What is KIMI about? KIMI is a paranoia thriller recently released on HBO Max. The story has an outlandish plot, but there is more to it than meets the eyes. KIMI tells the uncut story of Angela Childs, a blue-haired techie. She works as a developer for a Seattle tech firm that manufactures KIMIs’. Kis a virtual software assistant like Goggle home, Alexa, and Siri. Her primary duty was to receive user complaints and fix communication bugs afterward. She solely relied on listening and recording other people’s conversations and audios to archive this feat.
But one day, everything changed, and her workflow was disrupted. She is thrown into a dilemma about what her following action should be, seeing that the audio signaled danger. The series has stirred up a substantial discourse: what is KIMI about? Viewers are curious if the story is based on a true-life story or another fantastic sci-fiction thriller. In this article, we will extensively reveal what KIMI is about. So, read till the end.
What Is KIMI About?
What KIMI is about isn’t far-fetched. But, unfortunately, it is our present-day reality. During the height of the lockdown, most companies went remote, especially the tech companies. Several months after the lockdown, they are yet to return to the office space, which some may never do.
This explains the case of KIMI with the mid pandemic setting. It tells the story of a middle-aged female tech guru, Angela Childs played by Zoë Kravitz. She is an expert in tech communication who specializes in fixing bugs for KIMIs’. A KIMI is a fictional depiction of Artificial Intelligence home assistants like Google Home, Apple Siri, and Amazon Alexa. The KIMI product was created by a tech firm called Amygdala in Seattle.
The flow of her work was utterly disrupted in one breath when she heard a woman screaming for help when she was listening to a recording. She paid keen attention to the audio and realized that her KIMI had just recorded a live murder. The woman’s throat was violently slit. Though she reported the incident to her work superiors, they overlooked it with snide comments.
A determined and curious Angela sets out to unravel the mystery of the murder herself by discovering the identity of the murderer. But unfortunately, she is faced with opposition from her bosses and their conspiracy to eliminate her if she releases the audio.
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KIMI Is Based On A True Life Story
The question of what KIMI is about could have easily been dismissed as a fictional social experiment, but unfortunately, it turns out that it is a true-life story. Although some parts were incorporated for cinematography purposes. KIMI brilliantly retells the story of the real-life murder in Arkansas in 2015. The intriguing aspect is that the evidence that gave rest to the case was captured on Amazon Echo.
In 2015, James Bates hosted a couple of his friends for a boys’ night out in his apartment. They drank, watched football, and did all the stuff men did at their sleepovers, including warm baths in bathtubs. But around 1 a.m., James retired to bed, leaving behind former Georgia police officer Victor Collins in the water. To everyone’s surprise, Collins was found dead floating in the hot tub the following day.
Sadly, James Bates was immediately charged with first-degree murder and put on trial for Collins’ death. But the case took a different turn when one of the men present at the sleepover recalled hearing music from an Amazon Echo the night of the alleged murder.
Like most virtual home assistants, Amazon Echos are designed initially to listen for voice commands. Hence it must have recorded the murder. To this end, the court requested the recordings from that night from Amazon. To everyone’s surprise, Amazon declined the court’s request. Thankfully, James Bates stepped in and volunteered the audio. This bit of information made the bulk of the evidence used to drop all the charges against James Bates and declare him innocent of the murder.
Is KIMI An Anti Big Tech flim Against The Power They wedge In Todays World?
Astray from the real-life story of James Bates that inspired the creation of KIMI, KIMI’s producer, Steven Soderbergh’s exposed a loose end. The film further explores the possibility of the big tech company being responsible for the murder seeing that they have access to many of their customers’ personal information. Hence the reason why they subsequently refused to release the audio. This can be seen when Kimi production company Amygdala is poised with the offer of turning in the audio to the FBI.
In all honesty, it is cringeworthy to have someone actively spying on you, as most prominent tech companies do these days. But on the bright side, just like in the movie, Angela’s presence revealed that the woman was murdered. Also, in the real-life story, The Amazon Echo saves James Bates from languishing in prison for a crime he didn’t commit.
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Conclusion
What KIMI is about is far more than a watched and being watched situation. It explores the term safe space as a relative abstract. As much as you can’t control the world around you, you sometimes can’t control what comes into your personal space.
