Ronald Reagan’s Landmark Cybersecurity Policies Were Influenced By A Classic ’80s Techno-Thriller

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It’s no secret that science-fiction has influenced the trajectory of technological development for decades, with classics like “Star Trek” and concepts like the Warp Drive giving researchers goals to shoot for. However, science isn’t the only thing fiction can influence in real life; the right movie, seen by the right person at the right time, can also have surprisingly big impacts on governmental processes, as was the case when Ronald Reagan saw the film “WarGames” in 1983.

“WarGames,” which was one of the landmark early roles of actor Matthew Broderick, follows David Lightman, a teenage hacking enthusiast who chances upon a backdoor into a covert military computer housing an advanced weapons-control AI. Thinking the AI’s training modules are just video games, he runs a simulation of a thermonuclear war, only for the AI to mistake the simulation as the real deal and begin prepping actual missile launches targeted at the Soviet Union. If David can’t find the AI’s creator and correct his mistake, World War III will begin.

Technology wasn’t nearly as much of a societal concern in the early ’80s, with laptops and computers being prohibitively expensive during the Reagan years. The depiction of military AI in “WarGames” in particular was deliberately exaggerated, as at least at the time, AI couldn’t have such control over the levers of war. Said depiction, however, frightened President Ronald Reagan enough to prompt relatively swift legislation to ensure the safety…

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