M3GAN Teaches Us the Fallacy of Relying on Good Intentions
How a Box Office Hit Makes Audiences Question Ethical Decisions
When I saw the latest creepy movie about a smart robot, M3GAN, I was not surprised to find out it was an instant box office hit. All the elements for a successful spookfest are there: a creepy humanlike toy with a mind of its own, talented actors, original funky robotic dance sequence, suspense, and just enough blood and savagery to make the unreal seem real.
In addition, what captivated me were the ethical issues that resulted from M3GAN’s programming: she was charged with taking care of and protecting the humanoid orphan, Cady, with whom she bonded.
M3GAN carried out her assignment by eliminating anyone who posed a perceived threat. Making the next-door neighbor’s aggressive dog disappear was easy. Then with the help of a chainsaw and other tools in the garden shed, M3GAN took care of the surly dog’s annoying owner. At a school outing, a bully picked on Cady; M3GAN made sure the school bully landed squarely in front of a moving car. Body counts continued to grow.
It is one thing for a movie to feature an eerie evil doll like Chucky or Annabelle. We horror movie buffs love a good story about a possessed doll even though plots such as these are as outlandish as they are terrifying.
M3GAN, however, is the most terrifying movie of all because like its robotic namesake, people in real life who think they have good intentions are committing atrocities. Like M3GAN, they sometimes have tunnel vision. They focus on the good intention of helping a mother in a crisis pregnancy by encouraging her to kill an unborn child even though logically, killing an innocent human, even one in the earliest developmental stages, is never “good.” We can think of many examples in which harm occurred even though people involved meant well.
In the movie, M3GAN’s public debut was rushed, and her creator did not have time to include “parental controls.” I would be fascinated to know how a programmer would design “parental controls” for a robot if this action is in the realm of possibility.
Would you program the robot not to kill? If that is possible, it would be wonderful if humans could be programmed not to kill either!
Ethical and moral decisions need to stem from an absolute standard for what is good. “Do no harm” is a start. However, without considering God alone as the fixed standard of what is good, people can justify all sorts of actions, not to mention what robots might “decide.”
Good intentions alone do not always lead to the highest good for all concerned.
Anyone who doubts that fact might want to buy a big bag of popcorn, a soft drink and a movie ticket to M3GAN.
