Collective Intelligence Given to Zombies... Modern Society Before the Antmill [Slate]

Yeon Sang-ho's "Gunche": Infected Communicate Like Ants
A Warning on Blind Conformity in the AI Era Through Collective Intelligence
Overt Foreshadowing Makes the Plot Predictable

Director Yeon Sang-ho's latest film "Gunche" attempts an ontological transformation of zombies. Through the concept of collective intelligence, it warns against the dangers of blind conformity in the age of artificial intelligence (AI).

An unidentified infection breaks out in a high-rise building in downtown Seoul. The infected, who initially crawl like beasts, gradually evolve. They begin to distinguish humans, stand upright, and eventually form groups to attack survivors. Biotechnology professor Kwon Sejeong (Jun Ji-hyun) and the other survivors head to the rooftop where rescue teams are waiting, accompanied by biologist Dr. Seo Youngcheol (Koo Kyo-hwan), who is rumored to have a vaccine. However, the situation unfolds in unpredictable ways.

Still cut of the movie "Gunche".

Zombies Communicating Like Ants, a Foreseen Development

The behavior of the zombies closely resembles that of ants. Ants exchange information by leaving chemical signals called pheromones. Without centralized control, they find the shortest path and build tunnels solely through local interactions with nearby individuals. This enables the colony as a whole to display remarkable intelligence despite the limited cognitive abilities of each ant.

The film applies this ecological principle to zombies. A white, viscous substance physically connects the infected, serving as a medium for information exchange much like pheromones. As the number of individuals increases, their processing speed accelerates and their intelligence strengthens.

This is the result of communication through cells and the accumulation of data. Director Yeon Sang-ho likened it to "ten fingers playing a single song." The actors who play zombies embody this intention through simultaneous and organic movements. In particular, the scenes where they surround and chase survivors, intertwined by the white substance, vividly bring to life the terror of nature’s cooperative systems.

The film clearly introduces the new setting from the very beginning. Kang Woo-cheol (Kim Jongtae), CEO of Chains Bio, gives a presentation at a conference, using the collective intelligence of ants as an example. "If we apply this to the human brain, I believe it could enable information transmission between individuals."

The explanation makes it clear that zombies will become increasingly intelligent and organized, ultimately leading to a clash between individuality and collectivity. There are also direct hints about how the zombies will meet their end, as the film depicts the "ant mill" phenomenon, where ants, due to a pheromone error, march in circles until they die en masse. The film’s core message is condensed so tightly that it leaves little room for interpretation by the audience.

Still cut from the movie 'Gunche'.

The Destruction Caused by Blind Conformity

Kwon Sejeong, the biotechnologist, is a character who failed to be reappointed as a professor because she could not tolerate injustice. She reads the ever-changing patterns of the infected and actively leads the survivors. Director Yeon frequently captures her face in close-ups and bust shots, highlighting her as the most rational member of the group, keeping a distance from blind conformity and selfishness. By focusing on an individual who questions alone and continues to struggle morally, the film realizes true humanism.

This is a value needed in an era dominated by the sum of universal thought. Modern people believe they make independent judgments in the vast world of internet information exchange. In reality, however, they often follow the traces left by algorithms and prevailing opinions without criticism. Witch hunts, confirmation bias, and collective frenzy are the results. This is not much different from the infected who attack others in response to Seo Youngcheol’s signals.

This phenomenon becomes even stronger as AI, which accumulates personal data to reach conclusions smarter than humans, is embraced as a new form of collective intelligence. In fact, robotics and distributed computing systems have evolved by mimicking the distributed processing principles of ant colonies. While these systems make human organizations more efficient, they also lead us to delegate moral judgment and the responsibility of reflection to the system itself.

Still cut from the movie 'Gunche'.

If the leader takes the wrong direction and no one questions it, the group cannot recognize its own errors without external intervention. Overreliance on collective intelligence can cause society as a whole to fall into an ant mill. "Gunche" raises this very question. When we stop thinking for ourselves in the name of efficiency and integration, what do we become? If only the film had posed this question in a more indirect and lingering manner, it might have resonated even more deeply.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.