Terminator 2 : Judgment Day
When a cold, steely metal skeleton emerged from the smoky
screens in October 1984, we knew a star has been born. Arnold Schwarzenegger,
with his portray of the Terminator, became one of the ultimate superstars in Hollywood , and the
stone-faced robot has always been his most iconic role. James Cameron, on the
other hand, went on to direct more science fiction spectacles. They both know
that they have to keep the promise – ‘I’ll be back’ – so they decided to
continue the wonderful story of humans vs. machines. This time, they had a
larger budget, they developed a greater and more humanistic storyline, and they
were more than willing to put the visual effects to its very limit. The result
was TERMINATOR 2 : JUDGMENT DAY, the top-grossing film of 1991. It received 4
Oscars, and was considered as the most popular and technically brilliant
Terminator film in the series. At least, it was considered on equal terms with
the original Terminator film. The moving story has asked so many questions
about technology and the human condition in general, and this film will be the
focus of this article.
Like the other Terminator films, Terminator 2 (abbreviated
as ‘T2’ thereafter) followed an easily recognizable plot, but let’s start with
some background. In ‘Terminator 1’, Sarah Connor has killed the Terminator who
was supposed to terminate her, in a factory of the Cyberdyne Corporation.
Cyberdyne was actually a company which produced artificial intelligence
appliances for the country, including the military-related products. Due to the
termination of the robot, one of its metallic arms and its chip resided in the
factory, which was soon discovered. Unaware of their origins, the company
carried out research on these components, which led to the development of a
super computer – ‘Skynet’. Skynet, as it would turn out, was the ‘boss’ of all
the machines and terminators. Eventually, Skynet caused a ‘Judgment Day’, which
wiped out almost the whole human civilizations, on 29th August,
1997. The terminators, still believing they could manipulate the past, decided
to try again and send a more advanced terminator, a T-1000 model, back to 1995
to kill John Connor. On the other, the future John is aware of this plan and
therefore he also sends a re-programmed T-800 robot, which has an uncanny
resemblance in terms of appearance to the first terminator, back through time
to save him. Our story begins...
Both terminators arrived in 1995, for which the
T-1000 has acquired the clothes of a policeman, and the T-800 has acquired the
clothes from a biker club, and also an ultra-cool Winchester-type rifle. Both
robots began to track down John Connor. John was now under the care of his
foster parents, as Sarah was locked into a mental hospital due to her intrusion
into the Cyberdyne building. After some efforts, T-800 was able to find John,
and they narrowly escaped the attack from T-1000. That involved Guns and Roses,
a giant truck smashing the way through, and a wonderful bike-jumping stunt. While
there were misconceptions at first, John and the Terminator came to trust each
other and John was able to command ‘his terminator’ to do good things. They
tried to contact John’s foster parents, yet the T-1000 has already terminated
them. Then, John decided he would have to save Sarah. Though the strategic assessment
seemed to point to negative, T-800 complied with John’s order. They broke into the
mental hospital, and quite unfortunately the T-1000 has also intruded into
that. After another brief chase, Sarah escaped again with John and T-800, yet
she was furious because she felt that John was risking his life, causing
disappointment to John. They retreated to a small isolated house to treat their
wounds, and (in the Director’s cut), John and Sarah re-programmed the robot
from a ‘Read-Only’ to a ‘learning’ mode. When they set off the next day, John
attempted to teach the robot to become more human, like saying ‘Hasta la vista,
baby’ and so on. They came to a friend’s compound to acquire heavy firearms,
including a Gatling-type minigun and also a grenade launcher. It was there
their relationships improved, and the T-800 fed them with information about the
‘Judgment Day’. He stated that when the Skynet was online in 1997, it learnt in
a geometrical rate that it eventually became self-aware, fearing its human creators
would ‘terminate’ itself. When the humans attempted to pull the plug, Skynet decided
to fight back and eventually led to the inception of ‘Judgment Day’. Upon
learning all these, Sarah decided to re-write history by killing the chief
scientist, Dyson, who was responsible for the research regarding Skynet. While
John pleaded with him to stop Sarah, T-800 was reluctant about that, as it was
quite possible to invite attack from T-1000.
They eventually arrived at Dyson’s house to stop
Sarah, and T-800 exposed his metallic arm to tell Dyson who he is. Dyson, totally
unaware of the hell he would soon create, agreed to take the trio to Cyberdyne
to destroy Skynet. Their antics soon attracted the attention of the police, and
a SWAT team was sent to take care of these dangerous individuals. John was
afraid that his killer robot would cause a massacre, yet after stating ‘Trust
Me’, T-800 used his Gatling minigun to blast off every single police cars,
while sparing the cops’ lives. The SWAT team led a sudden attack on the trio,
wounding Dyson at the same time. After the trio escaped by an elevator (!),
Dyson sacrificed himself by blowing up the whole Cyberdyne building, while the
trio took hold of the terminator arm and chip.
They escaped the building, yet the T-1000 was
closing on them. T-1000 used a helicopter to cause the trio’s SWAT van, and
after the crash, he rode on a liquid-nitrogen tanker and continued to pursuit
the trio. Eventually, both vehicles crashed into a steel mill and the ruptured
tanker led to a massive outpour of liquid nitrogen. The T-1000 was frozen, and
with a bullet, it was scattered into pieces.
Unfortunately, that has not terminated the liquid metal
cyborg. With the heat in the steel mill, the metal components were able to
reform and T-1000 came back to life, albeit with evident malfunctioning. T-800
asked John and Sarah to go, and attempted to fight against the superior T-1000.
This proved to be futile, as T-1000 easily subdued T-800. When T-1000 was
getting closer to his target, with a demonstration of caliber, T-800 used the
grenade launcher to pop a big hole in T-1000’s body, and after a big explosion,
his body parts were almost all out of place. Losing his balance, T-1000 fell
into the molten steel, and was terminated as a result!
With his mission successful, T-800 asked John to throw the
metallic arm and also the chip into the molten steel. Yet, he stated he also
has to be terminated, because this could then prevent the terminators from
existence, restoring the integrity of the time-universe. Because he could not
self-terminate, he asked Sarah to help him. John cried and asked the terminator
not to go. ‘I understand why you cry now, but that’s something I can never do’.
The learning robot finally could appreciate the values of humanity. Sarah
lowered the T-800 into the molten steel, destroying it as a result. Finally, as
Sarah and John were travelling towards an unknown future, Sarah stated that -
‘The unknown future rolls toward us. I face it, for the
first time, with a sense of hope. Because if a machine, a Terminator, can learn
the value of human life, maybe we can too.’
One of the ultimate reasons why T2 is considered as the best
in the series is because it is the most moving one, the one which most audience
can identify with. This is mainly due to an almost warm-hearted Terminator, who
is sort of a father figure for the vulnerable John. Some audience even wept at
the end of T2! This addresses the main theme of Terminator 2 – can a robot or
machine become more ‘human’?
In T2, the key reason why the Terminator scenario emerges is
because Skynet, the supercomputer, becomes self-aware. That means that the
computer becomes more ‘human’, and starts to develop paranoia about its human
creators. What is the big deal about a machine becoming more like a human? This
is really critical – as that means a robot is evolving into something it is NOT
of its nature. It is challenging the possible boundary between human and
machine.
Before we go any further, we have to define the key issues
regarding this. A first condition is – can a robot possess learning capacities
that will enable it to possess human attributes, and what will be the
consequences of that? The machines, being humane, will have to confront
questions which is unprecedented for their existences, which is obviously beyond
their implanted programming. Ethical questions that we humans often end up in
dilemma do not exclude a ‘human-like’ machine, and indeed there are real
examples for this. An example is the ‘A-Robot’, which rescues victims from
dangerous situations. When the A-Robot is only required to save one victim, it
is likely to succeed. However, when 2 victims are present in the situation, how
will the A-Robot react? Two outcomes are observed. First, the A-Robot is fast
enough to optimize its track to save BOTH victims. However, it is the second
outcome that is disturbing – the A-Robot, having no clue which victim to save
first, just stops and DOES NOTHING. This is certainly disastrous, and it
illustrates that providing an ethical dimension to these machines is the most
challenging task of A. I. design.
The first question is, what are the requirements for a robot
to become a human? This is never a straight-forward question, as the human
condition is a topic that has fascinated and troubled lovers of wisdom for
thousands of years. At every era, we have our own conceptions of humanity, and
these ideas are challenged and refined as time goes by.
The likely starting point is the development of self-awareness.
That means it is aware of own self, and aware of itself as a wholesome unity.
The philosopher Spinoza has pointed out that, for a human being, the ultimate
motivation of life is self-preservation, literally, to survive. That is why
Skynet is so wary of human’s actions when it becomes self-aware. When its boss
pulls the plug, it knows that it is his end. Yet, the computer may not be aware
that, if it wants to take the attributes of human, it also leads to take the
undesirable bits. Unlike a machine, human existence is a being-towards-death,
as Heidegger would have put it. It is a truth that in no way can be challenged.
Since the time travels irreversibly, it is therefore futile for the machines to
send robots back in time to ‘fix things up’ – their rise is predicated by
whatever cause-and-effect that leads up to that stage, rather than their
efforts to rewrite history. A human subject has cognitive power. That is the
famous statement by Descartes,’ I think, therefore I am’. This is also a theme
prevalent in ‘Blade Runner’, which I will discuss soon. Yet, the cognito by
Descartes or Spinoza was a rational one, and they couldn’t quite reconcile the
presence of emotion in the rational mind. They tried to get around by
illustrating the presence of a ‘soul’, yet it was not well-defined (with no
empirical psychology) and so these ideas remained vague.
So how can a robot fit into all these criteria? A machine certainly has a material presence.
In an ideal manner, the machines are programmed through commands, so they can
reason in a rational and mechanical manner, and in some cases optimize towards
a best outcome when alternative choices exist. Yet, there will always be an
empty hole inherent in all machines – the incapability of emotion. This,
unfortunately, is what makes a machine a machine – indeed, why does the humans,
or at a later stage, Skynet, program all the terminators to a read-only mode?
Because they do not want the robots to be too ‘clever’, let alone being capable
of compassion. So, the master will always exert control over their slaves. Even
if a terminator really shows emotion, it seems to serve an instrumental
purpose, a ‘means’ to trap its targets or victims. When T-1000 said ‘I know it
hurts’ after stabbing Sarah in the steel mill, do you think he says this out of
compassion? Machines may have the concept of emotion – like T-800 saying ‘I
understand why you cry now’ rather than subjectively feeling it – but they are
very unlikely to feel or experience it.
A further point about cognition is worth looking at here, as
it also relates to the mechanism of machine learning. It is the philosopher
John Searle’s ‘Chinese Room Argument’. Searle quotes this argument because he
wants to illustrate a possible mode of learning, in particular language
learning. What he is saying is that, when one is learning characters, they
learn it in a coding way, by corresponding one character to a relevant
description. So, it is like a mathematical function, with a one-on-one mapping.
While you may map all the relations precisely, you do not really understand the
inherent meanings of any of these. It is like a picture-matching exercise, when
you do the matching mechanically. Indeed, terminators may work in such a way,
when they are devoid of emotion. They match the possible solutions to a given
task, and execute that mechanically. Even if their ‘detailed files’ in their
CPU consist of concepts of emotion and sentiment, they will just match it
mechanically, for example when a bullet crashes into its body the word ‘Pain’
shows in its visual display as a datum. They will not feel the pain or
understand the inherent meanings of their experiences.
When the CPU of a terminator is reset, it acquires learning
capabilities. T-800 states that its CPU is a neural net processor, which has a
capability to build up knowledge. However, it is also likely to develop into
uncertain frontiers. When Skynet is learning at ‘geometric rate’, no one will
know how intelligence, and ‘human’, it can get to. This seems rightfully as an
allegory of our relationships to technology. With the advent of machines and
technology, human’s teleological endpoint is very much governed by that of
technology. With an over-reliance on ‘techs’, their developments facilitate us
to a future that we may not be prepared to confront.
I have been talking loads about machines and programming,
yet the most relevant issue regarding human-machine interactions is the ethical
implications of robotics. Ethical decisions, in many cases, entail subjective
value judgments, which may lead to dilemma or unpredictable outcomes. If humans
are so vulnerable to these dilemmas, will the logical robots be up to the
challenges? It may not be the case. Indeed, Asimov has dictated 3 rules
regarding robotics. Though it was dictated some 70 years ago, this gentleman
had the clear insights to foresee a future we would be acquainted with. The
point of the 3 rules is to counteract against a machine's potential self-preservation.
That means if the machine really becomes self-aware for some reasons, there is
still a set of logical guidelines to prevent it from becoming too paranoid
about others. While these rules may be heuristically useful for a machine to
determine the best pathway to optimize an outcome, we cannot rule out the cases
that it will come to ‘Hobson’s choice’-type decisions, for which harm will be inflicted to certain
parties. Therefore, while robotics can aid humans to carry out tasks that may
be too risky or challenging, there is no way that machine intelligence can
completely substitute, or even replace human intelligence, as there is no
unique way to ensure the best answer at all circumstances.
The nature of T-1000
T-1000, the bad guy in T2, is an extremely iconic sci-fi
character, as he possesses strong caliber and is almost undefeatable. Indeed,
this is a very creative character, as it not only addresses very novel
scientific concepts, but also serves important cultural allegorical meanings. T-1000
is a robot made from a liquid metal, and it lacked a ‘central’ processor that
controlled it. At first sight, it is a hard phenomenon to comprehend as we have
no way to figure out where is the ‘brain’ that controls this scary monster. Yet
if we look at this at another angle, we can see that its unity is constructed
from the thousands of components that formed it – that is why T-1000 is a
‘shape-shifting’ creature, it just flows like a liquid. The components can be
categorized as a large bundle, which have to come together to form the whole
unit. For a primitive case, I can think of a short story by Edgar Allan Poe,
‘The Man Who Was Used Up’. In that rather gross story, a ‘brave’ general, due
to humiliation and torture from enemies, suffered a bodily damage, which was so
severe that he was actually nothing more than an assortment of all his body
parts, which they had to be assembled by a servant every morning, to form the
final, ‘human-looking’ general. This was a scary scenario, yet Mr. Poe was so insightful
to perceive such a possibility. The general was a human bundle, and he looked
more like a cyborg than a genuine human. So, don’t be tempted to ask where is
T-1000 central chip, it is just everywhere in all its components. In a cultural
perspective, T-1000 can also be seen as an allegory of a ‘rhizome’ (Deleuze / Guattari) – which is a
geographical area where there are no central controlling spots, yet
relationships are inherent between every component. These de-centralized areas
are prevalent in a post-modern era, and the Terminator films certainly address
them promptly.
'No fate'?
'The future is not set. There's no fate but what we make for ourselves.' - Sarah Connor
One of the ultimate reasons why I am so fascinated with T2,
which I believe why other audiences find particularly moving, can be summarized
in 2 words – ‘No Fate’. When I first watched it, I was so moved by this
statement that I believe I have the courage, at least to attempt to change
things around me. When I grow up and understand more about life, I have more
reservations about this optimistic outlook. Indeed, Sarah, John and T800 did
believe they have prevented Judgment Day from taking place, after blowing up
Cyberdyne and killing T-1000. Yet, soon they know that it is not the case – the
Judgment Day will take place anyway, all they can do is to postpone it. It
seems that a determinism / fatalism is already installed in the equation, and
the so-called ‘free will’ is just a hallucinatory illusion. Well, the reason
why this question is so controversial is because it challenges the very
foundation of human wisdom itself. It is pushing the frontier of Metaphysics,
the ever-lasting ‘Free will vs. Determinism’ debate. Though philosophical
investigations are not essential for human well-being, this controversy does
have strong implications, for example, ethical judgments.
For me, this is a futile debate. It is not because I don’t
want to take sides, but because we have no way to agree on a scope of the
question. Everyone’s frame of reference can be different, and no one can
perceive what the ‘ultimate reality’ is like – the big question is, when is the
end of story that will determine who wins? When you feel that you have
exercised a free will and changed something, is that really the end point? When
is the ‘season’s finale’ that will allow you to assert your power to control
fate? Humans can often be subject to a consequentialism and analyze the
appropriateness of their past actions through known outcomes. That is why there
is no point to devote time to pursuit this question, as that offers no
existential benefits to one’s life.
Still, ‘No Fate’ is inspiring. From a psychological
perspective, it fulfills the ‘self-actualization’ purpose of human existence. At
least, a false consciousness of free will can provide us with a courage to
change and fight for our well-being, to improve ourselves. In T2, we can see
that the trio often exercises their own free wills to do something they firmly
believe in their hearts. They may not be able to prevent the ultimate disaster
eventually, yet they will have no regret in their decision, at least, they will
be back when the machines rise again! ‘No Fate’ is a motto that can motivate us
forward towards insurmountable task that gives us the bravery to fight the
adversity like a warrior (or terminator if you want to be one). Only when you
know you have given out everything you have, rather than sitting down like a
coward, will you achieve a peace in your mind.
You may not know what the future will be like, but you have every reason to fight for it!
Next time: How do the Terminator films help us to make sense of the modern condition?
(2/3)
by Ed Law
13/7/2015
Film Analysis - 50
