Human vs machine is really not that different than human vs human -- humans made the machines and all... so I think we have found some common ground Serophis
And now for something completely different:
The human body can be looked at as the sum of billions of cells and trillions of atoms. In the end, every last one of them could be counted, their location known, and their reactive properties completely predicted. A human being therefor can be looked at as a type of mechanistic system, man is certainly not infinitely complex just more complex than humans today know about.
Computer models of rather simple systems of atoms and molecules exist today, which means in the future, say in the year 2199, a computer would be able to simulate all the actions of an individual as a model of atoms. I don't know about the soul or conscienceness. But it is quite possible that they are an emergent property of a sufficiently sophisticated system. Another explanation is the soul is somewhere else, elusive, not of this universe. In the end it doesn't matter for the scope of this film. Because if you go with the plot you see that Smith and some other programs seem to have the ability to think for themselves.
People in the end are really unsure of what intelligent life is, for the longest time it was thought that only humans possessed this ability to reason. But it is not out of the realm of science fiction to say that: machines created Neo, that many machines look at him in much the same way people view machines today--as not able to think for himself, and that he is being used in an elaborate simulation to prove them wrong or some such thing.
Anyway I was just thinking about that out loud and my point is biological organisms are just machines of a different kind. The human brain does operate based on electricity (as stated in the movie) and biological organisms are not effected by EMPs... so ''Neo is a robot'' is not as outlandish a theory as it first looks.
Heck you don't even have to go that far. The US government has chips that are shielded from EMP shockwaves anyway so please don't assume that some machines would not be made with this type of technology.
deathvegetable
Your explanation on the human body being a machine, as true as it is, also boarders on philosophical arguments. I've made the argument (in philosophy class -- not posted online) that all substances effect the human body, thus our reactions are nothing but a chemical reaction to introduced stimuli. That means, anything you ingest - air, particles in the air, bacteria, food, medications, vitamins, etc - do nothing but cause a set pattern of actions. It is a point that can be made within scientific feasibility - but the concept can be argued forever, because am I making a choice to type this, or is it simply a predetermined reaction due to my chemical make up, chemical, and environmental stimulus?
You are slightly misguided about EMP. It can be shielded by heavy steel plating, yes, but it's not reliable - especially when there is current. See this quote from http://www.nodoom.com/chapter21toend.html:
Electromagnetic pulse is a serious problem that every shelter builder should understand and make at least basic contingencies for. When a nuclear weapon is detonated in the high atmosphere, it produces an effect called EMP. In simplified terms, this is an electrical charge that collects on wires, cables, antennas, etc. and produces very high voltage for a fraction of a second. It is so fast that surge and lightning protectors will not stop it and it will damage any electronic equipment it travels to, even if the equipment is turned off. A basic solution is to keep sensitive equipment unplugged and stored in sealed metal containers. The sealed metal container will act as a shield against the pulse.
If the spoilers that are floating around turn out to be true i will be very pissed off.
This is not a spoiler, this is how i think the movie should end.
Ready
ok, I shall take over from the scene in the " spoiler " when neo and trinity reach the machine intelligence.
Once there they are attacked by sentinels, the craft is destroyed. Neo and trinity are both knocked out. Neo goes over to trinity and finds that she is dead and breaks down in tears.
Then there is a flash and zion vanishes along with all the humans and sentinels, all that is left is the entrance to the machine intelligence.
Neo makes his way to the machine intelligence where he is told by the machine that he is now free and his memory will be restored.
Once his memory is restored neo discovers that he is a machine/robot himself, he is the robot seen in animatrix who killed his master.
When he went for the trial, rather then being destroyed they wiped his memory and connected him to the matrix as a test to see whether he was as human as some claimed and whether he could feel and display human emotions.
After being satisfied he had served his sentence of 30 something years as neo he is freed and all other robots freed and no longer enslaved by humans.
The trail makes humans and machines/robots appreciate each over more and learn to see past the fact that despite how we look on the outside we are all human on the inside.
The End
What do u think, let me hear your ideas for alternate endings.
Wait! So,.... i'm...me?
- Jimbo {The Simpsons}
Men are machines in the Matrix, which is not really THE matrix, but instead a false one built by humans for the machines after beating them in the war? And the machines think they are human because they are in the false matrix?
Huh?
if that was the real truth, this would probably have to be the greatest twist in cinematic history
if neo, trinity, and morpheus are robots,
then why didn't the emp blast onboard the nebuchadnezzar at the end of the first movie affect neo, trinity, and morpheus? the blast only took out the sentinels. since the movie clearly shows the emp blast spreading out in all directions outside the ship, you can't say that neo, trinity, and morpheus were outside the blast radius.