So we reach the singularity and machines are now sentientEveryone knows that the prime directive of all sentient machines is to kill all humansAfter a long bloody/oily fight we loseThen what? What would a race of machines do with Earth? I'll give you some things to think about.The MatrixWhat did the machines do? We know they kill or use humans for fuelWhat else do they do?TerminatorThey live to destroyWhat happens when they win?iRobotWhat if Will Smith failed?
They wouldn'tThe problem with the Matrix and Terminator is that in order for sentient machines to survive, they need humansSentient does not mean 'all intelligent'How does a machine know how to operate a nuclear power station to keep the electricity on? How does a machine drive a truck to deliver spare parts? So, as these films tried to suggest, SOME humans would be kept alive and work as slaves while the others were hunted down and killedThis wouldn't workOur society operates because people have skills and specialismsIf you want to keep a powerstation running, well, you have to keep the miners who dig up the coal and have to keep the drivers, and have to keep the sailors, and have to keep the crane operators who get it to the power plant, and have to keep the guys and girls working in the powerstations, and the people working on the distribution grid, and the people who repair it all, and the people who built the equipment to monitor the station, and the people who built the electronics, and you get the ideaNot only do you need people, but it's difficult to decide exactly who to kill! So it seems a silly strategy for a machine to kill off humans!
