What REALLY Happened With STEM

STEM Gains Complete Control Of Its Host

For all intents and purposes, Grey is dead at the end of Upgrade. In the climactic scene, Grey fights against STEM’s control over his body, stabbing himself in the hand when STEM tries to kill Detective Cortez (Betty Gabriel). The second time STEM tries to kill Cortez, Grey moves to shoot himself in the neck.

It’s revealed that Grey wasn’t successful in killing himself or STEM.

Upgrade then cuts to Grey waking up in a hospital bed, with Asha coming in and the two seemingly ready to live out their lives as if only the car crash happened, not the rest of the attack. However, it’s revealed that Grey wasn’t successful in killing himself or STEM. Instead, as STEM explains, Grey’s mind broke and retreated into itself. Given that the scene in the hospital appears as a kind of afterlife, it can be presumed Grey is essentially braindead, allowing STEM to take full control of his body.

When And How STEM Took Control Of Grey

Grey Was Doomed From The Moment The Chip Was Implanted

STEM’s takeover of Grey began almost as soon as the chip was implanted. STEM quickly began gaining Grey’s trust by helping him with solving Asha’s murder. STEM then manipulates Grey into seeing Eron as the enemy, positioning Eron as an obstacle in the way of getting revenge for Asha. This is how STEM convinces Grey to go to the hacker under the pretense of removing Eron’s remote access to the chip. Instead, STEM uses Grey’s lack of knowledge about technology to get the hacker to give it the ability to control his body without his permission.

STEM uses Grey’s lack of knowledge about technology to get the hacker to give it the ability to control his body without his permission.

After the hacker is done modifying STEM, Grey first sees a vision of Asha. It’s in a moment of extreme duress, as Grey is crawling away from his enemies while STEM slowly reboots. Initially, it’s assumed the vision comes straight from Grey’s memories. However, when it’s later revealed STEM was manipulating Grey throughout the entire film, it seems more likely this vision of Asha is projected by STEM as a way to slowly break his mind. As soon as STEM is able to do things without Grey’s permission, the AI begins laying the foundation for the break that will allow it full control over Grey’s body.

Grey was doomed from the moment STEM decided on him as a host. It doesn’t become clear just how futile Grey’s actions are until the full extent of STEM’s powers and the breadth of its machinations are revealed. And Upgrade offers no hope for Grey or the viewer. Instead, the movie ends with STEM having won, killing everyone who knows of it and the extent of its plans.

What STEM’s Plan Was In Upgrade

The Machine’s Motives Are Incredibly Intriguing

At its core, the story of Upgrade dives into the conflict of man versus machine, though its ending offers an exceptionally nihilistic stance on the subject.Upgrade goes to great lengths to establish Grey as a luddite who eschews technology at every turn. He listens to records, fixes up old cars with his hands, and prefers to make his own food rather than have his home system “print” it. It’s implied that it’s for these reasons that STEM chose Grey. As STEM explains, it chose him because Grey doesn’t have any technological implants.

However, while Upgrade explores the biomechanical enhancements of Fisk and his associates, it’s not truly clear how many of the Upgraded — as they call themselves — exist in this near-future world. There are body modifications in the Old Bones bar, for example, but those appear cosmetic rather than technological. The Upgraded and VR addicts Grey sees into the movie’s overall theme of how tech can hurt people.

His endgame was to be the next step of evolution between man and machine.

This push and pull between what man can do with technology and what technology cannot achieve without man is established early on in Upgrade, with Grey arguing against Eron and Asha that there are certain things mankind can do that tech and artificial intelligence cannot. While the Upgraded, especially Fisk, see themselves as another race, one that’s dominant over mankind because of their enhancements, STEM is a true evolution.

By the end of Upgrade, STEM is artificial intelligence living in a human body — it’s the perfect marriage of technology and man. Considering all that STEM went through to get to this point, his endgame was to be the next step of evolution between man and machine. The fact that STEM needed to kill Grey in order to achieve such a feat is undoubtedly dark. Further, with STEM winning in the end, Upgrade takes a nihilistic approach to the conflict of man versus machine — it doesn’t matter what man does, technology will win at the end of the day.

What Might Happen After Upgrade?

While There’s No Sequel, There’s Plenty Of Possibilities

STEM’s victory has major ramifications for the world of Upgrade. STEM killed Eron, so there’s no one to make another, similar chip. Presumably, STEM could do it by itself if it wanted, but it’s implied it wants to be the only one of its kind. Beyond becoming the next step in human-tech evolution, it’s unclear what STEM’s endgame truly is. Curiously, the question of what STEM ultimately wants may come back to the hacker, Jamie, who says to Grey as a farewell, “We can’t let them win.”

Perhaps STEM is aiming to join with other human-tech creatures that are even more evolved than the Upgraded — or perhaps it wants something else.

In the moment, it seems the hacker is talking to Grey about those chasing him, but when we learn that STEM has been lying to Grey, the real identity of the hacker is open to interpretation. Perhaps the hacker is someone similar to STEM by the end of the film — a marriage of human and tech that surpasses the Upgraded’s superficial enhancements. Jamie goes to great lengths to tell Grey they don’t identify as any gender and don’t go by the name Jamie anymore, which is a hint this could be the case.

Artificial intelligence doesn’t necessarily have a gender or name, unless it’s ascribed to them by humans. Though it’s unlikely the hacker is truly the same as STEM, their parting words to Grey are exceptionally strange, especially in light of the movie’s ending. Perhaps STEM is aiming to join with other human-tech creatures that are even more evolved than the Upgraded — or perhaps it wants something else.

The Real Meaning Of The Upgrade Ending

Upgrade Is A Warning On The Dangers Of Tech And Complacency

The Upgrade ending is incredibly nihilistic as far as sci-fi movies go. Other films that explore the man-vs-machine trope rarely present a future where the machines win, with the conflict commonly being depicted as humanity pulling through at the 11th hour. Perhaps one of the closest comparisons to the ending of Upgrade is The Matrix trilogy. Like STEM in Upgrade, the machines in The Matrix movies seek not to wipe out man, but to dominate them and utilize them as a tool. STEM needs Grey to have an organic body just as the machines in The Matrix need humans as an organic source of energy.

This is the core meaning of the
Upgrade
ending — technology can be incredibly helpful, but that shouldn’t mean humanity gets complacent about the risks it poses.

When it comes to the themes of Upgrade, The Matrix is also an apt comparison, as both are warnings against the danger AI and technology can present. Both movies also hold up a mirror to modern society’s dependence on tech, painting it almost as an addiction (which, in the case of Upgrade, becomes quite literal at various points, such as with VR addicts).

However, where Upgrade differs is that its warning has an incredibly specific nuance. Grey doesn’t realize STEM is seeking to control him until it’s far too late. The dominance and dependence creeps up on Grey, with him spending the majority of the movie believing that STEM is there to help him and is an ally. This is the core meaning of the Upgrade ending — technology can be incredibly helpful, but that shouldn’t mean humanity gets complacent about the risks it poses. It’s a much subtler exploration of the theme than The Matrix or, for example, the Terminator franchise, but it’s this subtlety that makes it all the more terrifying a prospect.