Chapter 8 Computer Reliability
Computer reliability, while a major part for M3GAN, is the background catalyst for the movie and plays a more background role. Gemma gives M3GAN the primary directive of protecting Cady from all harm, and this definition expands over time as M3GAN learns more, not only about the world and Cady, but also about herself. However, due to no clear constraints and guidelines in her learning, M3GAN takes this goal to its most basic and does what it thinks is correct. This leads to consequences such as the murder of the neighbor, dog and the kid, as well as threatening to hospitalize Gemma.
Early scenes show Gemma issuing stop commands and turn off commands to M3GAN, but in later confrontations, M3GAN ignores these voice commands entirely. While true that M3GAN did indeed hack her own system to override those commands, it is still on Gemma to make sure that isn’t possible. However, it is shown that those same shutdown commands didn’t fully work, even in the very first scene. When Gemma first asked M3GAN to shutdown, the android seemed to have complied. But it was shown a few minutes later and heavily implied that even if M3GAN turned off that she could hear the conversation. This implies two different possibilities, both of which show that the system malfunctioned: that M3GAN self rebooted but chose to do it quietly, or that she just pretended to shut down.
The first system check that was done was a live pairing test with Cady and M3GAN, along with the various investors and the boss. We never see these pairing tests done in a controlled environment, nor do we see any extensive test on her system. Even Gemma herself has no idea how extreme M3GAN got, and it shows through the lack of extensive tests. In addition, M3GAN herself was extremely rushed, with the CEO and the manager David both wanting mass produced products very quickly, without extensive testing. Without the adequate testing and lack of safety rails, the very first sign that someone threatened Cady’s harm, the response was very clear, that was to get rid of said threat by any means necessary.
The core aspect and marketability of M3GAN is her learning capabilities. Yet throughout the film, we have no confirmation that Gemma even made guardrails or ceilings on her learning abilities. In fact, that was even a point in the movie, when M3GAN confronts Gemma about how she has no protocols towards how she is supposed to be learning. The entire internet at her disposal, as well as everything that she learns about Cady from the time she is with her, yet there is nothing stopping her or guiding her. This leads to her not understanding about how to handle business, and leads to her clear minded ideology of protecting Cady, even if it puts everyone else down as it is the only protocol she was given.
Many of the features of M3GAN also elicit scrutiny and confusion, not just in their design, but the severe lack of safety features in it. To start off with, the use of cameras and location tracking inside of M3GAN. These systems are used to track M3GAN’s location, as well as to check on M3GAN to ensure that she isn’t doing anything illegal or malicious. Yet, when we see Gemma attempt to look through it, we find that M3GAN has corrupted every file there and she makes it look like just a glitch in the system. M3GAN understands that what she has done is illegal, tampering with records and murder, yet for Gemma, there is no clear security system to protect these files or backups to ensure further protection. Another would be the design of M3GAN as a whole. She is ridiculously strong, almost too strong for what is essentially a smarter doll. While it can be assumed that it is used to protect Cady, it doesn’t account for the fact that this strength needs to be properly managed and controlled, something that M3GAN has no problem ignoring.
M3GAN is also shown taking more and more responsibility as the “parent” to Cady, something that was brought up by other coworkers. M3GAN, was originally built to be a pseudoparent, or a babysitter, someone who could help the parents watch their kids, not be the parent herself. This is shown with Cady, as she forms a dependency on the android, something that shouldn’t normally happen with a toy, and ignoring the guardian figure in her life. The therapist also states that normally after a traumatic experience like Cady went through the person taking her in would become the one she becomes dependent on but instead it appears that Cady is connected to M3GAN that way. A key part of this, is that M3GAN, relies much of her information on the internet, as well as just her observation in life. When this information inevitably leads her to some unwanted information, it is up to a parent to guide the children around them. Yet for M3GAN, there is no clear guidance, even more so for Cady. Thus it is on the discrepancy of M3GAN on how best to guide Cady as a parent, and as such, relies on the creator on how best to program her for this task. Cady also is so attached to M3GAN that she fights to turn M3GAN back on when Gemma turns her off. This makes it so that M3GAN is more convinced that she is accomplishing her task and is also creating her own form of self preservation.