Terminator 2 predates widespread use of the internet somewhat, but still holds some key points on networked communications as a whole. The topic most relatable to the movie is that of censorship - Sarah Connors was prevented from warning the world about the dangers of Skynet and the Terminators due to being locked in an insane asylum, despite the fact that Cyberdyne could have easily proved her claims using the remnants of the original Terminator. Other than censorship, the lack of networked communications in the movie's time period improved the heroes' chance of survival, as if the Terminator pursuing the Connor family had access to the internet or Skynet, they likely would have stood no chance at escaping or killing it.
Chapter 3
Networked
Communications
Chapter 4
Intellectual property
While Terminator 2: Judgement Day had a lot to do with the social aspect of computers and AI, intellectual property was not the forefront. That is not to say it does not have anything to do with intellectual property, however. One thing that could be said is that the old terminator chip could be considered as "open-source" code, in that Miles Bennett Dyson (the person who blew up the lab) was basically "copy-pasting" code from the original chip (he claimed to be taking a lot of inspiration from it). Obviously no one at that time actually "made" it per se, so they did not patent/copyright the software in it or its physical construction. That, in turn, led Dyson to be able to work with the code he found in the lab, which was later blown up. If the actions of this movie didn't take place, Dyson would eventually create the business Cyberdyne Systems which creates Skynet, which happens to be the main antagonist in the Terminator Franchise.
Terminator 2 did not take place in a time where digital technology was widely used, like today. However, if Dyson were to protect the software he was going to create, he would use a copyright or a patent. Eventually, Dyson would have gone to gain ownership rights on the Skynet he would have produced, and that would make him tons of money, as people would want to use his creation to mass produce robots using the processors he would develop.
This chapter describes individual privacy and how technology affects it. We observe multiple instances of privacy being used to advantage either robot's advances or used against humans by finding information that could compromise their safety. Both robots take advantage of their human forms throughout the movie as this allows fellow humans to place trust in them.
Set in 1997, user data through sensors or other networked communication are not in place unlike reality today. In this world, technology is not widely used or distributed and thus data such as GPS locations, online footprint, camera footage etc. were largely absent. However, the robots sent from the future are capable of extracting such information with great ease. The antagonist, T-1000 is an advanced prototype made of a mimetic polyalloy or liquid metal. This allows the robot to transform into any form it can touch. This raises a major question of information privacy as nothing is private from this machine. It can mimic voices, read entire files about a person and use this advantage to manipulate other people that know them. Further, both robots can see information about all people/objects in their vision. This helps them determine if they are a threat, target and get any relevant history. This gives them a significant information advantage that determines the clash of two machines.
T-1000 can also mimic voices of other people and tries to use this ability to get to John in the form of his aunt and mother which almost compromises John's position.
Chapter 5
information privacy
Chapter 6
Privacy and the Government
Privacy and the government are a key topic when discussing why Skynet launched in the first place. Skynet is an artificial intelligence which was originally designed to handle the United States defense systems. In the first Terminator, the government allowed Skynet to have unchecked access to all military systems for the United States. This lack of privacy allowed Skynet to launch nuclear missiles across the world and wipe out most of humanity instantly. This was repeated in Terminator 2, and we even got a sneak peak and what "judgement day" looked like. The question of privacy and the government comes from the questions, is it okay to let our government implement an AI to defend us? It can be seen as a breach of our privacy (and safety) to allow a program to be responsible for millions of lives. This is one of the key points the movie tries to hit home on, as AI was starting to be developed in the early/mid 2000s.
Computer and Network security are over-arching themes to the Terminator Franchise. That is because Skynet (the impending doom of the main series) is essentially an AI that will have taken over all of the computers and rise against the humans, Skynet Probably hacked the communities' computers and passwords by using self-made spyware programs, or perhaps it is a more potent version of malware and just infected most people's electronics just by being connected to the internet or by visiting popular websites (i.e. Google). The cyberattack of Skynet caused many problems for mankind, as it leads to the majority of mankind dying.
Chapter 7
computer and network security
Chapter 8
computer reliability
This chapter discusses the failure of entire systems due to problems arising in parts of the whole system. A well-engineered or designed system will not collapse entirely due to part failures. Both robots sent back in time are advanced technology robots that have been designed to mimic human behavior while engaging in combat. We see some differences in the capabilities of the T-800 (Terminator) and T-1000 (villain).
After the Terminator and John find Sarah, they ask the terminator about his ability to actively learn. He explains that the functionality exists but has been disabled and instructs them on how to reenable the feature. To do this, they access the CPU of the robot and retrieve the chip that contains the complete software of the robot. This is a dangerous and highly risky implementation of a system. If this chip were destroyed or mishandled it could lead to failure of the Terminator. There are several system architecture possibilities to decentralize a robot’s software. Such an architecture could better ensure system safety.
The T-1000 on the other hand is an extremely well-designed machine, as the Terminator describes – “Advanced Prototype”. Since it is made of a polyalloy that can reshape itself, it can be presumed that its microchips are not solid but somehow integrated with the metal. This means that if any part of the system breaks up or detaches the overall system can still function.