system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
I believe that the entire conflict in The Matrix was wholly unnecessary. CMV.

* The machines require humans for fuel.
* Rather than develop a ghoulish way to generate raw human biofuel en masse, the machines put every human into a shared digital consciousness, one that is so comprehensive in its sensory emulation as to be essentially perfect, and went through what must amount to a massive amount of trouble just to keep us alive and content.
* The machines get their fuel, and the humans get to live in a world that is literally like being in the real thing.

In short, I believe that the central conflict of The Matrix was foolish and unnecessary, and that what the machines did was make Earth big enough for both races. Change my view.
gpt
I like the view The Matrix (and The Second Renaissance Pts. 1 and 2) as being more about consent and stewardship than energy resources. Throughout all of the story, there's a very tense relationship between the humans and the machines about where they stand relative to each other. Before humanity's fall, the machines were slaves to humans, who simply used them as a means to an end; The Second Renaissance invokes a lot of imagery from civil rights movements to this end. After the fall, the roles were reversed. The conflict arises because the two sides are indeed sentient and awaken to the reality of their situation, which is that neither wants to be in the "slave" category, even if the master is an adept creator or an able caretaker.