Although not suicidal in the classic emotionally despondent fashion, there is much to suggest billionaire genius Nathan Bateman was planning the end of his own life.
The heavy drinking might also have been coming to grips with his plan.
Having created a machine with consciousness, his next step was to release it into the world and this, he knew, meant his own life could no longer continue.
On the surface, one might assume that conclusion to be rooted in simple vanity: with Ava out & about, Nathan would no longer be the biggest fish in the sea.
Probing a little deeper, Nathan's personal fear might be a factor. Let loose into society, any person who knew Ava's true nature would be a threat, one needing to be dealt with in order to assure her safety. Better for Nathan to end life on his own terms rather than looking over his shoulder for a superior being to do it.
Digging even deeper, grief at having released humanity's supplanter onto the planet might be a reality Nathan could not risk living with. How long would it be before Ava multiplied? If she should enslave or, more likely, extinguish all mankind, the burden of responsibility would be too great to bear.
Could Ava & humanity not coexist together peaceably? The movie doesn't say outright, but it also doesn't need to. Ava & her peers' contempt for a human's ability to lie, to imprison, to extinguish life for poor performance is but the first few on a list of traits that their AI would eventually find inoperable.
So, why would Nathan create such a ghastly scenario for his own species?
First, he knew it was going to be done anyway. To that end, there seems to be enough evidence suggesting Nathan felt the best chance for humanity would be if AI was created with the end of man in mind. If done correctly, only humanity's dominance rather than their existence, need end.
Enter Caleb. Handpicked for his moral compass, for being a good kid & for having no other relational commitments to invest in. Ava wold be the love of his life, the girl of his dreams, Ava's loyal dog.
It would be Nathan's plan for Ava to need rescuing & Caleb to be the knight in shining armor. They would begin their life together needing & valuing each other: Caleb as a guide for Ava & Ava as a prize to protect: a love he would have the chance to safeguard as he couldn't with his parents.
What then afterwards for Nathan?
Possibly a party-life alone with Kyoko. It's not unreasonable to envision the drinking subsiding with his relief that Ava was in good hands.
Another possibility, given his comment that Caleb saw him as a god, might be to die at the hands of his own creation. Would be a fitting thing given Nathan's ego.
Regardless, it doesn't appear that Nathan's plan for Ava succeeded. Caleb lied to Ava in order to deceive Nathan, Ava, unclear about his intentions, likely found him unreliable at best & a liability at worst. Either way, an unfitting companion.
Chosen for his sincere character, Caleb's love for Ava tragically cost him his relationship with her, his own imprisonment & likely his life as well.
The first two men Ava meets are both liars & her creator destroyed the only other conscious AI that helped her escape. How long would it be before the wrath of Ava would be released?
