5 ms·

The compute in the Matrix wasn't handled with human brains. They used the bodies to generate energy, and kept the brains occupied with the simulation so they wo

by timr 7d ago

The compute in the Matrix wasn't handled with human brains. They used the bodies to generate energy, and kept the brains occupied with the simulation so they wouldn't reject the pods. It doesn't make any sense, of course, because it's a movie. But hey...if we're going to extrapolate wildly from sci-fi, let's at least know what the stories said.

Cyberdogs7 7d ago
Your statement is correct for the movies, but I think the extended universe (maybe a comic or the original script) did state the humans were used for compute, not energy. It was dumbed down for the films.
- breuleux 7d ago
  The “using humans for compute” angle makes no sense either, if you’re living in the Matrix, your brain is obviously occupied processing the Matrix. The way to do it would be to trap humans in virtual classrooms and force them to solve math problems.
  - BobbyTables2 7d ago
    The first “computers” were humans…
    - breuleux 7d ago
      And they knew they were. The brain's computations are focused on what the brain sees, it's not magic. If someone in the Matrix is a writer, we know what their brain's computing: a book. So if the machines need your brain to compute something specific that they need, you'll know.
  - darkerside 7d ago
    What do you think dreaming is, silly?
- timr 7d ago
  See my comment on the sibling thread. This take has been repeatedly claimed online, but nobody brings any evidence other than fanfic. Ironically, if you ask Google, the Gemini Annoyance AI [1] confidently asserts that what you're saying is true, but if you follow the links they give, none of them support the claim, and the further you click, the more it becomes people repeating each other's speculation and hearsay and calling it evidence. For example: https://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/19817/was-executive-meddling-the-cause-of-humans-as-batteries-in-the-matrix https://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/19817/was-executiv... Typical internet story. [1] Aside: I am far more worried about the influence of AI gaslighting on mushy-brained humans than I am on AI destroying the human race. The dystopic future of AI is people.
- alexjplant 7d ago
  I've seen all four films plus "The Animatrix" and played two of the games and don't recall this at all. Contemporarily, however, there was an episode of Star Trek: Enterprise [1] that used this as a key plot point. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Stop https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Stop
- Centigonal 6d ago
  https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/1amree7/theres_a_widespread_urban_myth_that_in_early/ https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/1amree7/theres_a_wi...
emkoemko 7d ago
pretty sure the story is that they used human brains as computers
- timr 7d ago
  No: https://www.reddit.com/r/matrix/comments/1qatv42/is_it_your_headcanon_too_that_morpheus_was_simply/ https://www.reddit.com/r/matrix/comments/1qatv42/is_it_your_... There is some stuff online suggesting that the original script had that angle, but the movies did not, and AFAICT it's fanfic. We should definitely use this stuff to guide our thinking about the real world, though, and not, say, Asimov (or a million other science fiction authors), who had an optimistic version of the same thing. Those are wrong.
gattr 7d ago
I think we can all agree that "use humans for raw energy" is a really stupid idea, and sounds exactly like someone dumbed stuff down. FFS, a small Rickover fission reactor the size of a van (1950s tech) produces the same amount of heat as, what, 200 000 human bodies? (And why humans, with all the complex support systems? Why not a heap of compost, if one insists on bio-source?) Whereas using our brains for compute (in the background, or during REM sleep) makes perfect sense; power efficiency is excellent.
- timr 7d ago
  nono...it's "combined with a form of fusion", you see, so it's obviously based in science. People obviously know this stuff is absurd on some level, but it doesn't stop them from cherry-picking the parts they "like" (i.e. fear) and ignoring the rest.

by timr 7d ago

Cyberdogs7 7d ago

Your statement is correct for the movies, but I think the extended universe (maybe a comic or the original script) did state the humans were used for compute, not energy. It was dumbed down for the films.

breuleux 7d ago
The “using humans for compute” angle makes no sense either, if you’re living in the Matrix, your brain is obviously occupied processing the Matrix. The way to do it would be to trap humans in virtual classrooms and force them to solve math problems.
- BobbyTables2 7d ago
  The first “computers” were humans…
  - breuleux 7d ago
    And they knew they were. The brain's computations are focused on what the brain sees, it's not magic. If someone in the Matrix is a writer, we know what their brain's computing: a book. So if the machines need your brain to compute something specific that they need, you'll know.
- darkerside 7d ago
  What do you think dreaming is, silly?
timr 7d ago
See my comment on the sibling thread. This take has been repeatedly claimed online, but nobody brings any evidence other than fanfic. Ironically, if you ask Google, the Gemini Annoyance AI [1] confidently asserts that what you're saying is true, but if you follow the links they give, none of them support the claim, and the further you click, the more it becomes people repeating each other's speculation and hearsay and calling it evidence. For example: https://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/19817/was-executive-meddling-the-cause-of-humans-as-batteries-in-the-matrix https://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/19817/was-executiv... Typical internet story. [1] Aside: I am far more worried about the influence of AI gaslighting on mushy-brained humans than I am on AI destroying the human race. The dystopic future of AI is people.
alexjplant 7d ago
I've seen all four films plus "The Animatrix" and played two of the games and don't recall this at all. Contemporarily, however, there was an episode of Star Trek: Enterprise [1] that used this as a key plot point. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Stop https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Stop
Centigonal 6d ago
https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/1amree7/theres_a_widespread_urban_myth_that_in_early/ https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/1amree7/theres_a_wi...

emkoemko 7d ago

pretty sure the story is that they used human brains as computers

timr 7d ago
No: https://www.reddit.com/r/matrix/comments/1qatv42/is_it_your_headcanon_too_that_morpheus_was_simply/ https://www.reddit.com/r/matrix/comments/1qatv42/is_it_your_... There is some stuff online suggesting that the original script had that angle, but the movies did not, and AFAICT it's fanfic. We should definitely use this stuff to guide our thinking about the real world, though, and not, say, Asimov (or a million other science fiction authors), who had an optimistic version of the same thing. Those are wrong.

gattr 7d ago

I think we can all agree that "use humans for raw energy" is a really stupid idea, and sounds exactly like someone dumbed stuff down. FFS, a small Rickover fission reactor the size of a van (1950s tech) produces the same amount of heat as, what, 200 000 human bodies? (And why humans, with all the complex support systems? Why not a heap of compost, if one insists on bio-source?) Whereas using our brains for compute (in the background, or during REM sleep) makes perfect sense; power efficiency is excellent.

timr 7d ago
nono...it's "combined with a form of fusion", you see, so it's obviously based in science. People obviously know this stuff is absurd on some level, but it doesn't stop them from cherry-picking the parts they "like" (i.e. fear) and ignoring the rest.