I heard somewhere that this was the original plan. They changed it because computers were new and they didn't think people would understand "using human brains as CPUs"

[–] NoSpiritAnimal@lemmy.world 40 points 10 months ago

This is direct from the Wachowskis and 100% true. The studio made them dumb down a ton if computer stuff.

[–] birthday_attack@lemm.ee 6 points 10 months ago

That's a common misconception that's been passed around the Internet so long that it's become common knowledge. There's a great (now deleted, but archived) writeup showing that the Wachowskis always intended humans to be batteries. The actual source of the "processors" idea came from a Neil Gaiman short story written to promote the movie at its release