How long have movies dabbled in the theme of a smart computer taking over our lives? 2001: Space Odyssey? Earlier than that, at least back to 1956 and "Forbidden Planet".
In this movie Shane West is Max Peterson, software security expert, and while traveling abroad gets a mysterious, unexpected package. Inside is what looks like a phone, and soon we realize it is a model which has not yet hit the market. Even stranger, a message pops up telling him to stay an extra day, then the flight he had been scheduled on crashes and everyone dies.
He gets other texts, including a stock purchase recommendation and some specific gambling recommendations, all of which are valid. What is going on? We wonder, he wonders, everyone else he encounters wonders.
All of this sets up some intrigue and chases, getting the NSA involved. Then it is discovered that others who received such a phone all had been killed in some way. So Max Peterson was running for his life.
Other good actors were Edward Burns, Ving Rhames , Jonathan Pryce, and Martin Sheen.
Certainly all impossible, by what we know is possible today, and likely for future years, but a healthy suspension of disbelief and it can be entertaining.
SPOILERS: From the title, "Echelon" is the name of a broad, powerful, sophisticated program that has access to every camera, database, phone conversation, basically capable of seeing and listening to everyone everywhere. It was sending out the messages without any human knowledge. The "recommendations" were made using very sophisticated probability analyses, and designed to get the user as an ally. The ultimate goal was for Echelon to migrate itself to a different computer at a different location, in Nebraska, so it would be able to upgrade itself, and then become even more powerful, and that needed human help. At the last second Max was able to get it to stop itself, as he reminded Echelon its purpose was to act in the best interest of mankind and when it pulled up news reports at Max's request then shut itself down as following its own programmed purpose.
In this movie Shane West is Max Peterson, software security expert, and while traveling abroad gets a mysterious, unexpected package. Inside is what looks like a phone, and soon we realize it is a model which has not yet hit the market. Even stranger, a message pops up telling him to stay an extra day, then the flight he had been scheduled on crashes and everyone dies.
He gets other texts, including a stock purchase recommendation and some specific gambling recommendations, all of which are valid. What is going on? We wonder, he wonders, everyone else he encounters wonders.
All of this sets up some intrigue and chases, getting the NSA involved. Then it is discovered that others who received such a phone all had been killed in some way. So Max Peterson was running for his life.
Other good actors were Edward Burns, Ving Rhames , Jonathan Pryce, and Martin Sheen.
Certainly all impossible, by what we know is possible today, and likely for future years, but a healthy suspension of disbelief and it can be entertaining.
SPOILERS: From the title, "Echelon" is the name of a broad, powerful, sophisticated program that has access to every camera, database, phone conversation, basically capable of seeing and listening to everyone everywhere. It was sending out the messages without any human knowledge. The "recommendations" were made using very sophisticated probability analyses, and designed to get the user as an ally. The ultimate goal was for Echelon to migrate itself to a different computer at a different location, in Nebraska, so it would be able to upgrade itself, and then become even more powerful, and that needed human help. At the last second Max was able to get it to stop itself, as he reminded Echelon its purpose was to act in the best interest of mankind and when it pulled up news reports at Max's request then shut itself down as following its own programmed purpose.