Ah, computers. They make our lives so easy... but we should fear them, for they may yet turn on us. We've collected together ten of the most ee-vil computers to not only achieve sentience, but decide that those pesky, squishy hu-mans just have to go. These are in no particular order, but if we've missed any machiavellian machines, let us know in the comments or discuss it on our spangly new forums. -Rich Trenholm
HAL 9000
2001: A Space Odyssey
Evil quote: "Just what do you think you're doing, Dave?"
Where else could we start? The grandaddy of computers that are mad, bad and dangerous to know, HAL 9000 (Heuristically programmed ALgorithmic computer) is the computer aboard the spaceship Discovery. It went online on 12 January 1997 in Arthur C. Clarke's novel 2001: A Space Odyssey -- 1992 in Stanley Kubrick's film version -- and was created by one Dr Chandra.
Although the Discovery is off to Jupiter to investigate the mysterious monoliths -- giant singing paperweights that somehow precipitate human evolutionary leaps -- HAL is not allowed to tell the crew. Confused by the contradiction in programming this secret causes, and threatened with disconnection -- bad idea, chaps -- HAL decides to eliminate the crew and ensure there is no-one to keep secrets from.
A logical solution, perhaps; elegant, even. There's been some debate here at Crave Towers whether HAL is evil or just confused when asked to go against its programming. Well, us Cravers can't keep a secret, but that doesn't mean we go around pushing each other into space. Maybe it was just sick of the IBM thing.
HAL gets its comeuppance in legendary style, heartwrenchingly singing Daisy Bell as lone surviving astronaut and spacebaby-to-be Dave Bowman pulls the plug.
Evil rating, using the internationally recognised Evil Laugh scale: Mwahahahahaha!
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Anonymous 17 February, 2011 23:28
Ok, so my $0.02
MCP should NOT be included, it's a program not a computer. In tron the computer is the combination of all actors and the landscape.
MODOC to MODOK should have been described and why.
HAL was not evil, just had poor conflict resolution.
The computer from Wargames should have been included based on some of the other inclusions. Quotable line:"The only winning move is not to play."
The "matrix computer" shouldn't count, nor should Lor, Mandrid clones, KARR, the Terminators, VYGR, or NOMAD because they aren't "computers" they are "androids". If we're including them, we need to include Robocop's opponents.