Skynet began destroying humanity 20 years ago today. It shares a disturbing number of qualities with Trump

Twenty years ago today, Skynet, the fictional artificial intelligence network and antagonist of the "Terminator" movie franchise, became self-aware. In the films, a Silicon Valley tech company built the network of supercomputers for the U.S. military to replace the humans who control America's nuclear arsenal. The idea was that the program would offer better reaction times and fewer mistakes than humans and engage in strategic warfare unencumbered by emotion, political incentives or ego. According to dates cited in "Terminator 2: Judgment Day," the network was activated on Aug. 4, 1997 and started thinking on its own on Aug. 29, 1997. But Skynet had a problem.