Upgrade

When an AI “colleague” upends office dynamics, one programmer spirals down an obsessive path of self-augmentation, sacrificing his humanity in a desperate bid to compete. This sci-fi parable explores the perils of technological optimization taken to dehumanizing extremes. In a workplace “rat race” amplified by artificial intelligence, a man’s all-too-human insecurities drive him to dismantle his own nature in service of corporate advancement, only realizing far too late what parts of himself he has lost. It is a cautionary tale of ambition blinding our better judgement, and how easily we can become trapped in cycles of endless upgrade without purpose. When the human spirit is at stake, how much of ourselves can we replace before we lose our soul?

Directed by Zefeng Wang (China)