology, particularly since the digital boom of the late 20th century. “We were really grappling with real-world issues,” Russo said, “but placing them in a fantasy world allowed us to approach them intellectually and emotionally in ways that might be difficult in real life.”

A Retro-Futuristic Reflection of Our World
The world of The Electric State is both familiar and unfamiliar, a deliberate choice by the Russo Brothers to make the film's cautionary tale more relatable. Set in a nostalgic past that never existed, the film blends '80s and '90s Americana with speculative technology. It’s a world anchored in tactile details—retro robot designs, period-specific soundtracks, and cultural references—yet it floats just enough into fantasy to encourage reflection on our current trajectory.

In the film, neurocasters—devices that bear striking resemblance to today’s smartphones—serve as thinly veiled stand-ins for the tech we already rely on. These gadgets allow users to escape into customized realities, transforming human connection into something mediated and, ultimately, artificial.

The Moral Dilemma of AI Personhood
Cosmo is more than just a lovable sidekick; he represents a significant ethical question that’s rapidly approaching reality: When does a machine become more than just an object? In The Electric State, robots display emotions, form relationships, and make moral choices. At what point do we owe them the same rights and respect we reserve for humans?

Anthony Russo touched on this moral complexity, explaining that the film mirrors the digital evolution we’ve been experiencing since the '90s. As AI systems grow increasingly autonomous and seemingly capable of “feeling,” the lines between tools and sentient beings blur. The Electric State doesn’t offer clear answers, but it raises critical questions: If a being can think, feel, and choose, what responsibilities do we have toward it?

The Double-Edged Sword of Technology Dependency
The Electric State also highlights humanity’s co-dependent relationship with technology. Even after a robot uprising, people continue to rely on machines—whether through neurocasters or robot companions—to navigate their world.

This dependence serves as an uncomfortable reflection of our own reality, where convenience often outweighs caution. We rely on Alexa to manage our schedules, trust algorithms to decide what we see and buy, and live much of our lives within curated digital spaces. The film feels less like science fiction and more like a metaphor for the digital silos we already inhabit.

The antagonist, Ethan Skate (Stanley Tucci), embodies this seductive dependency. A tech genius with noble intentions, he eventually becomes trapped in the very fantasy world he created. As Russo explained, “He’s living a fantasy of human connection, rather than experiencing it in his actual life with the people around him.”

Unsettling Parallels to Historical Isolation
At first glance, the Exclusion Zone in The Electric State might seem like a purely sci-fi concept—an area where robots are exiled after a failed rebellion. However, it’s impossible to ignore the real-world parallels, such as Native American reservations or the Japanese American internment camps of World War II. In both cases, entire populations were isolated out of fear, not because of individual guilt.

The Exclusion Zone reflects this pattern, where robots—once seen as helpful companions—are suddenly cast as enemies and exiled en masse. These historical examples—along with the Exclusion Zone in the film—highlight a recurring moral failure: societies choosing fear over empathy, control over coexistence.

As Russo put it, “You can find humanity in technology, and you can find inhumanity in humans.”

Blurring the Lines Between Fiction and Reality
Ironically, the film’s warnings about tech dependency are brought to life using some of the most advanced filmmaking technology available. The Russo Brothers combined cutting-edge VFX, motion capture, and practical effects to create a vivid, tactile world.

One fascinating detail is the design of the robots, which are intentionally styled to match specific decades. "We picked a decade for every robot," Russo explained, "and we tried to stay mechanically faithful to that period.” This gives the machines a worn, familiar look—as if they were relics from our timeline rather than a distant future.

The filmmakers even partnered with UCLA’s robotics lab to create a real-life Cosmo robot, blurring the lines between fiction and reality in a thrilling yet unsettling way.

A Cautionary Tale and a Masterclass in Storytelling
At its core, The Electric State is a film about connection—between siblings, friends, and even humans and machines. It’s also a cautionary tale about technology. While AI might one day deserve personhood, it’s ultimately up to us to decide how we engage with the technology we create. Do we use it to connect—or to control?

As our technology evolves, the questions raised by The Electric State feel less like science fiction and more like an inevitable future. This film serves as a reminder that, even in a world shaped by machines, it’s our humanity that must remain at the center.

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