Quote:
Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf
Would you say the Sibyl System was wrong about Akane? As the apparent prime beneficiary of the system, she does not doubt the Sibyl System. That, in itself, suggests that not all is wrong in this world.
I think we have to remember that, as viewers, we are witnessing episodes where the system is being pushed to its limits. We're seeing the people who have fallen through the cracks. Because we're shown scenes of the system at its worst, we as viewers become, in effect, biased observers. We've come to view the Sibyl System as something hopelessly broken.
Imagine if I were to visit a highly developed, First World country, like the United States, for example. What if I limited my tour to only the towns and cities that are failing economically because of the ongoing financial crisis? Let's say I see only homeless people slumming in public parks, druggies in dark alleys and rampant unemployment sapping young graduates of hope, even as they struggle with crippling student loans.
Am I not likely to come to the possibly mistaken conclusion that the American capitalist system is hopelessly broken and in dire need of fixing? Indeed, those who took part in the Occupation movement earlier this year quite probably felt that way.
Hypothetically, I don't think it's necessarily wrong to flag someone as young as five as a potential threat, given his biological/psychological profile, which is, in this world, supposedly backed up by implacably objective and hyper-reliable Sciencetm. It's how society responds to that threat that makes the difference. If, after isolating the individual, the state provides the necessary treatment to curb his biological tendencies, would you say it's wrong? If, through such treatment, the individual is "cured", wouldn't the state be doing a kindness in the long run?
Much of the unease expressed in this thread stems from how latent criminals are dealt with. I can see where the misgivings come from, but I wouldn't be so quick to blame the technology nor the system. I think, rather, that it's the society and its values that are the root problems, not the technology nor the methodology of its profiling process.
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In my dark opinion, I think human behavior as a whole can be boiled down to a numbers game. Intuition is nothing more than invisible math in your head but is biased towards your own experience.
The system would obviously have more numbers than each individual so it lacks bias.
In the end, all the characters are playing a numbers game, but who's numbers they're relying on (the system or their own) is what's causing the largest conflict.
It's already been established that despite having such a system, humans still commit crimes, and even find ways to circumvent the system. Same issues, different MO.
The issue boils down to, are we willing to allow hundreds or thousands of crimes to happen, just because
one potential criminal doesn't actually commit a crime?
I believe the majority will say yes, because we want to live in a world where everyone's given an equal chance, even if the outcome may prove to be worst from a distant view.
Anyway, I think the main flaw with the system is whether it stunts the growth of society as a whole.
We've already been given the idea that people are chained to a whatever path the system has chosen for them. They have
zero chance to do better.
There is also an increasing reliance on machine, rather than themselves (well, it's debatable whether that's a good thing or not).
Akane's definitely got a rocky path ahead of her. Unlike the rest of the world, she's been given choices: saving the victim by shooting Shinya, choosing her career, choosing sides between inspector vs enforcers.
What I hope will happen by the end of the series is that it's not a matter of right or wrong choices, it'll only be about
consequences to every action.
Side note: For some reason, I'm getting hung up on the weather report from ep 2 (morning clouds giving way to sunny skies. 0% chance of precipication). There's nothing wrong with it, was there?
Or are are we suppose to analyze it deeper, like 'hey, they're still predicting the
weather, shouldn't they solve that before moving on to humans?'