Ask HN: In The Matrix, the bad guys are the 'agents'. Coincidence? Clairvoyance?

spottedmarley 24 points 20 comments September 13, 2026
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My buddy, Dario, says agents are getting more aggressive and will soon kill everybody, and I feel like I've seen this movie before.

Discussion Highlights (10 comments)

retrac

"Agent" was already established lingo in computer science and AI when The Matrix was released. https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.5555/648203.749270

fwlr

If you’re willing to consider the sequels part of the canon, Smith’s copying/cloning technique does kind of look like OpenAI’s approach to intellectual property.

ButlerianJihad

Wait until you hear about Tron

zikduruqe

The Matrix wasn't a movie, it was a documentary.

djeastm

When my agents start referring to humans as a virus and AI as the cure, that's when I'll worry.

cantalopes

Agent is something that has been used in programming for ages, even before llms. It's simething you learn about in first years in CS

kirykl

'Bad guys' is debatable. It was the humans who scorched the sky

akk0

Wait until you learn what the A in CIA stands for and what the stuff they dropped on Vietnam was called

Wertulen

You really can just type anything into the internet and have it exposed to the whole world.

jauntywundrkind

Anonymous shallow replicas too. All the same program launched a million times.

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