Johnny Mnemonic

What interested me most about Johnny Mnemonic was the ghost inside the computers. If a person had complete access to all information in a computer, he/she could help guide as the computer ghost does in the movie. Actually, as I am reflecting, of course people have access to all information stored on computers, which is a very scary concept. In the movie the ghost is a woman, the former CEO of Pharmacom, who died and, according to some 2006 legal citizenship order, gained a second existence in the computer. In the case of the computer ghost, she can only share information with people who are on/at computers; where as the people with access to computers today can retrieve the information and use them in the real world.
It seems ambiguous who the ghost means to help in the movie, though the main cause it to make sure the cure becomes available and that Pharmacom does not hide or destroy it. Today, the people given permission, I suppose, such as CIA/FBI, to access all information in order to benefit society and serve people. I think this is a more utopian view of accessing knowledge, and though not much in the film appears utopian in the least, I would argue that the spirit installed into the computer benefitted all involved in the movie, for the benefit of society. I do not know how personal information is used by those privileged to it today; I hope for the best. But once anyone can access the information, it becomes vulnerable to hackers and people who would use it against the benefit of humanity. It is an interesting issue I think has not been broached in class because it looks at a more beneficial aspect of a concept that absolutely has negative aspects, but what great changes and advances do not have an other side to them. This is not a new concept, information being accessible to unwanteds, but the more we depend on technology the more gets put in computers and the more vulnerable we all are to the misuse of information far beyond ID theft and any consequences we experience today. The more information is used to benefit society, the more vulnerable society is the its exposure, as we have already shown in this class.