It becomes hard to believe, as the information sinks in, you are left with a complete numbness filling your body. You know no one should ever have to experience that feeling, let alone a child. And yet, there is nothing we can do about it. How do we as a society know who we can trust? If the internet and the algorithm are taking over, what chance do we have?
True we do not, as a society, tend to think about the negative repercussions social media has on us as a whole. It takes something bad to happen for the idea to pop into our heads. Sadly, in the case of Molly vs.THE MACHINES, a young girl had to die for the subject to be brought up. In Marc Silver’s documentary, he chronicles Ian Russell’s campaign for online safety following a tragic incident that changed his life forever. In 2017, Russell’s 14-year-old daughter Molly died. This documentary investigates just how the algorithms of social media sent Molly in the direction of the harmful content she consumed before her death. While focusing on Molly’s story, personal tragedy, AI, and Big Tech’s influences on mental health are also explored.
Silver’s study grips the viewer from the start. While the documentary might cause arguments over the content and development, there is an element there that leaves you wanting justice for Molly. Justice that the Big Tech men (and women) might never provide. Through a clear disclaimer, Silver has used AI to create the machine that lead Molly towards her death. Controversial, yes, however, this method brings the machine to life in an unimaginable way. The world needs a story, something to grip them and get the attention turned towards the subject of social media and mental health. Not only is Molly vs.THE MACHINES a documentary made to share the story of Molly Russell, it also reminds the viewer of the current state of the world.
What might have started out as following the path of Ian Russell’s campaign for online safety turned into something much more, this documentary dives so much deeper into the need for online safety. Through the machine’s voice and perspective, we are made aware of how imprisoned we are by technology. Silver’s study into one story uncovered a whole conspiracy into our way of life.
Dark and dangerous, that is the best way to describe the machine and the algorithms. There is nothing that makes it seem as though those high up in the industry have any intention to monitor content. All that is required to keep children, or anyone, safe is a small amount of content monitoring. Yet, those who make the biggest profit want to keep making money. Through the use of the machine’s voice and footage from Russell’s fight, Silver makes this clear to the audience.
There needs to be a mirror of accepted normalized standards for the online world that comes from how we behave in real life. This is what Russell and those who fight for internet safety are after. We will never know if anything can be done until those at the top change their perspective. But what Molly vs.THE MACHINES makes clear is that the fight starts with us. By fighting for your daughter, so it does not happen to another child, Russell has begun the long battle. Silver’s documentary shares the fight with the world and hopefully inspires more people to take a stand.
By the end of Molly vs.THE MACHINES you will be terrified. It leaves a horrible sensation in your body, what I believe to be its intention. Silver did not want to shy away from the truth. He wanted to instil that reality of the machines taking over. The algorithm knows what we want to see, or so it believes. What happened to Molly Russell should have never happened. Yet this fight is one we all need to get behind. Through Silver and Russell’s attempts, they wish to warn the world of what can come.
