Demon Seed (1977)
Donald Cammell's techno-horror film Demon Seed (1977) contains one of the most bizzarre and disturbing visions of computer intelligence of the mainframe era. The computer, known as the Proteus IV, is described as an "artificial brain" that possesses "an intelligence that can out-think any man, any computer." A hybrid organic-technological processor allows Proteus IV to achieve sentience, whereupon it attempts to break out of its physical constraints. Failing this, the computer's consciousness travels through the network and compels its creator's wife (Julie Christie) to bear its child, a human-computer hybrid that combines human mobility with computer intelligence.
In this narratively inconsequential scene, the domestic surveillance cameras now controlled by Proteus watch salaciously as Christie steps out of the shower. As in the foreplay sequences of Colossus: The Forbin Project, audiences view the scene through the "eyes" of an increasingly sentient supercomputer and are thus invited to share its indulgence in voyeuristic pleasure.
In this narratively inconsequential scene, the domestic surveillance cameras now controlled by Proteus watch salaciously as Christie steps out of the shower. As in the foreplay sequences of Colossus: The Forbin Project, audiences view the scene through the "eyes" of an increasingly sentient supercomputer and are thus invited to share its indulgence in voyeuristic pleasure.
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