Does the Matrix Have You?

The Matrix is my most favorite movie ever. When it came out, I was a freshman in college and it is the only movie I have ever watched multiple times in the theaters (1o to be exact!).

It was technology meets humanity. It has philosophical, action-packed, and cutting edge all at the same time. Simply put, it blew my mind.

Whether or not they knew it at the time, the Wachowski brothers were making a prophetic piece of film that more and more seems to describe the world that you and I live in:

• People are “plugged” into technology in ways never imagined–sometimes in disturbing ways. Think about it, how often do you have the TV on just so there’s “something on”? I know I’m guilty of this!
• Technology (i.e. “AI”) becomes smarter and smarter–how long before it becomes self-conscious? In other words, when will your iPhone start asking for a sandwich?
• Technology is allowing us to work smarter, faster and … longer? In The Matrix, human beings become the energy source for the Machines. It technology is making us work more instead of less, who’s really in charge?

As of late, I’ve really appreciated the gentle urgings of a few in the Christian community to make sure we remember that we are, in fact, “human after all.” We need time to sit and breathe and stare into the sky.

We need time to feel the warmth of a cup of coffee before the first, piping hot sip.

We need to feel the ink from our pen flow onto a page, recording the thoughts that come from the flesh-and-blood supercomputer that sits inside of our head called “the Brain.”

We need to sleep in late, smell the roses, ride rollercoasters, make love and feel our eyes burn when we look at the sun too long.

So while technology is a great, wonderful, and an amazing piece of our lives, it can’t be our lives. Technology will never give us what being human can.