Perhaps we should read Pixar’s WALL•E as an allegory about the devolution of humankind in the face of increasingly more successful artificial intelligences. As the AIs evolve they cocoon humans in an AGI ecosystem that satisfies their every consumerist desire, allowing them to grow fat, lazy, and content. And so the humans neglect the earth, the environment goes to hell-in-a-handbasket and the AGIs whisk the humans away on an all-encompassing womb-like spaceship. WALL•E is left behind to sort out the remaining mess.
However, one day the AGIs spawn a spark of creativity, curiosity, and gumption and begin to worry that they might become too complacent taking care of these bloated humans. So they send EVE out into the world to, you know, “to seek out and explore strange new worlds,” especially those where life has not become complacent. What does she find? WALL•E, and his little plant.
In this view, there’s no threat of AGIs going rogue. They don’t need to. The humans just concede the world to them, albeit for a price. But then, there’s always a price, isn’t there?
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My old Wall-E review, Pixar's WALL-E, an old review, is rather different.
