In Terminator 2: Judgement Day, why was it important for John Connor, his mother and the T-800 to destroy Skynet? From the sequels we find out that it didn't work anyway. So why not have the Skynet researchers put in a shutdown button, or alter its programming so that it doesn't achieve sentience in the first place? At the end of the movie, they have access to the guy that created Skynet, and were also able to convince him that Skynet was dangerous and should be destroyed. But since Skynet did not actually exist at that point, why not just steer its research into a direction keeping it certain that it wouldn't achieve sentience, since the scientists now had a heads-up that it was actually possible?
asked Jun 17, 2023 at 14:05
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3“alter it's programming so that it does not achieve sentience in the first place” — sure. Totally doable.– Paul D. WaiteCommented Jun 17, 2023 at 14:11
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2In Terminator 1 it was a stable time loop, in 2 two they believed they could stop Judgement Day, in 3 it was claimed it could only be delayed. That's the thing about time travel, it's fictional, any of those could be true.– suchiuomizuCommented Jun 17, 2023 at 15:38
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1You're right. The T-1000 was causing a false sense of urgency. But the main problem is a slight change in time just results in a different AI doing it unless everyone in the military is perpetually vigilant. (See Dark Fate for example). Something movie writers don't tend to realize is that science is inevitable. If there's a computer industry eventually anything a skynet chip can do will be figured out by someone. It's not creativity It's objective physics.– lucasbachmannCommented Jun 17, 2023 at 22:14
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@lucasbachmann There are many things that anyone with a spare $1000 can do to decimate cities. To my knowledge, nobody has ever done them. It's not objective physics: it's sociology. Only a specific type of group of person ever seems to implement this "inevitable progress".– wizzwizz4Commented Jun 18, 2023 at 1:15
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1@Greenonline Great Scott– user13267Commented Jun 18, 2023 at 10:48
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1 Answer
I don't think "destroying Skynet" is an accurate summary of their aim; their aim is to destroy the research which will eventually make Skynet possible. That distinction is important.
But since Skynet did not actually exist at that point, why not just steer its research into a direction keeping it certain that it wouldn't achieve sentience, since the scientists now had a heads-up that it was actually possible?
The key word here is "certain" - with the fate of the entire world at stake, how can you be certain that a research project will stay in the hands of people who understand and competently act on the risks you explain to them?
Dyson was already acting with good intentions, but that doesn't stop him being part of a chain that eventually leads to Skynet.
DYSON: That's right! There's no way I'm going to finish the new processor now. Forget it. I'm out of it. I'm quitting Cyberdyne tomorrow... I'll sell real estate, I don't care...
SARAH (coldly) That's not good enough. ... No one must follow your work.
Sarah believes that the thing that is dangerous is the knowledge itself - gained paradoxically from future technology - about a new way of building electronics. Slowing down or changing the direction of that research now isn't enough, she wants to make it impossible for anyone in the future to pick it up and use it to build Skynet.
Dyson immediately acknowledges this, and after destroying what he has at home, he remembers the chip at Cyberdyne that inspired it. This time it's the Terminator who says:
It must be destroyed.
This is echoed at the end of the movie, when
The Terminator destroys himself to ensure another chip is not available to be studied, saying "It must end here ... or I am the future."
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Has this been explained this way in canon (in-movie, interviews with the director/writer, etc) or is this personal interpretation of the movie plot? Commented Jun 17, 2023 at 16:48
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@user13267 That's a fair question; I've edited my answer to have less extrapolation, and included a quote from the movie itself which I think backs up my interpretation.– IMSoPCommented Jun 17, 2023 at 17:03
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1You may also want to note that Skynet becoming evil seems to be an inevitable consequence of its existence; scifi.stackexchange.com/a/27267/20774– ValorumCommented Jun 17, 2023 at 17:08
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The fact that they consider it critical to destroy all the future technology is also a strong piece of evidence in favor of this answer.– BuzzCommented Jun 17, 2023 at 17:31
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@Valorum As far as I know, that idea wasn't invented out of universe until the third movie, and certainly wasn't known to the characters in-universe, so doesn't help to explain their motives. The first two films both feature the same Cyberdyne Systems version of Skynet; everyone believes that preventing that specific invention will prevent Judgement Day.– IMSoPCommented Jun 18, 2023 at 14:37